The Crafty Mariana Podcast

Do you want to learn how to turn your crafts into sold-out workshops?
Join the Crafts Workshops Academy — LINK HERE

In this episode of the Crafty Mariana Podcast, Mariana sits down with Pru Raymond, a fiber artist, knitting educator, and author from South Australia. Pru has taught over 200 workshops across Australia and internationally, specializing in technique-based knitting classes that help students level up their skills.

What started as community workshops alongside her full-time teaching career has evolved into a thriving business built on collaboration with yarn stores through her signature "Stackable Knitting Retreat" model. Pru opens up about the leap from educational consultant to full-time creative entrepreneur, the systems that keep her business sustainable, and why she still supplements her income with university teaching - and why that's totally okay.

This conversation dives deep into the reality of building a creative business, the power of venue partnerships over owning a studio, and how to design workshops that create lasting transformation for students. Whether you teach fiber arts or any other craft, Pru's strategic approach to workshop business will give you so much to think about.

What We Cover in This Episode:
✎ Pru's journey from high school teacher to full-time knitting educator
✎ Why she chose to quit her permanent job - and what happened next
✎ The "Stackable Knitting Retreat" model and how B2B partnerships work
✎ Teaching 66 workshops in one year while traveling across Australia
✎ Why venue collaborations are more sustainable than owning a studio
✎ Designing technique-based classes vs. product-based workshops
✎ The reflective practice structure that transforms learning outcomes
✎ How to manage different skill levels in one workshop
✎ Creating a portfolio career: why supplementing income isn't failure
✎ Systems that scale: color-coded calendars, databases, and boundaries
✎ The Yarn Store Passport and building an ecosystem around your craft
✎ Cash flow strategies for workshop teachers (50% deposits FTW)
✎ The magic moment when an entire workshop enters flow state
✎ Why reconnecting with childhood creativity is so powerful
✎ The analog movement and what it means for workshop businesses

Connect with Pru Raymond:

✎ Instagram: CLICK HERE
✎ Website: CLICK HERE
✎ Upcoming workshops & events: CLICK HERE

Resources for Your Workshop Business:

📌 Free Guide: How to Start Your Own Workshop Business
📌 Free Spreadsheet: Figure Out Your Numbers!

Stay Connected with Mariana:

🌎 Website: craftymariana.com
📷 Instagram: @craftymariana
🎨 Facebook Community: Crafting Workshops Community
📩 Get exclusive content, resources, and deals: craftymariana.com/newsletter

Let’s Make This Interactive!

Have questions or topics you’d like me to cover in future episodes? DM me on Instagram or email me at [email protected]!

Do you want to learn how to turn your crafts into sold-out workshops?
Join the Crafts Workshops Academy — LINK HERE

In this episode of The Crafty Mariana Podcast, Mariana sits down with Tyler (aka Dr. Lemco), a Montreal-based creative, entertainer, and founder of Dr. Lemco’s Creative Club. What started as an experiment in hosting art sessions in cafés and bars quickly evolved into a thriving creative community — and now, a brand-new physical studio dedicated to making art, building connection, and having fun.

In this episode of The Crafty Mariana Podcast, Mariana sits down with Tyler (aka Dr. Lemco), a Montreal-based creative, entertainer, and founder of Dr. Lemco’s Creative Club. What started as an experiment in hosting art sessions in cafés and bars quickly evolved into a thriving creative community — and now, a brand-new physical studio dedicated to making art, building connection, and having fun.

Tyler shares the real story behind building a creative business from the ground up: from years working as a content creator and host (including some very unexpected projects!) to deciding it was time to stop building for others and start building something of his own. He opens up about the shift from digital to in-person experiences, the lessons learned from hosting workshops in borrowed spaces, and what it actually took — financially and mentally — to open his own creative studio.

The conversation dives into the realities of creative entrepreneurship: managing energy, building community, pricing experiences, and embracing imperfection while figuring things out along the way. Tyler also shares his philosophy of “figure it out as you go,” and why selling creative experiences — rather than just art — can be a powerful and sustainable business model.

Whether you’re a workshop host, artist, entertainer, or someone dreaming of creating your own creative space, this episode is full of honesty, humour, and practical insight into turning creative passion into a real-world business.

