Crafty Carol Smith lives by the motto, "busy hands, happy heart!"

Originally in real estate, Carol enjoyed unwinding after a hard day's work with her favorite evening hobby, painting stained glass. But in her wildest dreams, she never imagined that she could make a career of it! On a whim, she sent photos to the glass paint manufacturer, Plaid Enterprises. They were so taken with her designs that she was hired full-time. Today, Carol is the company's vice-president of media marketing. She has made scores of TV appearances, including numerous visits to The Shopping Channel. Carol has become a cherished guest, offering viewers the opportunity to make exciting crafts which not only add to your home or office decor, but also provide stress relief, entertainment and, most importantly, a sense of accomplishment.

Shop Talk with Carol Smith

Leaving crafty Carol Smith's dressing room, I couldn't get the Flashdance tune "She's a Maniac!" out of my head. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't because she was a horrible chatter (nothing could be further from the truth) or because I had watched Jennifer Beals strut her stuff in legwarmers the night before. It's because the Southern belle's last words, as I was getting my notes together, were: "I would be a maniac, a maniac without crafting!"

"It is such a stress reliever," Carol said in her sweet Southern drawl. "I'm such a worrier by nature, but as long as I have my one of my craft kits, I don't mind if my plane is delayed. Without crafts, I'd be 500 pounds and a binge eater. I have an addictive personality. I'm addicted to crafts, but it's a vice you don't have to give up!"

How did you get involved in the world of crafts?
I majored in home economics in college, so I became a teacher. I taught applied arts, which is really crafts. So, I got really interested in that. But my mother sewed for the public. Growing up I had two little sisters, so I always played the teacher and we were always doing crafts for entertainment. I was always babysitting because my mother had to sew. It's just in my blood. I've done it forever. After I quit teaching home economics, I got a job in an employment agency and then I sold real estate for a while. Through real estate, I got very interested in home decorating. To make extra money, I started selling my crafts. I would make stained glass pieces and take them to crafts fairs in the Ozark mountains. The crafts fairs are very successful there. They will have 200,000 visitors come through the convention in October. I would sell both painted glass and stained glass. The latter was too expensive and nobody wanted it. Once I did the painted glass and compared it to stained glass in the window, I didn't notice much of a difference. Painted glass was so much faster and easier to use, so I really got into it.

How did you make a career of it?
As a single mom, I needed to find a way to support my child. So I sent a resume to Plaid, who was the manufacturer of the glass paint that I used, and they hired me and moved me to Georgia 20 years ago. I eventually became a project manager. I developed the window paint, which we sell on The Shopping Channel. I've been obsessed with glass paint for 20 years. I can't get enough. As long as I'm alive, I'll continue to have ideas for Gallery Glass. Alternative window treatment is such a big area. Every home has 10-30 windows and you have to cover them. So it's a very practical product.

How important is it for people to have hobbies?
It is so important. It is the whole principle by which I live my life. I call it productive leisure. It's the secret to happiness! People that get depressed have a job, but when they get home they have nothing to do that is productive and fun. Crafts are something to build up your self-esteem. They let you blow off steam. There is so much therapy in working with your hands. That's why wood workers and seamstresses are some of the most satisfied people around. I learned a phrase in psychology that says 'our hands express our feelings'. So we can work out frustration that way.

Do you have to be artistic to use your kit?
Crafters are not normally artistic because they are imitating something that somebody else created. For instance, Donna Dewberry . Most of the people who use the One Stroke painting method can't think up flowers on their own, but they'll spend a lifetime imitating the ones that Donna has created. Even though people aren't creating the flowers, they get the same satisfaction in replicating them that Donna gets in creating them. Plaid features kits that require no talent. All our kits are super engineered. We have an artist that we hire to come up with a method and then we, who are not creative, say 'OK Donna, but not everybody can do that! Make it simpler for us. Break it down.' So we come up with ways to learn things that are very complicated and may have taken her a lifetime to learn, but when we get through with her, she can teach her technique in a matter of two hours.

Are you a crafter or an artist?
Oh, I'm definitely a crafter. I am not creative. I can't draw a box. But given a pattern or a colour range, I can work magic. That's not to say that crafters have no talent. I believe that every person has talent, but it's been developed to a lesser or greater degree. We do have talent for adapting an idea and fitting it into our surroundings. We also know what we don't like. We can look at the work of 100 artists and only pick out one that we identify with. And so you will chose to imitate the artist that you identify with and then you will change or adapt it to your environment in a very creative way. Yet most of us feel that we aren't creative and we shy away from being called that term. When people say 'Oh Carol, you are so talented,' I'm like 'No I'm not!' Not like Donna! So when I compare myself to her, I'm not artistic at all. But put me in a room with 9 year olds and they think I'm the greatest artist they've ever seen. In their minds, I'm brilliant.

Do you have any personal favorite craft?
I never met a craft I didn't like. There are some things that I will do multiple times. There are some things I will do out of curiosity. I want to try them all. I love my job. Every kit that I've brought to The Shopping Channel, I have created. And I sign off on them. They have to be valuable and meaningful. We don't carelessly lump kits together. We always give value and variety. The technique is fully described and the instructions are in colour. We don't do black and white pattern sheets. The most important thing about ordering a kit is that it will be more than what you thought it would be. The reason why our return rate is so low is because people get more than they thought they were getting.

Is there any craft you can't do?
No. I love a challenge. Probably the one craft that I'm least good at is painting. Donna thankfully has changed that for me. I have a lot less patience for blending colours. When Donna came along, she was heaven sent to me. I've taken her course and I can paint anything that she can paint. I can paint it to suit me, but not necessarily her.

What do you like to do when you aren't crafting?
Well I have a new grandbaby. I have just recently devoted the rest of my life to her. I like to play the piano. I love music, singing and teaching. I love home decorating and gardening. My dad was a farmer, so I'm happiest being out in the yard.

Are you going to start crocheting and knitting for the baby?
Actually, knitting is something I'm not crazy about. We did quilt the baby's layette. I'm so glad we're almost finished. We are photographing her finished room for Romantic Home Magazine. It had to be special.

What can we look forward to?
I can hardly wait to do my next new kit. We have so many on the development list. We never run out of ideas. Donna will be coming on the 21st of May with a brand new bakeable glass kit. She's never done any paint that you can bake. At her last craft show it sold like crazy, so she's very excited about it. As for me, I will have a new kit called Jewel Lites. It's frameable art. It's a very advanced technique of blending colours. The paint is thinner and you apply it with an eyedropper.

Do you notice any differences between your Canadian and American customers?
Canadians are so much nicer. In America we have so much to choose from in craft stores. We're spoilt in America. If it doesn't razzle dazzle with bells and whistles, it's not enough. Canadian women spend much more time doing crafts. Their talent is much more developed. I was blown away when we did the anniversary book. Canadian women sent in pictures of their crafts and I was amazed. I live in an ivory tower. I rarely get to see the customer's work. So when I saw the book, I was really impressed. There was such an outpouring of talent.

I've been renovating my home and want to include Gallery Glass in my plans. I have two sets of French doors. I also have a door between the dining room and kitchen. How many kits would I need to do these doors? Would I be better off getting a mixture of kits and refill kits?
With Gallery Glass, they are better off getting one kit with the design they like and then buy the refills. Most of the time, you'll only need one colour, so that's where the refill kit comes in handy. It's much more expensive to buy at a store! At The Shopping Channel, we give you the bulk features, so you save a lot of money.

Will you be bringing more needlework kits?
Yes, we are hoping to bring more in July. We will bring back the felt and other kits. We have a beautiful new line of beaded ornaments and beaded felt for fall, which is stunning.