In this episode of Creative Guts, co-hosts Laura Harper Lake and Joe Acone chat with Meg Locker, founder of NH Craft Club. Meg began NH Craft Club in early 2025 as a way for people to craft and connect through exploring new crafts. This inclusive and welcoming club hosts multiple events across the state each month, with projects like wreath-making, stamped tea towels, and building vision boards to name a few! In this episode, we chat about how NH Craft Club began, the art behind community organizing, social media's role in the club’s growth, the joy of being messy, and more! Meg also shares how her family has supported her in building this community, her love of travel, and her future plans for junk journaling. Learn more about NH Craft Club at www.nhcraftclub.com, www.instagram.com/nhcraftclub, www.tiktok.com/discover/nhcraftclub, and in the Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/9559451004135403. Listen to this episode wherever you listen to podcasts or on our website www.CreativeGutsPodcast.com. Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Discord. Creative Guts recently moved our newsletter to Substack, and you can find us at creativegutspod.substack.com. If you love listening, consider making a donation to Creative Guts! Our budget is tiny, so donations of any size make a big difference. Learn more about us and make a tax deductible donation at www.CreativeGutsPodcast.com. Thank you to our friends at Art Up Front Street Studios and Gallery in Exeter, NH and the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts in Rochester, NH for their support of the show!
In this episode of Creative Guts, co-hosts Laura Harper Lake and Joe Acone chat with Meg Locker, founder of NH Craft Club.
Meg began NH Craft Club in early 2025 as a way for people to craft and connect through exploring new crafts. This inclusive and welcoming club hosts multiple events across the state each month, with projects like wreath-making, stamped tea towels, and building vision boards to name a few!
In this episode, we chat about how NH Craft Club began, the art behind community organizing, social media's role in the club’s growth, the joy of being messy, and more! Meg also shares how her family has supported her in building this community, her love of travel, and her future plans for junk journaling.
Learn more about NH Craft Club at www.nhcraftclub.com, www.instagram.com/nhcraftclub, www.tiktok.com/discover/nhcraftclub, and in the Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/9559451004135403.
Listen to this episode wherever you listen to podcasts or on our website www.CreativeGutsPodcast.com. Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Discord. Creative Guts recently moved our newsletter to Substack, and you can find us at creativegutspod.substack.com.
If you love listening, consider making a donation to Creative Guts! Our budget is tiny, so donations of any size make a big difference. Learn more about us and make a tax deductible donation at www.CreativeGutsPodcast.com.
Thank you to our friends at Art Up Front Street Studios and Gallery in Exeter, NH and the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts in Rochester, NH for their support of the show!
[INTRODUCTION]
[0:00:00] LHL: I'm Laura Harper Lake.
[0:00:01] JA: And I'm Joe Acone.
[0:00:02] LHL & JA: And you're listening to Creative Guts.
[0:00:17] JA: Hey friends, thanks for tuning in to Creative Guts.
[0:00:19] LHL: Today, we're chatting with Meg Locker, the creative who founded NH Craft Club, a creative and inclusive community offering a fun and relaxed environment of crafting and making new friends.
[0:00:31] JA: It's an awesome episode. Love talking to her. Love her energy. Let's jump right into this episode of Creative Guts with Meg Locker.
[INTERVIEW]
[0:00:42] LHL: Meg, welcome to Creative Guts.
[0:00:44] ML: Thanks.
[0:00:45] JA: Welcome.
[0:00:46] LHL: This is very exciting. We are really pumped with what you're doing, and we want to dive into that. So, I think to start out, do you want to introduce New Hampshire Craft Club and yourself as a creative?
[0:00:58] ML: Sure. It's really intimidating to introduce myself as a creative because I don't feel like a creative, but I did create NH Craft Club. Probably like March, April is when the idea. Actually, I digress. The idea came to me a year ago, and I had made a post, a casual post online. And I was like, "What if we had a book club but for crafting? And like casual crafting, not like deep, intense art, but just like something simple that can be done in a couple hours, and you can chit-chat with longtime friends or new people." And I threw it out there, and people were like, "Hey, you should do this. I'm local. You should do this."