What We Cover in This Episode:

✎ How Tyler went from digital content to in-person creative workshops
✎ The moment he realised live creative experiences were “the thing”
✎ Hosting workshops in cafés and bars vs. having your own studio
✎ Building community through consistent, in-person events
✎ The emotional and logistical realities of opening a creative space
✎ Why selling experiences can be more sustainable than selling art
✎ Learning business skills (and numbers) on the fly
✎ The importance of vibe, energy, and environment in creative events
✎ Managing creative burnout and finding your “sweet spot”
✎ Putting the cart before the horse — and figuring it out as you go
✎ Advice for creatives who want to build something of their own

Connect with Tyler / Dr. Lemco:

✎ Instagram: CLICK HERE
✎ Website / Creative Club: CLICK HERE
✎ Upcoming workshops & events: CLICK HERE

Resources for Your Workshop Business:

📌 Free Guide: How to Start Your Own Workshop Business
📌 Free Spreadsheet: Figure Out Your Numbers!

Stay Connected with Mariana:

🌎 Website: craftymariana.com
📷 Instagram: @craftymariana
🎨 Facebook Community: Crafting Workshops Community
📩 Get exclusive content, resources, and deals: craftymariana.com/newsletter

Let’s Make This Interactive!

Have questions or topics you’d like me to cover in future episodes? DM me on Instagram or email me at [email protected]!

In this solo episode, Mariana reflects on the biggest lessons from 2025 after opening a studio, navigating major health challenges, and rethinking how she runs her workshop business and the Crafts Workshop Academy. She shares three shifts: build for sustainability (not intensity), choose clarity over endless ideas, and remember that workshops are a community business. Plus, a glimpse into 2026: travel, collaboration, hiring support, and expanding Field Notes.

What we cover in this episode

✎ a quick recap of 2025: opening a studio, health challenges, and the reality check that followed
✎ lesson 1: stop building for intensity and build for sustainability
✎ protecting your energy as a real business asset
✎ the peru reset: what shifted after time offline and away from the noise
✎ lesson 2: clarity is more valuable than ideas
✎ the shadow side of always seeing how things could be better (and how it affects satisfaction)
✎ lesson 3: a workshop business is a community business
✎ why people don’t just buy a craft, they buy a feeling
✎ what to expect in 2026: systems, hiring, collaboration, and travel starting July
✎ Field Notes: the vision for documenting and analyzing workshops around the world
✎ a life-first reflection: what do you actually want your life to look and feel like?

Mentioned in this episode

✎ a related episode on the “two lanes” of workshop businesses (community-first vs experience-first) [episode like here]
✎ sign-up to the Crafts Workshops Community [in this link]
✎ sign-up to the Crafts Workshops Academy [in this link]

Resources for your workshop business

📌 Free Guide: How to Start Your Own Workshop Business [link here]

Stay connected with Mariana

🌎 Website: craftymariana.com
📷 Instagram: @craftymariana
🎨 Facebook Community: Crafting Workshops Community
📩 Exclusive content, resources, and deals: craftymariana.com/newsletter

Let’s make this interactive

Have questions or topics you want covered in future episodes? DM me on Instagram or email [email protected]

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review or share it with a workshop friend. And if something landed for you, send me a message with your biggest takeaway :)

In this episode of the Crafty Mariana Podcast, Mariana sits down with Lucy Dujmovich, artist and founder of Studio Inner West in Sydney. In three years, Lucy has hosted 5,000 plus students, built a team of six, added mobile and corporate bookings, and launched a high-touch six-week program that teaches artists how to run profitable workshops. She shares the real numbers behind opening a studio after lockdown, how she engineered a welcoming beginner experience, and why online education unlocked multiple 40k months in 2025.

Whether you’re testing your first resin class or scaling to corporates and retreats, you’ll love Lucy’s simple systems, distribution-first mindset, and grounded take on growth without burning out.

