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Friday 31st May 20249am‐5pm @ citizenM, Tower Hill
On Friday 31st May we headed back to the citizenM, Tower Hill, for the second full-day edition of Craft+Work.
This time, we maxed out Room 9 with 50 people comprising soloists, founders, and leaders working in ecommerce (specifically Shopify), application development, marketing, and content who came to listen, share and learn from each other. The day did not disappoint.
Like last year, we covered a lot of ground, and the topics ranged from AI and marketing to operations and sales. Some themes did emerge:
This year, I invited my good friend and founder of beyond tellerrand Marc Thiele along to take charge of capturing the day with his camera.
Breakfast Chats
Our Patrons Mantle (Left: Josh & Jordan), Zapiet (Centre: Andy & Emili) & Gadget (Right: Mo)
Lunch
Conversation Station Groups
Sharing Ideas
As an experienced event professional, there's nobody better equipped to know which shots to take and when. You can view the full set of photos on Marc's website.
This edition of Craft+Work featured five invited presenters who agreed to come along and share their stories and insights.
Tim Richardson
Given how Tim sees the ecommerce space, particularly the agency world, it was a no-brainer to ask him back to kickstart our day together — naturally, he didn't disappoint.
Tim Richardson
Elliot Jay Stocks
Elliot joined the group to share how his unplanned 20-year "career" of roads, turns, occasional dead ends and many serendipitous encounters has led him to a point where he gets to mostly do projects and work that fulfils at least two of his "F's"!
Elliot Jay Stocks
Ellen Donnelly
Ellen shared her entrepreneurial story about building her coaching business, The Ask. In contrast to Elliot, she definitely had a plan and explained how she uses game theory to help her work towards her goals. In a surprising twist, she also had a few F's to share! Oh, she's also adamant that she doesn't want to move back to Leamington Spa!
Ellen Donnelly
Faye Oakenfull
There are "journeys", and then there's Faye's journey. A born entrepreneur who recently concluded that employment is much more suited to her, Faye shared how her side hustles, online stores, and consultancy business have informed her marketing career.
Faye Oakenfull
Piers Thorogood
To round out the presentations, Piers charted how the culture at the agency he founded morphed and changed from two mates working in a back bedroom to the business's eventual sale to a global tech company. It was an open and honest talk in which he shared things that went well, inflexion points he may have missed, and what he would do differently if he ever founds another company.
Piers Thorogood/p>
Craft+Work events are made possible by the generous support of our Patrons. Please take a moment to learn more about them and their products and services.
global Patron
The fastest way to build and run web apps. Gadget is a full-stack, serverless JavaScript platform for web app developers who want to build faster and maintain less.
gadget.dev →
global Patron
Spend less time managing your Shopify app business and more time growing it.
heymantle.com →
global Patron
A reliable invoicing solution that scales with you. Trusted by over 6,000 leading Shopify merchants.
sufio.com →
global Patron
Discover the power of 24/7 customer support tailored exclusively for Shopify app developers.
thesupportheroes.com →
global Patron
Accelerate your growth with AI-driven customer service! Convert more leads, provide stellar support, and supercharge your revenue.
tidio.com →
global Patron
We develop the most advanced store pickup, delivery and shipping tools for Shopify.
zapiet.com →
event Patron / London / NYC / Toronto
The affordable single-track event where creativity and technology meet. Taking place in Düsseldorf and Berlin in a renowned, familiar and friendly atmosphere.
beyondtellerrand.com →
event Patron / London / NYC / Toronto
Used by thousands of Shopify merchants to deliver post-purchase & onsite multi-question surveys, providing valuable attribution data and sentiments about their products and services.
apps.shopify.com/grapevine →
If you're in the business of enabling Shopify-focused businesses, then Craft+Work is for you. Learn more about how becoming a Patron will help you connect with the community please download our 2024 prospectus.
Here's what others said about the day on LinkedIn:
Keir collects interesting and engaging people the way some collect stamps and brings this eclectic group of humans together with an agenda that is thought-provoking and open, giving us all ample opportunities to contribute and make our own connections for our future benefit.
Peter Corkery — Fractional eCommerce Director
Keir has done an incredible job of bringing together the best and brightest in agency, e-commerce and Shopify worlds together to learn and connect. The energy of the room was unlike any conference I've ever been to.
Ellen Donnelly — Founder of The Ask®
Really nicely paced, and a fantastic opportunity to catch up and chat with long-term leaders in the Shopify space.
Luke Green — Co-Founder of Inspira Digital & Alvio
Speakers shared startup stories and lessons learned over the last year (cue cards, no slides!). Vibrant and transparent talks, which was refreshing.
Nika Talbot — Founder at Firebird Content Studio
Andy Richley, Co-Founder at Cogent 2 went the extra mile and recirded a podcast discussing the day!
Just like in 2023, in the run-up to the event, I compiled a playlist that reflected the songs I was listening to while working on the event. Also, like in 2023, I didn't get to use it, but I include it here in case you fancy 99 minutes of aural inspiration!
Finally, huge thanks to our five great presenters, Craig for his on-going support and ideas, Oliver for his excellent summary notes, Amy for helping make the day run smoothly and Marc for his wonderful photography. We'll be back in London in 2025.
Published: Tuesday 11th June 2024
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This is the web site of Craft+Work — An intimate event series for soloists, founders and leaders working in the Shopify Partner ecosystem hosted by business and marketing consultant Keir Whitaker.
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