And it took a whole year for me to like get the courage to actually do it. So I made another video, and I was like, "Guys, I'm going to do this. Should I actually do this?" And creatives from all across New England were like, "Yeah, you should definitely do this." That kind of like threw me into the world of art in New Hampshire and New England as a whole, a place that I've always wanted to be a part of, but I always didn't feel necessarily a part of because I don't have a medium that I'm constantly creating with. It's just like I'm a crafty person. I like using my hands. And I needed something that would get me away from a computer screen doing work 24/7.
Really, Craft Club began with me, my mom, my sisters in my house every couple of months when I would convince them to come over and do a craft together. And now it's expanded to four regular locations, little popups that I call field trips, because that feels fun. I think we've partnered officially with like 10 businesses across the state. Plus, we have more stuff in the pipeline already. And it's like this crazy, beautiful, sometimes very chaotic, but like in the best way. And I really think that while I enjoy doing the crafting, I think my creating right now is creating these events and pulling it together so that other people can have a space to come and build this community. And I love every second of it.
[0:02:54] LHL: That's amazing. We're already going to get to a heavy question because I want to unpack the whole, "Well, I'm not really a creative, or I don't know if I identify as a creative." Not that this is a therapy session, but I'd love to unpack that because you're making stuff, you're creating things. I think you are a creative. But maybe could you explain what kind of crafts you guys are doing and how you feel in relation to that?
[0:03:21] ML: Yeah. Okay. One thing about me is I am a crier. Just so we know.
[0:03:26] LHL: Me too.
[0:03:27] ML: With everything. I can already kind of feel myself welling up with these beautiful emotions, not bad emotions. So if that happens, this is your heads up. But I guess this all kind of started back in high school, right? So I had my very first freshman high school art class. This was the one that was required. I had no choice about it. And the teacher at the time had made a comment. If you saw him on the street or in a lineup, you'd be like, "That's a math teacher." Was not giving art vibes whatsoever.
In one of our very first classes, he made a comment about I did not know art until I went to school for art. Everything is teachable. And I have taken that with me through everything. Even like looking around your studio here, and I'm like there's so many beautiful things here that at first glance I feel like I could never make something that beautiful. But with the practice, with the intention, and with the right medium, I know I can. I think it's just really easy to come into these spaces as a little baby artist and be like, "I don't know what I'm doing here. I have no clue, but I'm here, and I'm just going to take it day by day."
And so, as far as some of the crafts that we create, I really wanted NH Craft Club to be community-focused. While I have the authority to make an executive decision, I really keep it up to the people that are coming to decide what we're going to do. I have a list, and every couple of months, I throw that list out there in like a poll-style format on social media, and I say, "Tell me what you want." And then that's what we do.
And we started with these beaded suncatchers using the most beautiful beads that I got from thrift stores, and even art stores, and Facebook marketplace, even. Because sometimes that's nicer to have such a variety that you can't easily duplicate. I was so excited. I found someone that sells driftwood from a beach in California. And I got this driftwood for like a hundred crafters to come and we made these gorgeous beaded suncatchers. And that was month one.
In June, we did charm jewelry, so bracelets and necklaces. Some people even made purse charms and that sort of stuff. And then gosh, I feel like so much time has passed, and it was really just a couple of months ago. Oh, we did mosaics next. That one was really fun because we don't have our own space. We're mobile. That's another side, community-focused and mobile. It's like how do we host a mosaic workshop, grout and all, in the top floor of a brewery? How do we get that done? And we got it done.
And my husband was a great help. This man, we talked, and I was like, "Do we bring in our own water and like have buckets of water? What does this look like?" We did mosaics. We've done a whole bunch of more organic crafts. We've dyed with flowers by pounding them with hammers. That one was really fun. At a farm in Danberry, this really sweet woman grew all the flowers that we got to make the art with.