What We Cover in This Episode
✎ Origin story - art school, small-business jobs, graduating into lockdown, and choosing to invest in a studio
✎ Naming and location for SEO - why “Studio Inner West” helps people find you
✎ First hits - resin homewares as a fresh alternative to paint-and-sip fatigue
✎ Safety and materials - choosing low-fume, food-safe resins and teaching a proper briefing
✎ Distribution that works - ClassBento for early discovery, platform vs widget fees and when each makes sense
✎ Offer ladder - adding foam clay and punch-needle tufting for lower ticket options
✎ Hiring and capacity - moving from solo to a team of six so weekends are sustainable
✎ Experience design - shelf of examples, signature scent, Pinterest prompts, photos at the end, asking for reviews
✎ Social proof engine - how Lucy passed 700 five-star reviews by making it a step in the flow
✎ Corporates and privates - Google, Canva, Apple, Amazon, banks, and why most deals came inbound
✎ Mobile, festivals, retreats - doubling delivery without a bigger lease and turning trips into paid craft holidays
✎ The numbers - 20k startup cost paid back in 2 months, about 150k in ticket sales year one, multiple 40k months after launching a six-week online program
✎ Mentors, SEO, ads - the marketing stack that leveled up year two and beyond
✎ Admin realities - bookkeeping, invoices, and building systems so you still get to teach
✎ Studio footprint - why she’s keeping classes intimate instead of upsizing the lease
✎ Where students get stuck - social media anxiety and what actually moves tickets
✎ One piece of advice - you only need to be a couple of steps ahead and open to questions

Connect with Lucy
✎ Instagram: @studioinnerwest
✎ Website: studioinnerwest.com

Resources for Your Workshop Business

📌 Free Guide: How to Start Your Own Workshop Business

Stay Connected with Mariana

🌎 Website: craftymariana.com
📷 Instagram: @craftymariana
🎨 Facebook Community: Crafting Workshops Community
📩 Exclusive content, resources, and deals: craftymariana.com/newsletter

Let’s Make This Interactive!

Have questions or topics you want covered in future episodes? DM me on Instagram or email [email protected]

In this episode of the Crafty Mariana Podcast, Mariana sits down with Kayla Jagusch, founder of Even Numbers, a Milan-based creative community known for vision boarding nights, “speed-date-in-art,” bag-charm labs, and their lush “linger longer” still-life sessions. What began as a four-person paint night in Kayla’s living room became 60-person gatherings across Milan, Paris, and New York, plus brand collaborations with Dr. Martens & Uniqlo. Kayla shares how she turned a solo move to Italy into a community, why brand activations fund the mission while community events build the soul, and the practicalities of running 4 to 5 events a month, while growing a business, without burning out.

Whether you’re testing your first living-room workshop or mapping a multi-city calendar, you’ll love Kayla’s grounded business model, host-with-heart philosophy, and portable-format tips!

What We Cover in This Episode
✎ Kayla’s origin story: New Jersey to FIT textile design, luxury fashion, Milan, and the first living-room workshop
✎ Naming “Even Numbers”: the triplet backstory and designing for balance and belonging
✎ From 4 seats to 60: taking people from online to offline and building trust in a new city
✎ Signature formats: vision boards, bag charms, “speed-date-in-art,” Creatives Connect, and “linger longer” still-life
✎ Business model that works: brand activations, team and private events, community nights
✎ Capacity and energy: why 4 to 5 workshops per month is a healthy ceiling for a hands-on host
✎ Multi-city operations: Milan, Paris, New York, venue scouting with local allies, research on Instagram
✎ Travel logistics: choosing light, modular projects and reusing materials across dates
✎ Pricing realities: smaller European spaces, seat caps, and why community nights aren’t the breadwinner
✎ Creative practice vs operations: guiding not grading, keeping personal art alive in small daily ways
✎ Momentum moments: iBlues in-store lab, Uniqlo launch, Dr. Martens activation, 400-person weekend
✎ Near-term vision: 3-month planning cadence, launching a membership, building a small team, dreaming of a dedicated space
✎ Industry trends: the offline connection wave, differentiation through hosting style and communication

Connect with Kayla
✎ Instagram: @kaylajag • @evennumbers.milano
✎ Website: evennumbers.art
✎ Even Numbers Substack: evennumbers.substack.com

Resources for Your Workshop Business

📌 Free Guide: How to Start Your Own Workshop Business

Stay Connected with Mariana

🌎 Website: craftymariana.com
📷 Instagram: @craftymariana
🎨 Facebook Community: Crafting Workshops Community
📩 Exclusive content, resources, and deals: craftymariana.com/newsletter

Let’s Make This Interactive!

Have questions or topics you want covered in future episodes? DM me on Instagram or email [email protected]