We recently connected with Erika Hewston and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Erika, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.

As part of my textile business I take on custom orders and repair work. I have found these to be some of the most meaningful pieces I have ever worked on as an artist. These projects range from wall hangings to match existing decor, to handwoven ties for wedding parties, to repairing long loved handmade quilts passed down from generation to generation. Although everything I create is handmade, this provides an extra special opportunity to use my skills in a way larger companies cannot do. The emotional response when someone realized they can continue to use a quilt their grandmother made for them is so human and beautiful, and I am glad that I can help make that a possibility.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Well, my name is Erika Hewston and I am a Textile artist located in Pennsylvania who creates handwoven and quilted pieces. Growing up, my mother and grandmother greatly influenced my love of craft. I was always making things: friendship bracelets, pillows, quilts, woven cup holders, Perler beads, if there was a craft kit for it I was making it! Things got more focused my senior year of high school when I started tapestry weaving, and from there I concentrated in Textiles and Material Studies for my BFA at Kutztown University in 2018. I also got my BSBA in Business Management at that time, and graduated last month with my Masters in Art Administration.

Since receiving my BFA in 2018, I have been making woven and quilted goods to sell at in-person craft shows, exhibitions, and galleries. I tend to work with colorful gradients, but also use an “ice dying” technique to get a sweet watercolor effect on the fiber. When looking at the handwoven fabric that I made, I mainly offer scarves, shawls, cowls, bow ties, standard ties, and keychains, but have also made a few other items like dog collars! My signature color gradients can also adorn walls though, as I make highly textural wallhangings that are lightweight and easy to hang.

If you are interested in seeing my work in person, I have some upcoming shows: The Smithsonian Craft2Wear event September 27-28, 2024 in Washington D.C., Academy Art Museum Craft Show on October 25-27,2024, and The American Craft Council Baltimore Marketplace on February 21-23, 2025. You can also check my website for new show announcements anytime at www.erikahewstontextiles.com

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I have had the most success at in person events such as fine craft fairs. It is in this environment where people cannot only interact with my pieces, feeling the texture and trying them on, but that I can have personal interactions. Handmade work is hard to sell, it is often not a “necessity” but a “luxury purchase”, and usually when someone buys a piece they are buying into/investing in the artist who made the work just as much as they are buying the piece.

If you are struggling to sell your work online, I would implore you to you to try in-person events. Don’t get me wrong, it takes time to build a clientele base at these events too and to figure out which events will bring the right crowd for your work. Visit events before you apply and see if your work matches the quality of work that is selling well at the event and ask vendors about their selling experiences there. Event fees can range from $10- $2,000 for a booth so you want to make sure to do your homework and that you have a chance at earning back that booth fee and still turn a profit!

Does your business have multiple or supplementary revenue streams (like a ATM machine at a barbershop, etc)?

I do try and showcase my work in multiple formats to not only increase revenue but visibility as well. In addition to in-person craft shows, I do have an online website and social media, but I also submit my work to exhibitions and sell through some local retail galleries.

By having my work in multiple locations it is making my work more recognizable and getting it in front of the largest audience possible. This does not always translate into immediate sales; but now that I have been doing this for a few years I can say that I have people reach out to me saying they saw my work at X event 2 years ago and want to commission a custom piece. Sometimes, people need time to ruminate on an idea or raise funds for a piece they want and you just have to trust the process!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ErikaHewstonTextiles.com
• Instagram: @erika.hewston
• Facebook: /erika.hewston
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikahewston

Image Credits

Erika Hewston