We've done floral arranging. We just made wreaths with a little animal sanctuary in Amherst. So, we've done like a little bit of everything. And we're trying to hit that market of like mid-tier crafting. If someone comes in with very limited or no experience, they could also dive in and create a beautiful piece, versus someone needing to have maybe some technical skill or learning a technical skill over the course of the time that we're together. I want someone to be able to come in with no experience, and maybe they leave, and they're like, "I don't ever want to do that again." But in the two hours that we were together, they made something beautiful.
[0:06:46] LHL: And they got to connect with people and meet new friends.
[0:06:48] ML: Yes. Yeah. That's my favorite part. I love when I'm in setup mode and I'm greeting people, and we're kind of in that in between before we officially start. And the room is like so loud because everyone's just talking and laughing, and they hit it off instantly. That just warms my heart and fills me up and makes me feel all the feels.
[0:07:07] JA: I love everything that you're saying. Your earnestness and your curiosity, and you have light in your eyes about wanting to be creative. I talked to some professional artists that are sometimes not as excited as you are about making things. And I need more of that in my life. So I love what you're doing. I'm an art teacher and I just like the idea that your teacher sounds like he embodied an important spirit that followed you through, even though maybe he looked like a math teacher, but he like –
[0:07:37] ML: Yeah. Well, I definitely had those moments where I wonder if he realizes the impact that that had on me. And if that's a part of his first day of school speech. Or in high school, you have semesters, maybe every class, I wonder if he knows that impact that he's having on multiple young adults. And then from there, there was another pivotal moment in high school where my high school had all the different departments together. To get to an art class, you were walking through the art hallway and all that stuff. And they would always stand outside their doors. And another teacher, I had walked past them, and another teacher made a comment – and the tears are coming. Another teacher made a comment about something to the effect of I wonder if she knows how good she's doing, or something like that, to this teacher. And I heard it. So I turned around, I was like, "Are you talking about me?" And so she was like, "Yeah. I just wonder if you know." And so I think that feeling of impostor syndrome, and maybe I don't belong in this space, really started back then.
But those two specific moments that I constantly remind myself of, that anyone can do it. Anyone can create something beautiful. Anyone can become a part of this community in this space. And we're all doing great with it. And I think too this whole thing has been a whirlwind to take this moment right now to almost reflect back on it is why these emotions are coming up, because it's been so like, "Okay, this event's over. What's the next one? Or what is our next thing that we're doing that I haven't necessarily taken that moment to like take it in and appreciate it for what it is?"
[0:09:08] JA: You're creating space for other people to have that experience too, which is so awesome.
[0:09:14] ML: Yeah, that's the hope. I guess really what started this, I can't tell you how many times I've Googled how to make friends in your 20s in New Hampshire. And as much as I kind of hated it through the Google searches, all the answers were the same. You have to find something, and you have to show up to that thing over and over. And that's how the relationships form. And I was like, "Okay, well, I don't know how to play pickleball. I tried running. That's not for me." So I was like, "Where is my club?" And I was like, "Art. We'll just do art. This is where it is."
[0:09:42] LHL: Yeah, build it.
[0:09:44] ML: Yeah.
[0:09:45] LHL: I think the interesting thing about impostor syndrome, almost every single guest we've had on the podcast discusses their own impostor. We're all feeling it, right? And I think it comes from this place where, at some point in our life, we think, "I have to do things correctly. I have to do things well." And being creative is about expressing yourself. So, it's not about the product. It's about the process, right? But I think that people get hung up on that because they – I have a studio here and people will come in and be like, "Oh, I can't draw a stick figure. I don't have a creative bone in my body. I don't know how to be an artist." And it's really what you just said there, you can learn these skills if you want, but there's no one out there saying you have to be good at it, or society's version of what good is.
[0:10:32] ML: Yeah, absolutely. We've even had some people that have returned to Craft Club, and they've said, "Hey, can I ask you where you got X, Y, Z supplies?" It's happened maybe a half dozen times. And I'll tell them, and I'll ask why. And the answer is always the same. It's, "I really enjoyed that. I want to do more of it."
