AllisaJacobs in Better Homes and Gardens!

Hi team! I'm sure most of you have heard by now, but I wanted to share on our blog the great news about our fellow team member, Allisa from AllisaJacobs has had her shop featured in the holiday issue of Better Homes and Gardens!


If you're anything like me, you can't help but pick the brains of those businesses really getting noticed, so I thought I'd share a little interview here on the blog and give her a little feature so we can all give her a HUGE congrats!

Angie: How did Better Homes and Garden find you? Allisa: BHG contacted me in early January. Of course, timid me, I at first thought it was a hoax or a prank & spent much of that day googling names to verify validity! I was that shocked.

Angie: How did you decide which item for them to use in the magazine?
Allisa: They specifically requested the Woodland pillow for their Holiday issue. Since I had to send them in a sample pillow, I was so nervous making it, being extra super careful of each stitch & fabric!

Angie: Who taught you your craft?
Allisa: I learned to sew early. My mom made some of my clothes & blankets and she would let me help. My best friend & I made our first quilt in fourth grade...loosely applying the directions from her mom. From then on I began exploring embroidery, beadwork, and even watercolors....but sewing is my true passion.

Angie: How did you keep it a secret? (you said in a tweet that it was really hard to do!)
Allisa: It was really hard to keep a secret but the fear of foolishness made it easier. I kept telling myself, 'what if they change their mind? what if it really is a haox? what if I'm just a little thumbnail with no name mentioned?' that kept me from blabbing & regretting it later.

Angie: Have you been published before?
Allisa: No, never. Closest was being included in the Dooce holiday gift guide, but that's it.

Angie: Any suggestions for others to get published?
Allisa: I think having inviting & professional photos is essential. I'm still not sure exactly how BHG discovered me, but at some point it was necessary to 'catch their eye'- I'm glad my photo was good enough to do that!

Angie: How has this impacted your Etsy business (if at all)?
Allisa: I had a brief increase of sales when the magazine came out but really I've just enjoyed all the random messages people have sent congratulating me. That means the wolrd & really makes me even more grateful for this fantastic little enormous community.

If you'd like to read more about Allisa's pillows, see her blog post about her inspiration  here.

Congratulations again, Allisa! It's easy to see why your shop and items were picked.  Great work!