502 - Will Hanke - Hire People Smarter Than You
Sew Much More
Will Hanke has two passions: supporting our US veterans and helping window treatment and awning businesses tell their story online – providing them with increased exposure, more customers, and higher revenues. For over twenty-seven years he has helped mom & pops, startups, and multi-million dollar companies with their digital marketing strategies. Will hosts monthly online training events and has spoken at conferences across the US on a wide variety of topics from analytics to lead generation through his company, Window Treatment Marketing Pros. Will teaches and helps these business...
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501 - Opportunity Thinking Series with Riana LeJeune
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Riana LeJeune is an award-winning upholsterer, entrepreneur, and founder of , a nationally recognized workroom known for preserving craftsmanship while pushing the industry forward. With over a decade in the skilled trades, Riana has built one of the country’s first registered upholstery apprenticeship programs and is passionate about elevating artisan work through education, sustainability, and fair pricing. She’s also the founder of Renewabl, a tech platform helping furniture professionals visualize design, close sales with confidence, and build more profitable businesses. Riana...
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500 - Time to Celebrate 500 Episodes!!
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Thank you so much for being on this journey with me! Links and Resources;
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499 - Meet the Jersey Girls!
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What a fun podcast this was to record! Thanks to the Jersey Girls for taking time to chat with me! Irene Hurley Designs Instagram: @irenehurleydesigns Interior Couture for Cottage and Castle Irene Hurley Designs is a boutique design and sewing studio offering custom window coverings, interior accessories, and artisan quilts. Sue Berry - Designer and fabricator in business for 13 years Sew Stylish Designs Llc Diana Nolan Diana Nolan Custom windows LLC Instagram @dianadnolan Diana is a drapery workroom both retail and to the trade for 25 years in southern New Jersey....
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498 - Happy New Year 2026!
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Links and Resources; (Some of the links I provide, specifically to Amazon and a few others, require me to let you know that if you use those links and make a purchase, I will make some money. I won't make a million dollars, but I might be able to get a cup of coffee, so thank you!) If the Sew Much More Podcast has played a role in your journey in any way, I hope you’ll consider participating. Here are the three questions: What changed for you after listening to, or being on, the Sew Much More Podcast? That change might have been practical—or it might...
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497 - Listener Favorite - Kelly Nanney
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If the Sew Much More Podcast has played a role in your journey in any way, I hope you’ll consider participating. Here are the three questions: What changed for you after listening to, or being on, the Sew Much More Podcast? That change might have been practical—or it might have been internal. Second: What challenge were you facing at the time, and where are you now? That challenge might still be ongoing, or it might be something you’ve moved through. And third: What one idea or moment stayed with you longer than you expected? Sometimes it’s the smallest insight or someone says...
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496 - Year End Wrap Up with Michele Williams
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495 - Please Help Me Celebrate an Important Milestone
Sew Much More
If the Sew Much More Podcast has played a role in your journey in any way, I hope you’ll consider participating. Here are the three questions: What changed for you after listening to, or being on, the Sew Much More Podcast? That change might have been practical—or it might have been internal. Second: What challenge were you facing at the time, and where are you now? That challenge might still be ongoing, or it might be something you’ve moved through. And third: What one idea or moment stayed with you longer than you expected? Sometimes it’s the smallest insight or someone says things a...
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494 - Mandy Szigethy - I Like To Come Up With Solutions
Sew Much More
Mandy Szigethy discovered upholstery while completing her Theater Technology degree at Indiana University and decided to forsake the stage in favor of the workshop. She has had the unique opportunity to work in both furniture manufacturing at Beachley Furniture and now custom upholstery as the owner of in Portland. She has received training in both modern materials and traditional methods through Upholstery Education and is now able to apply time tested techniques to all of her projects. Her love of learning lead to her to co-ownership of Upholstery Education in 2025 where...
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493 - Follow Up Podcast with Jonathan Bennett - I Do What I Do And Hope For the Best
Sew Much More
Jonathan Bennet, owner of Unsprung Upholstery is originally from Martinsville, VA. He caught the sewing bug from his great grandmother at a young age. He moved to Richmond, VA on a whim in August of 1989 and earned a BFA in Fashion Design from Virginia Commonwealth University. Directly after graduation, Jonathan taught in the Fashion Design department as an adjunct professor for 13 years. He started his first workroom job in 1997, learned how to make various types of window treatments, cushions, pillows, and more; since then, he has done freelance workroom client projects in...
info_outlineIn 1999 Jes and Wes were on a quest to work for themselves and have more control over their own time. That's when they created Crown Upholstery. After 25 years they have definitely worked, but they have yet to gain much control over their time. Jesica is the 5th generation in her family to be enticed by the upholstery lifestyle. Growing up in her grandparents shop, in Glendale Arizona, she witnessed first hand the freedoms upholstery had to offer as well as the hard work one has to put in to be successful in this craft. Wes was raised in Maryland and had never known upholstery to be anything other than something you did to the interiors of cars. The sirens of upholstery began to sing to him on a visit to Jesica's grandparents house. He saw their home based shop and the countless processes that go into this craft and quickly fell in love. Having a background in auto mechanics he was already primed for the problem solving journey that upholstery provides. He took a few classes taught by Jesica's grandfather, Frank, and then began his apprenticeship with him after Frank saw the enthusiasm and attention to detail Wes had. Within a few years of walking into an upholstery shop for the first time, Wes was starting his own. It began in a tiny one car garage that shared space with laundry machines, holiday decorations and lawn equipment but it did the job. Jesica had experience in accounting and she's much better at organization and management of things so that made the decision of who would be boss really easy. They moved across country a couple of times searching for a place to settle down and eventually landed in east Tennessee. In the 17 years living and working in Knoxville they have established a reputation for quality upholstery and excellent customer service. For the majority of their upholstery career they have been a home based business. In 2018 they purchased their first commercial space. A 1920's grocery store with an apartment above. They were officially a business based home. Within a few years, and after hiring another upholsterer Crown Upholstery was ready for more growth. Jesica found and purchased another building in the same neighborhood. This allowed them to bring on another full-time upholsterer. Jesica was now coordinating the schedules of 3 upholsterers along with everything else that goes into running a business. They still live above the old upholstery shop but it is now a Hair salon that Jesica manages as well. There's a reason she won Knoxville's Women owned business of the year 2024. Even when they aren't working together they still enjoy spending time together. Whether it's camping, sifting through junks shops or riding bikes. They are rarely seen very far apart.