And so while that wasn't an intended goal when I created Craft Club, it's a secondary excitement that I'm like, "This is awesome." This is also another thing that's happening where your interest was piqued so much that you're like I need to go do this more.
[0:11:00] LHL: Yes. So, I will be doing a creative guts plug right now when I share this with you, but have you heard of our Art 'Round the Room event?
[0:11:08] ML: I have not.
[0:11:08] LHL: Okay. So, we only do it once a year. You're doing this organizing and coordinating of folks who maybe either don't identify supremely of being like capital A artists or creatives, but they're coming to this event. They're doing the thing, right? So, once a year, we do this thing called Art 'Round the Room, which is like speed dating, but for art mediums. And so we have seven or eight tables in this big, giant, huge room, auditorium, at a school in Manchester, Derryfield. Shout out, Derryfield. And we have local artists, guides, art guide professionals at each table. And four or five people are at each table with a DJ playing music and whatever. And they get 20 minutes to experiment and play with charcoals, oil paints, watercolors, print making. And then the buzzer goes, and they go to the next one. And it's really about unlocking and making things accessible so that they can experience and play.
You're doing this as well on a different scale. And it's really cool to hear. Because from our strategic planning three years ago, Creative Guts realized a lot of our work was serving creatives in New Hampshire, and we want to also serve non-identifying yet creatives, people who don't realize that it's just a muscle they need to flex. We all applaud what you're doing. We're so excited and pumped to see that you're helping serve this community.
[0:12:29] ML: Yeah, absolutely.
[0:12:30] LHL: It's exciting.
[0:12:30] ML: You'd have to give me those details afterwards, too, because –
[0:12:33] LHL: I absolutely will. Yeah.
[0:12:33] ML: We're super close to the Derryfield.
[0:12:36] LHL: If you're listening to this, check out our website to see about getting some tickets to come to it because it will be happening November 16th, a Sunday. It's amazing that I remember that off the top of my head.
[0:12:48] JA: Nice work. Yeah.
[0:12:50] LHL: But tickets, it'll be started publicized this week. So it'll be going on. But yeah, it's pretty cool. This will be our third year doing it.
[0:12:56] ML: Nice. That is fun.
[0:12:58] LHL: Yeah, it's so great that you're doing this and that it's just propelling forward each time. Where is this happening? Who is going to this? Can you tell us a bit about that kind of stuff?
[0:13:07] ML: It's happening everywhere, all at the same time. Being based in the Concord area, my primary goal is to get an hour in every direction outside of Concord right now. And then from there, I can expand. I do have a full-time job, and I go to school. And then this is like secondary to both of those things. It's like where I can get to on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday right now.
We have a spot in Boscawen, at the Concord Makerspace, that we are at every single month. Sunstone Brewing in Londonderry, we are also at every single month. Imagine Art and Play in Hampton Falls, we're at every single month. And this is like a kids' playroom. And I'm begging Nicole, that owns it. I'm like, "You should do an adult night here. Let us come and play. I miss spaces like this. Like, how can we build an adult play space on top of Craft Club?"
We recently started expanding to the upper valley region as well, which is really fun because we're technically in Vermont, which feels – Vermont's fun. I like it. And then starting in November, we have a spot in Brookline s well called the Gathering Grounds. And those are our primary – every single month, our goal is to be back in those spaces. And then the other events that we do that we call field trips, we pop up at businesses across the state. They reach out. They say, "Hey, I think it would be cool. Here's what we do." And then we try to do something together. We were at the Woodman Museum, which I'm not really familiar with the sea coast, but it's also on the sea coast. So it can't be too far from here, right?
[0:14:36] LHL: Yes. I believe it's in Dover.
