The Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear Design - Softcover

Okey, Shannon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0979201713 ISBN 13: 9780979201714

Publisher: Cooperative Press, 2010

Synopsis

The Knitgrrl Guide To Professional Knitwear Design is the first-ever book targeted to designers of all experience levels who want to create, communicate and sell their work professionally to magazines, publishers, consumers and other markets. Written by an industry insider, the Guide takes a comprehensive, unflinching look behind the scenes that no knit or crochet designer can afford to be without. Includes 30+ interviews with top designers, editors and professionals who tell it like it is so you can hit the ground running, a guide to responsible social media use, information on distribution, printing, online publishing and much, much more.

About this title

About the Author

Shannon Okey has written or edited a dozen fiber arts books for major publishers, including the Knitgrrl series, Spin to Knit, Alt Fiber, the second edition of Knitting For Dummies, and many more. She is the former editor of UK monthly knitting magazine Yarn Forward and a frequent guest on crafts-related television shows. She teaches all over the world in person and online (via her learning space Knitgrrl Studio), and was named one of Vogue Knitting's six "New Guard of Knitting" in their 25th anniversary issue.

From the Back Cover

As informed as she is impassioned, Shannon Okey understands and advocates for independent knitwear designers like no one else. The Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear Design is by far the most all-encompassing guide to the subject ever published. It's also one of the most enlightening and amusing reads around.

-- Julia Grunau, founder, Patternfish

Shannon Okey has compiled a terrific resource book full of insights and information from which knitwear designers of all levels can benefit. This is the "how-to" book that connects all the dots. Her interviews with more than 30 of the industry's leading designers are worth the price of admission alone!

-- Kathy Elkins, co-owner, WEBS (yarn store)

A wise and witty guide for anybody who's ever dreamed of turning their passion into their profession. In pages peppered with her own personal stories, Shannon tells you what it takes to become a professional knitwear designer -covering everything from marketing to contracts, guilds and associations, continuing education, and the importance of finding your own personal design voice. As frosting on the cake, she even includes interviews, advice, and stories from 30 other industry professionals.

-- Clara Parkes, publisher, Knitter's Review, and author of The Knitter's Book of Yarn and The Knitter's Book of Wool

Reviews

Shannon Okey, aka Knitgrrl, is the author and editor of a number of knitting books, but this one fills a special niche. Okey, who has worked in various aspects of the fiber business—designer, author, magazine editor—speaks to knitters who want to take their craft to a more professional level. Newbie designers, as well as those with some experience under their belts, will find Okey’s advice invaluable as she discusses writing patterns, selling them, working in both traditional and online media, and using social media to promote their designs and themselves. Knitters will also enjoy the personal essays, which make up about half the book, by professionals in the field. Most of the writers take a refreshingly honest look at their profession, notably the creative director of a yarn company who, when asked what advice she’d give someone entering the field, replied, “Go to law school! Work at McDonald's! Become a trophy wife!” Professional wannabes will get the most from this, but lots of knitters will enjoy the backstage look. --Ilene Cooper

Edition details

• Publisher: Cooperative Press
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0979201713
• ISBN 13: 9780979201714
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Habit Franklin
• Number of pages: 254