May 16th 2006:www.katiebeane.com

1 Are craft stores evil? I don't think any place that inspires you can be evil. Sometimes, I just wander around looking at different things, thinking "How could I use that?". The only things that bug me are "kits" - here is all the fabric, all the hardware...now make this bag. Where is the creativity in that?

2 At what age did you become a crafter? Well, if you count the toilet paper dresses I made for my Barbies, I would say 5 or 6. They weren't durable, but I could certainly recycle them!!

3 What made you want to open up a online store? I had sold a lot of bags locally, but I live in a very small town. I really wanted to offer my bags on a broader scale. And, I thought it was exciting that people I had never met, in places I had never been, would be carrying around one of my bags. Plus, it was something new to learn, and I love learning.

4 Have you done any craft faires? One, but not with my bags. I sell my bags locally through home parties, and online. I have three really young children, so that doesn't leave me enough time to produce the bags for the site, and create an inventory for a show. Plus, I'm really about the "design your own" thing, and that isn't that well suited for a craft fair.

5 What advice would you give to people that want to start a online store? That it's not a "if you build it, they wil come" kind of thing. It's a lot of work, both the actual site, and the marketing. If you don't have the web design skills, invest in having someone else put together your site. You can have an awesome product, but if I can't navigate around, or the site looks unprofessional (with typos, etc) - I'm not going to shop there. On the positive side, it can be really exciting to know that someone somewhere likes your stuff enough to trade their hard-earned money for it!

You can find katiebeane here.katiebeane.comItem to check out .Lisa Hand Bag