[0:14:38] ML: It's in Dover. Yes. Yeah. And that was one of the craziest places I've ever been to because there's like this gigantic stuffed polar bear that greets you when you walk in, and a whole bunch of other stuffed animals. But we had a huge picnic there and did art. We popped up at a couple of different farms. I think I don't pick favorites, but I've really enjoyed our time with Lucky Bug Farm in Amherst. This is a husband-and-wife team that have just dedicated their lives to building an animal sanctuary on their own personal property. Every time someone comes to an event with Lucky Bug Farm, we're also supporting the rescue efforts of these animals that just get rescued or dumped or whatever the case is.
We were at another little flower farm in Danbury. We're doing another sea coast one in Portsmouth with connections peer support for like young adult mental health. We're doing vision board workshop, which I know it really seems like we have a lot left in the year, but before we know, it'll be that like New Year's resolution time. This is a good preface to that.
[0:15:36] JA: That's smart. I like that idea a lot.
[0:15:38] ML: Yeah. And there's got to be something out there I'm forgetting because there's been a lot. But I think that's most of it.
[0:15:43] JA: Yeah, there's a ton there. Do you have consistent visitors, people who come like to all of them or –
[0:15:49] ML: Yeah. Okay. So, I think I'm going to name names. I think there's this one girl, Danielle, who's come to almost every single one, if not every single one. And I was just talking about her to my aunt today because my aunt asked the same exact question. She's like, "Do you have repeat?" I'm like, "Yeah, I see Danielle's face at all of them." And she brought friends on Friday, which was really fun. But we have a whole bunch of other people that have also come.
We did a camping event, actually in Suncook. I knew I was forgetting one. And those same girls have come to multiple events, and half of them were just at an event that we had yesterday. And then, as far as the who, my thing is anyone over the age of 18, just because we are in some spaces like breweries, where we would prefer you to be over 18. And just some of the things that we're doing, like using hammers, that can get out of hand pretty quickly. Some tools can be sharp or hot.
I think when I made my first post, I said young adults or like young women in New Hampshire, because that's how I identify. My mom's been to events. We've had people much older than that as well. We've had males that have come, females that have come. We've had husband and wife groups that have come. It's whoever wants to join. As long as over the age of 18, you're welcome to join.
[0:16:57] JA: Yeah, that makes sense, too. 100%.
[0:16:59] LHL: Yeah, absolutely. How many folks roughly kind of come to these events?
[0:17:03] ML: Some of our events we've had to reduce the size just like at the farms, especially. But I would say our average event is like 25 to 30. I think that's the sweet spot. I think once we get past that – because it's me and my husband, when I can convince him to come. And he's been great. He comes to all the ones I ask him to come to to be like an extra set of hands. But I think once we get above that, it gets to a point where I feel like I can't offer the support that I may need to offer. Running around like a mad woman with paint brushes and clean cups of water, and I'm like, "I got you." Yeah. 25 to 30. The camping event was really intimate. There was about 12 of us, which was really fun.
[0:17:39] LHL: So, are you an LLC, a nonprofit? It's just a club? What logistically are you?
[0:17:46] ML: I do have an LLC logistically because I also wanted to get insurance, because I was like, just my luck, someone's going to cut a piece of wire and it's going to cause issues. We are an LLC, but I wouldn't say that we're necessarily like a business. Mostly because it's just me and we're new and I have no clue what I'm doing.
[0:18:01] LHL: You're still a business.
[0:18:03] ML: Yeah, I guess we are from a legal standpoint. We're going to be paying taxes in the new year. Yes, we have an LLC.
[0:18:11] LHL: That's excellent.
[0:18:12] ML: Yeah, it's really fun. It's really fun, actually, because I went to the bank to open up a bank account, and they were like, "What is this?" And I got to tell them all about it, and I geeked out at the – I think it was more than the bank teller was expecting because she just like kind of smiled and nodded and was like, "That sounds fun." Okay." I was like, "Yeah, it really is. You should come."
[0:18:29] LHL: We get that too sometimes. People are like, "Oh, Creative Guts." And they think it's like an internal medicine gut thing or something.
[0:18:36] JA: A kombucha company.
[0:18:37] LHL: Yeah. It's like, "No, it's just art, Creative Stuff."
[0:18:40] ML: That'd be a great collaboration with you. Find a GI.
