Happy New Year! Here's to another year of progress for the cottage food industry!

Some highlights from 2016 include:

• Three new cottage food laws (Delaware, Idaho, Oregon)
• Three amendments to cottage food laws (Colorado, Illinois, Ohio)
• A lawsuit in Wisconsin to challenge their ban on baked goods

In 2017, I'll be keeping tabs on Connecticut and New Jersey, as they are both closer than ever to ending their long battles to get a cottage food law implemented.

Keeping Forrager Online

I spent most of yesterday fixing yet another website crash that had Forrager down for hours. Unfortunately, as the cottage food industry gets more popular, Forrager's low-cost web infrastructure isn't well-equipped to handle the load.

To be completely transparent, Forrager's income for 2016 (~$1,000) does not allow me to upgrade the technology that runs the website. But I know that is my problem, not yours!

I have come up with a plan that will hopefully be mutually beneficial for both you and Forrager.

If we can generate an extra $500 through this effort, I can upgrade Forrager's infrastructure, which will make it faster and more reliable for everyone.

How You Can Help

Would you like to learn how professionals decorate cakes or cookies? Or learn the perfect technique to baking bread in a home oven? Or learn how to take better photos of food items?

Craftsy is a popular website that helps bakers and makers improve their skills. All of their online courses are high-quality and are instructed by top-notch experts. I am very impressed with their offerings... many of their courses are phenomenal!

THIS WEEKEND ONLY, Craftsy is doing a BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE SALE. Courses typically cost from $20 to $40. The sale ends Sunday.

And because Forrager has partnered with Craftsy, 75% of your first course purchase will go to Forrager. In other words, no matter which course you buy, you will help Forrager a lot!

To summarize: you can get two great courses for the price of one, AND the majority of your money will go toward helping Forrager stay fast and accessible. That's a win-win, right?

Craftsy Courses

I've taken the time to look through the 200+ Craftsy courses that relate to the cottage food industry. By reading reviews, I found some of the best available. Click on the links below to learn more and watch a preview video about the course.

Not interested in a baking/decorating course? Craftsy has many other types of courses available, like photography classes.

Cakes

Clean & Simple Cake Design, by Jessica Harris ($30 - 4.9 stars - 218 reviews)

The Perfect Cupcake, by Jennifer Shea ($40 - 4.9 stars - 248 reviews)

The Ultimate Cake-Baking Toolbox, by James Rosselle ($25 - 5 stars - 20 reviews)

How to Start Your Cake Business, by Michelle Green ($30 - 4.5 stars - 13 reviews)

Building Your Business: Decorate for Success, by Chrissie Boon ($30 - 5 stars - 13 reviews)

Cookies & Pastries

Decorating Essentials: Designer Cookies, by Autumn Carpenter ($30 - 4.9 stars - 158 reviews)

Miniature French Desserts: Macarons, Madeleines & More, by Colette Christian ($25 - 4.9 stars - 83 reviews)

Perfecting the Pie Crust, by Evan Kleiman ($20 - 4.8 stars - 58 reviews)

French Pastry Shop Classics, by Colette Christian ($25 - 5 stars - 86 reviews)

Classic Croissants at Home, by Colette Christian ($20 - 5 stars - 123 reviews)

Bread

Artisan Bread Making, by Peter Reinhart ($20 - 4.9 stars - 222 reviews)

Essentials of Bread Baking, by Amber Eisler ($30 - 5 stars - 12 reviews)

Simple to Sensational Doughnuts, by Jenny McCoy ($40 - 5 stars - 14 reviews)

Bake Your Own Bagels, Bialys & Pretzels, by Sim Cass ($25 - 5 stars - 9 reviews)

Other

Jam & Marmalade, by Rachel Saunders ($25 - 4.8 stars - 52 reviews)

Homemade Chocolate Candy: Fudge, Bars & More, by Elizabeth LaBau ($40 - 5 stars - 5 reviews)

Homemade Salty Snacks, by Cynthia Nims ($30 - 4.5 stars - 13 reviews)

Still Not Sure? Try A Free Course First

Craftsy has a few courses that are completely free. You can try one out before purchasing a paid course:

Modern Buttercream, by Joshua John Russell (4.8 stars - 1,230 reviews)

The Wilton Method: Creative Cake Pops, by Valerie Pradhan (4.7 stars - 449 reviews)

Basic Fondant Techniques, by Elisa Strauss (4.8 stars - 439 reviews)

The Details

Again, the sale is this weekend only.

To get a second course for free:

1. Place two courses in your cart on Craftsy
2. Apply the promo code "BOGOJAN17" at checkout
3. Complete the checkout process before 11:59pm on Sunday, January 15th

By the end of the weekend, hopefully both you and Forrager will be better equipped to tackle 2017!

Thanks for your support of Forrager, in whatever form it takes!

David

P.S. - Don't have the time to take the courses this weekend? That's no problem... once you buy a Craftsy course, it's yours forever. To get your free extra course, you just need to complete your purchase before 11:59pm MT on Sunday.