Natalie Chanin, Karen Templer: Creative Entrepreneurs

Two smart women make me realize how valuable it is when women let the truth fly.

The audio links below feature two of the more intensely creative people I know: Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin and Karen Templer of Fringe Supply Co. Each has built a company out of a deep need to create. In these pieces, you will hear how their choices came after a long time in other demanding careers. It is a tricky combination, commerce and creativity, and the two forces often duke it out.

Natalie Chanin’s “200 One-of-a-Kind Shirts” from The Moth.

Karen Templer talks with Elizabeth Duvivier of Squam Art Workshops.

It’s a constant push and pull, the decision whether to follow a creative dream. I like how quietly resilient these women are. Persistent, focused, clear eyed, decisive—all these. I like also that they make cool stuff for us to love. They make it look so easy, yet when you hear them talk, and you know there’s so much else going on under the surface, it makes the work they do all the more precious.

Excellent listening while knitting.