[0:18:42] LHL: Right? Are these ticketed events?
[0:18:48] ML: We've done exactly one free event. All the rest have been ticketed because we have a specified craft. In that specified craft, we provide all the materials for. But as I sit down and I'm already planning for the new year, I have hopes and intentions to do more free or lower the entry, more bring what you're working on, and just come hang out. But it's about like finding the space and the logistics for that as well.
[0:19:13] LHL: If you ever want to partner on what you're talking about, where people just bring their own stuff and hang, we used to host these quite often. Meet N' Makes is what we kind of called them. But maybe we could partner on one here at Art Up Front Street or something.
[0:19:25] ML: Yeah, that would be wonderful. This is my own shameless plug. We have one coming up on October 18th, which is like kind of – it's art. It's not kind of. It is art, but we're doing it with a whole bunch of other art people in Concord. And it's a postcard project called I Am Grateful For You. And so I feel like such a bad guest right now because I can't remember the name of the artist. But someone else in the country created this project. And the whole point is basically to spread love, especially in times of uncertainty, when people feel maybe a little bit lost and isolated right now.
And so, similar to what you were talking about with your event, where we're going to have different mediums and people can come, but what you're making is a postcard that will then be mailed out to someone that you want to show love to or that you care about. And that's going to be completely free. Come, make a couple of postcards, send one to yourself if you want to. But also, just people that you love across the state or across the country. And that's going to be on October 18th. And then in the new year, we'll do more.
[0:20:26] LHL: That's awesome. That sounds amazing.
[0:20:28] ML: Yeah, I'm excited for it. I won't have my own table. Some other artists are going to be there. So, I'll actually get to like participate in it, which I'm really excited for. And then I'll just be there to greet people and say, "Hey," and be a smiling face as they come in.
[0:20:41] LHL: Nice. That's amazing. That's so much to juggle and balance with all of this.
[0:20:46] JA: And did you just start in May? Is that right?
[0:20:48] ML: Yeah, we had our first event in May.
[0:20:49] JA: Wow.
[0:20:51] LHL: Sounds like a lot.
[0:20:52] JA: Yeah. Oh my god.
[0:20:53] ML: So I had posted on social media in March, I want to say maybe March 28th to be exact, and I was like, "Guys, I think I'm going to do this." And I posted it, and that video blew up by New Hampshire social media standards, and I was like, "Oh gosh." And I remember a couple of days later, we were driving home, maybe from like the grocery store, and my notifications kept just blowing up. And I told him, I said, "I think I have to make a website." which I had never done before. But I was like, "I feel like I need a landing page. Literally a landing page for people to come to, sign up so they can be notified, and just a space so they can really see what I was trying to do. So, I think I just Googled like easiest website makers because I'm not a graphic designer. That's like one art medium that I try so hard at, and I'm like, "I'm going to leave this one to the pros."
Yeah, I created a website, and it was probably close to a month later that we were then having our first actual events. And I was like, "Guys, I promise I am going to do this now. Because now that I've made the commitment publicly, I need to stick to it." And it's been amazing. And someone asked once, they were like, "How are you doing all this?" And I was like, "I don't know, but I am."
And unlike other jobs I've been in, I've felt zero burnout, which, gosh, I know it can come if we don't take care of ourselves. But there's been so much fulfillment from doing it that it's not like – I also love my day job, but it's not like sometimes at the end of a busy week, you feel exhausted and run down. This energizes me. And then I can go sit in that cubicle and enjoy my time at work because I know that at the end of the week, I have an event to look forward to. Or maybe on an off week where we don't have an event, I can go home and I can prep for the upcoming event.
[0:22:37] JA: It's energizing work. You're a creative just through and through. I hope you're claiming that moniker at this point because like – and we can get into the weeds about performance art and people who hold spaces that make create experiences for people, and that is the art form. I would be happy to give you some names. But there's a conceptual backing to some of the stuff that you're doing that you could claim once you're aware of it, "Oh, that makes sense."
