Deanne Bland - Kinfolk Crafts, www.kinfolkcrafts.com & Craft-e-Site™, www.craftesite.com
A little about me:
I belong to a family of very creative and talented people. My aunts, my mom and my cousins all have unique gifts. My mom likes to work with ceramics and wood, my aunt and cousin 
make beautiful dried floral arrangements, and another cousin makes jewelry. Although they are all very talented, when it comes to using the computer, I have a hard time just getting them online!
So, I created Kinfolk Crafts to help them sell their crafts online. After I made it, I realized that there were many other crafters just like them that needed a little extra help, and so I opened it up to everyone. We were one of the very first Online Craft Malls on the Internet. If you’ve been a regular visitor to Kinfolk Crafts, you may have noticed that our content and design has changed quite frequently. This is due to the fact that I get bored very easily. I am always looking for new and exciting information and technology to feature on Kinfolk Crafts, and hopefully keep the content fresh and exciting for you as well.
I operate my business full-time from my home office and I love it! I am able to take my three boys to school in the morning and be there when they get home. I can also take my business on the road with me if I need to. The freedom this business offers me is a great blessing.
More about the business:
I started Kinfolk Crafts in September of 2000 when I had 2 small boys and a 6 month old infant at home. It was the outlet I needed to the adult world at the time. I really wanted to help all the crafters who put their trust in me to succeed, so I spent considerable time (and money) promoting the site. I was thrilled to see my traffic ranking increase steadily every year. Now Kinfolk Crafts receives over 45,000 unique visitors every month and receives a top search engine ranking for many craft related keywords! I didn’t make any money the first few years, in fact, I actually went in the hole. But I stayed with it and didn’t give up. I won’t be retiring any time soon, and I still have many great ideas I want to implement, but I am very satisfied with the progress Kinfolk Crafts has made. The best part is seeing so many long time advertisers grow their business over the years. I like to think we had a part in that.
I recently opened up a new sister site to Kinfolk Crafts called “Craft-e-Site™” at www.craftesite.com where I offer my most popular web design packages. And I also offer free web site promotion techniques in my new Step by Step guide at: http://www.kinfolkcrafts.com/promote.htm.
I am so thankful to all the people who have helped make Kinfolk Crafts a success, especially Trina Clark and the other talented graphic artists that allow me to use and offer their work. A special thanks to Trina Clark for her generosity and giving spirit.
