What's it all About?
Craft+Work began as a one-off gathering of Shopify Partners — the people building, leading, and shaping the ecosystem from the inside. What started as a small experiment quickly became something worth continuing.
Since our first event in London in June 2023, we've hosted a further five editions in London, New York and Toronto. Each event brought together around fifty curious, like-minded people to share experiences, spark ideas, and talk honestly about what it takes to run and grow a business today.
Over time, Craft+Work has attracted not just Shopify Partners but also founders, makers, and leaders from creative and digital businesses who share the same curiosity and appetite for open, honest conversation. Alongside our annual events in 2026, we're launching a new podcast and a regular newsletter to keep those conversations, and connections, going between events.
How it Began
Like most good ideas, Craft+Work began with a conversation. Two friends, Keir Whitaker and Craig Cooper, talking about how the online business world had become a little too loud. Everywhere you looked, someone was selling the “right” way to succeed. The truth, of course, is that there isn't one.
Craft+Work was born as a reaction to that noise — a belief that what works today probably won't work tomorrow, and that the best way to learn is through honest, open conversations with people actually doing the work.
So we started small. Fifty people in a room, good food, open discussion, and a shared sense that something was missing from the usual conference circuit. No stages or slide decks. No sponsors shouting from the sidelines. Just people talking honestly about how they build, grow, and keep going.
What to Expect
Craft+Work was created as a reaction to the noise — the endless advice threads, hot takes, and $99 courses promising the "right" way to build a business. We think the real lessons come from honest, open conversations between people actually doing the work.
Each event is a full-day, fully catered gathering built around that idea. Around fifty founders, soloists, and leaders come together to share what's worked, what hasn't, and what they've learned along the way.
It's relaxed, social, and thoughtfully put together — more like a day of meaningful conversations than a conference. Expect good food, honest talk, and practical insights drawn from experience, not theory.
- Conversations — open discussions about the realities of running and growing a business.
- Guest Sessions — short, personal talks from founders and operators who've been there.
- Group Workshops — collaborative sessions exploring shared challenges and opportunities.
- Food & Drink — a proper breakfast, a great lunch, snacks, and all-day coffee and refreshments.
Who It's For
Craft+Work was created for soloists, founders, and leaders in the Shopify Partner ecosystem, and has grown to include the wider digital and creative community that supports and works with Shopify Partners.
Whether you're running a growing team, building an app, or figuring things out solo, you'll find others navigating similar paths. It's a space to compare notes, swap stories, and connect with people who understand the ups, downs, and in-betweens of building something of your own.
Guiding Principles
Craft+Work is built around the simple idea that there's no magic playbook for building a good business. We're here for the real stuff. The messy middle, the hard choices, and the small wins that add up. We learn from people doing the work, stay curious, and build businesses that actually fit our lives (not the other way around).
To that end, these are the principles that guide everything we do:
- There is no single recipe — What works for one business won't work for another. What worked yesterday might not work tomorrow. We reject formulas and embrace the mess.
- The struggle is part of the craft — Building a business is hard. We don't pretend otherwise. Growth comes from wrestling with real problems, not from following someone else's playbook.
- We learn from each other, not from gurus — The best insights come from people doing the work, not from those who've made a career of telling others how to do it.
- Your business should fit your life — Not the other way around. We're building houses we want to live in, not empires we'll resent.
- Small is intentional — Intimacy over scale. Depth over reach. Fifty people in a room beats five hundred every time.
- Show up as yourself — No posturing, no highlight reels. We talk honestly about what's working, what isn't, and what we're still figuring out.
- Stay curious — The moment you think you've got it figured out is the moment you stop learning.