I had some experiences in grad school where it was like, "Oh, I didn't know art could do that." And then as soon as that like – it's just constantly trying to find validation and seeking permission to do things. And it sounds like you're just following the energy and following the feedback, and good stuff's happening, which is awesome.
[0:23:22] ML: It sounds like really cliche to say this too, but I also feel like when you truly stop and look around, art is everywhere. And so, I mean, sometimes I do Excel sheets at work, and I'm like, "This is a work of art." It is. And so, yeah, I agree with just the creation of it and making it happen in and of itself as its own art form.
[0:23:43] JA: Yeah. It's a way of being.
[0:23:44] ML: Yeah. And like I promise, every single person that was at our wreath event yesterday, while it may not seem like it, because it's such a casual event, where every single piece of material was placed down was like a thought out – we had like this flower cart, and I put all the flowers in a certain manner from like an artful perspective, I guess. I don't know exactly – I'm at a loss for words what I was trying to say with that one. But you show up to the event, and they are very casual, super casual. But like it is where the glue sticks were placed versus the E6000 was like a very specific. And I think sometimes that sweet man over there is like, "Gosh, she's crazy," because I'm like, "No, that can't go there. That doesn't go there. That's not going to work with the flow of things." Because you have to think about every single little detail.
[0:24:29] LHL: Yeah, you're creating the experience. And you want it to be seamless because you want people to be within the experience and not feeling uncomfortable based on some little thing around them. It's just going to be the most accessible possible.
[0:24:44] ML: Yeah.
[0:24:45] JA: Accessibility is so important, especially in the arts, because you're breaking down barriers for people who are just like you, who were saying I'm not an artist or I'm worried about claiming the moniker of being a creative. It's like you're making space for that, and I think that's a really noble cause. And people are loving what you're doing, and you're loving what you're doing, it sounds like. It sounds like you're worried about burnout, which of course makes sense. You could easily burn out if you work too hard, right? But as long as everything's in healthy balance, it's like why wouldn't you keep going?
[0:25:14] ML: I think, too, going from jobs where that burnout, you can feel it coming, and you just know. To now doing something where I haven't felt even like the slightest inkling of needing to slow down. It's almost a little bit terrifying, because I'm like, "Oh, is this what a healthy work-life balance looks like? Or is my downfall just going to be really big and great, and I'm going to have to take a lot of time off?" And I really don't think it's the latter. I don't think it's the latter. But it's like strange to be doing something that is so fulfilling, and exciting, and drama-free, and just fun, and all that stuff.
[0:25:51] JA: Relating to burnout and things of that nature, what have been some of your biggest challenges that you've rubbed up against recently?
[0:25:57] ML: Okay, I think my biggest challenge is myself and my own expectations. But secondary to that, it's really just how do we bring all of these crafts into each individual space? And so it's trial and error. Each new craft that we do is the first time that we're doing it on a grand scale. So, I try to have my own – sometimes I'll call my sister-in-law or my mom, and I'll be like, "Hey, we're making beaded sun catchers, I need you over here so we can do it, and I can try to figure out what the kinks might be beforehand." But then every new event is like its own thing.
Yesterday, we were wreath-making, and I was like, "This is perfect. We have the exact number of spots that we need. Everything is wonderful." And then as people started showing up, I was like, "We need way more space than this." And space we had plenty of. It was tables that we didn't. And so it's like those sort of things is what's most challenging. But everyone's been very flexible. I think I beat myself up, though, because I want to curate that experience. And so in those moments, not that anyone's thinking this besides me, I'm like, "Oh gosh, all they're going to think about is the fact that we had to pull in another table because we ran out of space." I don't think anyone cares. I think they're just like, "Oh, this is great. I have more space to work now." But now I'm like, "Okay, for next time, more tables." The biggest challenge is just the technical details, really.
[0:27:11] JA: How are you deciding what to do in each experience?
[0:27:14] ML: My mom would be so upset if she knew that I went on a podcast and I didn't give her a shout-out.
[0:27:19] JA: Oh, okay. Awesome.
