The Crafty Mariana Podcast

• from living-room paint nights to brand collabs: building even numbers with Kayla Jagusch founder of Even Numbers

  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]

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• Inner Child, Play, and Sold-Out Workshops with Susan Schwager (Sydney)

  In this episode of the Crafty Mariana Podcast, Mariana sits down with Susan Schwager, the Sydney-based creator behind heart-led inner child workshops that blend craft, connection, and gentle facilitation. After a life-shaking accident in 2023, a family trip to Lapland and Disneyland reawakened Susan’s sense of wonder. Back home, she bottled that feeling into intimate women’s workshops that now sell out and spark real friendships. Susan shares exactly how she ran her first trial at home, pitched her first venue, priced those early tickets, and kept momentum going with simple Instagram boosts and comment-triggered DMs. We dig into the experience design that makes her events feel safe and special — a short inner child meditation, permission-forward facilitation, journaling or foam-board collage with nostalgic stickers and a closing share that helps strangers feel seen. She also opens up about rest, feedback loops, space holding, and the venue evolution from cafe to bookshop to a small white-box gallery that fits her brand and the work. Whether you’re early in your journey or exploring how to bring more soul into creative experiences, you’ll love Susan’s clarity, courage, and practical steps. What We Cover in This Episode ✎ The Disney parade moment that sparked Susan’s mission to honor the inner child ✎ First steps that worked: 5-venue outreach, Eventbrite listing, pricing the very first tickets ✎ Experience design: opening story, short meditation, full permission to play, and a closing share ✎ The craft formats: joy journals or foam core boards with stickers, trinkets, and hot glue ✎ Safety and space holding: why one man with a camera changed her ops approach ✎ The perfectionist sticker problem and how permission dissolves creative fear ✎ Marketing that’s enough: small Instagram boosts, “comment a word” CTAs, 3-week promo cycles ✎ Venues that match the vibe: cafe to bookshop to a small gallery that photographs clean ✎ Fashion crossover: a 21-day dress-up challenge to practice being seen ✎ Retreat vision: partnering with an inner child healer for a 2-night play and healing format ✎ Lessons learned: rest, feedback, icebreakers, and getting comfortable being uncomfortable ✎ CWA takeaways: pricing spreadsheets, costs per head, and the confidence to pitch venues Connect with Susan ✎ Instagram: @susan.schwager ✎ Workshops and tickets: [view 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📩 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]

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• Crafting Community with RecCreate’s Liz Chick: From Solo Dye Projects to a Thriving Creative Studio

  In this episode of the Crafty Mariana Podcast, Mariana sits down with Liz Chick, founder of RecCreate Collective in New York City, a creative hospitality studio known for its club-style events, intentional facilitation, and community-first approach. What began as Liz experimenting with natural dyes in a tiny apartment became a beautiful, one-of-a-kind studio space and a growing team hosting 15–20 events a month. Liz shares the real story behind finding and securing the studio, building early momentum with collage mornings, and evolving into RecCreate’s signature “club” format that blends guided structure with open creative play. We dig into experience design elements like opening ceremonies, meditations, conversation prompts, and end-of-night mini galleries that help strangers feel safe, seen, and connected. Liz also opens up about bootstrapping, seasonality, collaborations, team building, and balancing accessibility with profitability through scholarships, community events, and creative pricing models. Whether you’re dreaming of a studio, hosting workshops already, or exploring how to scale without losing soul, you’ll love Liz’s honesty, practicality, and heart. What We Cover in This Episode ✎ Liz’s origin story: from natural dye experiments to landing a dream studio space ✎ The first “collage morning” and how it evolved into RecCreate’s club format ✎ Experience design: opening ceremony, meditation, prompts, inspiration, and gallery share ✎ Scaling with intention: from one-off collabs to repeatable internal programming ✎ Building a small-but-mighty team and the systems that make 15–20 events/month possible ✎ Operations realities: inventory, storage, organization, and studio upkeep ✎ Growth without ads: TikTok to Instagram pipeline, niche NYC “things to do” features, and word of mouth ✎ Private vs public events and how corporate work sustains accessibility ✎ Seasonality truths and using slower months for camps, R&D, and refinement ✎ Numbers mindset: pricing, margins, and why knowing your costs changes everything ✎ Accessibility ecosystem: volunteers, community nights, sponsorships, and scholarships ✎ The future: a “RecCreate ecosystem,” Substack projects, office hours, and finishing what you start Connect with Liz ✎ RecCreate Collective Site✎ @reccreate_collective (Instagram) ✎ Substack: Muse-ing (creative digest) ✎ Creator resources: Craft Employed posts and office hours with Liz 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 📩 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]

