The Story so Far
Craft+Work began as a one-off deliberately small event for the people building, leading, and shaping the Shopify Partner world — and those who orbit it. After six events across three countries we expanded by adding a podcast and regular newsletter to the roster. Here's a short history of what we've been up to.
London 2023
Friday 30th June 2023 @ The citizenM, Tower Hill
The inaugural Craft+Work event took place on Friday, June 30th, 2023, at the Tower Hill citizenM in London. Attendees, including agency founders, app developers, experts, and consultants, joined us for a focused day of discussion and peer learning.
We set out to create an intimate, one-day event for leaders and experts from the Shopify Partner ecosystem to exchange insights on building better businesses. With a cap of 40 attendees, we were pleased to see it go beyond our expectations. Six insightful presenters, an engaged audience, a great venue, and excellent food and drink made it a really successful day.
Our guest presenters were Gavin Ballard, Jenny McMillen, Kendra Futcher, Rosie Hawkins, Ryan Atkins, and Tim Richardson
Illustrator and animator Chris Day captured the day's energy by live sketching on large "party bags," which became a real talking point. After six intense sessions, the heat was literally rising from his Posca pen!
London 2024
Friday 31st May 2024 @ The citizenM, Tower Hill
We decided to build on the success of our first event and returned to the citizenM on Friday, May 31st, 2024.
This time, we numbered fifty, including soloists, founders, and leaders working in ecommerce, app development, marketing, and content creation, primarily within the Shopify ecosystem. They came to listen, share, and learn—and the day delivered.
We also introduced a new group element to the day called "Conversation Stations" which everyone seemed to enjoy.
Our guest presenters were Tim Richardson, Ellen Donnelly, Faye Oakenfull, Elliot Jay Stocks, and Piers Thorogood. Talks covered everything from planned and unplanned career paths to goal setting, being terrible at marketing, and team culture — the kind of honest stories that make Craft+Work what it is.
New York City 2024
Monday 16th September 2024 @ Workhouse NYC
After much encouragement from friends and former colleagues, we took the plunge and booked two venues for our first overseas events — starting with New York City.
Workhouse proved to be the perfect venue, allowing our group of thirty to share, listen, and converse with ease. Sadly, neither Craig nor I followed the "get lots of photos" rule, so the gallery is a bit sparse — we were too engrossed in the conversations to remember!
Our presenters brought perspectives from across the Shopify Partner world — from agency life and creative direction to building long-term client relationships and staying adaptable in an ever-changing industry. Each session delivered practical insights, honest reflections, and plenty of shared laughter along the way.
We were joined by Arianne Foulks, Galen King, and Ross Beyeler.
After wrapping up the day with more great conversations at an Irish pub across the street, we gathered our thoughts and headed to Penn Station for our 13-hour trek to Toronto!
Toronto 2024
Friday 20th September 2024 @ The Drake Hotel
Two events in two countries in one week felt ambitious, but we were up for the challenge. This was put to the test when our friends at Partner Meetup and Toronto's ECC chapter added two more events to our dance card the day before our Toronto gathering.
Fortunately, we made it through Thursday's events and were ready for our first Canadian edition. The Underground at the Drake Hotel served as our venue for the day. After adjusting to a suitable level of coolness (the AC, not the people!), we got started. Oh, we also learned our lesson and captured more of the day on our occasionally wobbly iPhones!
The morning kicked off with our guest presenters. After lunch, we reintroduced the "Conversation Stations" alongside questions from the audience and my expertly coded random question generator, which sparked engaging conversations and valuable insights.
Our three invites presenters were Blair Beckwith, Jess Chan, and Trudy MacNabb. Their topics included product insights, lessons learned from leaving a unicorn company, and leadership development.
We wrapped up the day with a Happy Hour featuring cocktails, cheeses, and small meats!
London 2025
Friday 26th September 2025 @ Wallacespace, Clerkenwell
We returned to London with a fresh approach and a new venue overlooking Clerkenwell. Thankfully the verbose coffee machine from our first two London events was nowhere to be seen and we welcomed 40 folks for our fifth edition.
Sadly, two of the four presenters we had lined up had to pull out a few days before (for very valid reasons) so massive thanks is owed to Louise who pulled together a great session on marketing with hours to spare. Our other two guest prestenters were Dan Conboy, and Tim Richardson.
We wrapped up the day with a few cold drinks at the local hostelry — all in all a great day!
Big thanks to Marc and Glenn who captured the day in photo and sketch form. You can view Marc's full gallery on his website.
Toronto 2025
Tuesday 22nd October 2025 @ The Drake Hotel
We returned to Toronto for our second edition at The Drake — familiar surroundings with a few thoughtful tweaks to the day. The conversations flowed, the food delivered, and it was a pleasure to bring together another group of founders, marketers, and operators from across the Shopify Partner world.
Our guest presenters Mac King, Diana Birsan, and Rhian Beutler shared smart, generous insights drawn from their own journeys. Topics included 10 insights from moving from Partner Manager to CRO, the power of being a generalist, and making mistakes and moving forward.
As ever, it was great to be back in Canada. Thanks to everyone who joined us for another day of good conversation, great company, and a little inspiration to take back home.
Let's see where 2026 takes us!