Amy Barickman is a busy entrepreneur, mom and all around creative spirit. Founding her well-known craft & pattern business, Indygo Junction, over 20 years ago, Amy knows what it takes to thrive in publishing. Working with many designers, Amy strives to bring her unique eye for trends to handmade and DIY fashion. She also creates her vintage-inspired fabric line for Red Rooster Fabrics.
Her love of all things vintage led Amy to embark on a second business venture, The Vintage Workshop. Developed to provide creative spirits with a resource for timeless imagery, The Vintage Workshop’s blog offers Amy’s Pick, an image-a-day giveaway. Like us on Facebook to see the daily feature!
Last year, Amy presented her latest endeavor at The Creative Connection. Publishing her “labor of love”, Vintage Notions: An Inspirational Guide to Needlework, Cooking, Sewing, Fashion & Fun under her new venture, Amy Barickman, LLC book publishing.
Amy’s book has won multiple awards in the independent publishing community. Here is an excerpt from the magazine Foreword Reviews…
“…Vintage Notions…is a celebration of domestic aesthetics…the book itself is art, overflowing not only with sweet morsels of fashion, needlework, and cooking, but with beautiful textures and colors…This book would be welcomed by anyone who is inclined to a vintage bent, who fancies home economics, or who finds happiness in making art out of life.”
~ Foreword Reviews
Recently, we sat down with Amy to talk a little more about her experiences publishing her book Vintage Notions, and to share a bit about her experience as a panelist at The Creative Connection event last year:
TCC event was wonderful! The Marketplace offered an amazing venue for sharing, selling and networking with other gifted artisans. I was thrilled to be a part of the panel on launching a business and I learned so much from my fellow speakers! The sharing of our experiences has proved to be invaluable on many levels! The event that continued throughout the weekend offered so many opportunities to network with successful, creative women in business.
This year I am returning to be a part of the Self Publishing Panel. I’m so excited and honored to be joining this talented group of women. I’ve learned so much during the process of publishing and marketing Vintage Notions – I have so much to share this year.
When did you decide that your research into the life of Mary Brooks Picken should be made into a book?
Vintage Notions really started to materialize as I realized the timeless content that existed in the Inspiration newsletters that the Woman’s Institute published. Many were written by Mary Brooks Picken who eventually complied “her choicest writings” into a small book called Thimblefuls of Friendliness: One Woman’s Every-Day Philosophy. Even more exciting, the more I read her writing and learned about the Women’s Institute that she founded, the more in awe I became of her contribution to the field of women’s entrepreneurship. Not only was Mary herself a successful entrepreneur (something that was, of course, rare for her time), but she also empowered countless other women to support themselves and their families through development of practical skills. I came across so many stories of women who recovered from economic hardships, depression, found new confidence in themselves…all because of the Woman’s Institute’s work. Correspondence classes ran for almost twenty years — I accumulated so much great material that I knew couldn’t just be left to the past. I was compelled to share it with a modern audience!
How has the publishing of Vintage Notions affected your role in the sewing and craft industry?
My other businesses, Indygo Junction and The Vintage Workshop already gave me a broad customer base, but publishing Vintage Notions allowed me to connect with even more people. I’ve found new professional communities – The Fashion Group,and the Costume Society (both organizations Mary was instrumental in founding). Because of all the research I did, I’ve also found a platform on which to speak professionally sharing Mary’s story, and that of The Woman’s Institute as well as my experience with 20 years in the industry. The story of the domestic arts, particularly sewing becoming a means for economic improvement is so relevant for the modern community of sewing and craft. Through my lecturing so many have inspired me! Mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs has been particularly rewarding.I had a wonderful experience at as a panelist at last year’s Creative Connection and really am looking forward to joining the panel on publishing this year.
What feedback have you gotten about Vintage Notions?
I’ve gotten very positive feedback on it! We’ve actually won a number of book awards and recognitions, from organizations like the Independent Publisher Book Awards,, and Foreword Reviews’ 2010 Book of the Year.I’ve also gotten some really nice reviews from other women in the industry, such as Mary Engelbreit and Amy Butler.What’s really been fun, though, is the feedback from people who buy the book.A lot of readers have some sort of connection, or a family member that gives them an interest in sewing or home arts. I think the book offers a platform for sharing stories for future generations, and I love to see this book encouraging that discussion.
Why did you decide to publish independently, and how has that worked out for you?
We did submit the proposal to several publishers, but didn’t receive any offers. I believed in the material, though, and decided to move forward independently. Fortunately, I had some experience in publishing with Indygo Junction —mainly 24-64 page instructional books. But this book was much more complicated.Vintage Notions was more inspirational title than project based. I was fortunate to have a talented colleague,Jean Lowe, agree to take on the editorial direction and coordinate production of the book. She has extensive experience in trade publishing.
Self-publishing is a challenging process, but I believe it was the right path. I kept control of the book’s look and content, and I can confidently say that it turned out true to my vision. We also had the flexibility to create our own campaigns, contests, and sell direct to stores and customers.
How long did it take you to write and publish the book?
About a year and a half. The process of printing overseas itself took about three months including shipping.I would have liked to print domestically, but that would have priced the book out of the market.
What was your favorite part of the whole process?
I really enjoyed the process of discovering and finding little nuggets of wisdom and inspiration within the material. The whole thing was an amazing journey—researching and finding out how relevant Mary Brooks Picken’s contributions still are today, and how many generations of women were affected.And the wonderful thing is, those discoveries haven’t stopped yet!
You can find more information on Amy’s journey with Vintage Notions by visiting her website and blog at www.amybarickman.com.
Also visit her company sites: www.indygojunction.com & www.thevintageworkshop.com
Like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/amybarickmanstudio
We are so excited to have Amy as a Panelist on our THE CREATIVE CONNECTION panel Self-Publishing. If you have ever wanted to know the ins and outs of getting your book published, you can’t miss this panel! Plus, Amy will also be signing copies of her book Vintage Notions at the Autograph Party in The Handmade Market. This book is one of my all time favorite creative books. I love anything to do with vintage images and sewing, so I was so excited when I received it last summer. I read the entire book in one sitting! How would you like to see for yourself? Amy was kind enough to offer a copy of Vintage Notions as well as one yard each of the 19 coordinates of her new fabric line – The Dressmaking Collection that was inspired by the book. It’s a sweet deal as the fabric won’t be available to the public technically until September. I so wish I could enter!
All you need to do is comment to this post with the number one author you’d like to meet at the Autograph Cocktail Party. That’s it!
Additional entries:
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Remember to post separately for each additional entry and please only post the amount of entries allowed. Also, make sure we have a way to contact you. This contest ends on Wednesday, July 27th at Midnight (MST), so make sure to get your comments in by then.
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Creative Karma will be bestowed on you!