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• From Living Room Art Nights to 4 Locations & a Creativity Journal — Meet Tayler Carraway, co-founder of Happy Medium

  In this episode of the Crafty Mariana Podcast, Mariana sits down with Tayler, co-founder of Happy Medium, a one-of-a-kind art experience studio in New York City. What started as a way to reconnect with creativity has grown into a vibrant art café where guests can “order” creative experiences the same way they’d order from a restaurant menu. Tayler opens up about the highs and lows of building a business around creativity—from navigating the challenges of COVID-19, to scaling across locations, to keeping community and customer experience at the heart of it all. The conversation touches on the importance of team building, transparency, and embracing mistakes as part of the journey. Tayler also shares about their creativity journal, designed to help people reignite inspiration, and gives a glimpse into what’s next for Happy Medium. Whether you’re a workshop host, a creative entrepreneur, or someone dreaming of starting your own unique venture, this episode is full of honesty, inspiration, and practical gems. What We Cover in This Episode:✎ The story of creating Happy Medium in NYC✎ Turning the idea of an art café into reality✎ Navigating COVID-19 and shifting focus to connection✎ How community and word-of-mouth fuel growth✎ Overcoming fear of embarrassment and “just doing it”✎ Lessons in managing money, mindset, and mistakes✎ The role of social media in organic growth✎ Launching the Creativity Journal for inspiration seekers✎ Seasonality in business and planning for the ups and downs✎ Advice for aspiring creatives and entrepreneurs Connect with Happy Medium: ✎ Instagram: @gethappymedium✎ Website: happymedium✎ Get the Happy Medium Journal 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]!

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• mid-year check-in/recap: signed a studio lease… then had 3 surgeries & went to the Amazon jungle

  In this episode, I’m sharing something a little more personal — a mid-year reflection on my creative business journey so far in 2025. After signing the lease on my dream studio and planning to scale my workshop business, my health unexpectedly collapsed. What followed was three surgeries, a total pause, and eventually… a trip to the Amazon jungle for a plant-based retreat. 🌿 That time in stillness gave me the clarity I didn’t know I needed — and a new vision for what I’m building now. If you’ve ever questioned whether the path you’re on is your path, or felt pulled between ambition and alignment, this one’s for you. In this episode, I talk about: ✎ The behind-the-scenes of signing a studio lease and crashing straight afterwards ✎ How a cheesemaking friend sparked the idea for my online academy ✎ My Amazon jungle retreat (and what being offline for 3 weeks taught me) ✎ Why I’m moving away from high-volume workshop models ✎ What lights me up most about the Crafts Workshops Academy ✎ How I’m shifting into a season of learning, collaboration, and creating the things I wish existed ✎ Why clarity doesn’t always come from doing more — and what to try instead 📝 Want to go deeper? 📌 Join the Crafts Workshops Academy: craftymariana.com/crafts-workshops-academy 📌 DM me your thoughts or lightbulb moments @craftymariana on Instagram 📌 Join my free community: Crafting Workshops Community on Facebook 📩 Want behind-the-scenes content, resources, and support? Join the newsletter: craftymariana.com/newsletter

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