[0:27:20] ML: Okay. She's like the OG crafter in our family. She works in early childhood education. And I remember even from a young age, making little placemat cards. What do you call those? Name cards for family dinners, and that sort of stuff. And getting to design them. And she would always bring her work home and cut out the letters. And she was an avid scrapbooker for a long time.
And so she helped me come up with my first few ideas. I was like, "Mom, I want to do this. Let's talk about it." So, she helped me come up with my first few ideas. I put it out for a poll because I'm a people pleaser. And then since then, I just had a brainstorming night where I wrote down every craft that I myself have wanted to try or that I had seen on TikTok and whatnot. If you spend enough time looking at crafty stuff, it'll show you more crafty stuff. And now I'm kind of at a point where I might turn to Pinterest, which is absolutely flooded with AI right now. So I'm trying to give myself a breather from it.
[0:28:12] LHL: Yuck.
[0:28:14] ML: I'm like, "Oh, fine. 30 girl night craft events do. Let me see what this is." And I'm like, "That's AI. That's AI. What the heck?" I've also put out like question boxes on Instagram, and I'm like, "What do you guys want to see? It's hard because I don't think that we can – in the format that we have, we can't necessarily do everything I would like to do. That's the secondary. Back to your last question, I guess, challenges. The secondary thing is, okay, so many people are asking for crochet. How can we do crochet in a way that is enjoyable, can be condensed down in two hours, and can happen in all the spaces that we're in?
Yeah, another one is like air-dry clay or oven-baked clay. I never want someone to leave Craft Club with a project that they have to do something to at home to finish. It's like, "Okay, air-dry clay, at least it'll dry over time." But like oven-baked clay, which is maybe a little bit sturdier, requires an oven, and I don't have an oven at all the spaces that we're in. Another thing, sometimes I just make the decision and put it out there. And it's like people have said previously, "Oh, we really like this idea." And then if I'm like, "What are we going to do this month?" I'm like, "This is what we're going to do."
[0:29:23] JA: There are limitations to what you can do based off of not just space, but also time, and the fact that you want to make sure that they leave with something. Is there any desire amongst the people that you work with that like want to do a repeat event so they can continue something? Are you kind of averse to that? How does that work out?
[0:29:45] ML: I'm not adverse to it. I think it's the people pleaser in me. It's like, okay, if I can get a crochet group in the greater Concord area, what if someone also wants a crochet group in the upper valley? How do we do that across multiple spaces? And then what if there already is a crochet group in the upper valley that I'm just not aware of because I haven't looked into that? Am I now stepping on toes? And so I'm not personally adverse to bringing in multi-step crafts if people want them and they're going to show up for them. It's just the aspect of with our craft of the month, I bring that to all of our recurring places. It's the pop-ups that are different.
And so I feel like if I'm going to bring it one space, I have to bring it everywhere. And maybe that's just an obstacle that I have to get over. And maybe there's a stronger desire for crafting, for crocheting on the sea coast, but not in the upper valley, in which case that problem that I'm creating might not even exist.
[0:30:39] JA: You're doing market research basically constantly.
[0:30:41] ML: Yeah. Every time I ask someone a question at an event, I'm like, "Hey, I'm market researching right now. I have a question for you." We're doing brooms on Sunday, but they're pre-formed brooms. We're adding stuff to them. And I was like, "They're scented. Market research. Do you want the scent or should I be airing these out over the next week?" These are the questions I'm asking.
And I've also had to accept that we could throw the most perfect craft event from start to finish. And it is 1,000% possible that someone's going to come to it and say, "I didn't actually like this, and I'm probably not going to come back." And I'm learning to not take that as like a personal – not an attack, but I'm not taking it personally.
[0:31:20] JA: But if somebody's interested in being a part of this, is there like a social media group, or is it like Discord, Facebook? What does that look like? Newsletter?
[0:31:29] ML: Yeah. We have a website. And on the website, if you scroll all the way down on our homepage, there's an email that you can sign up for. But I don't want to spam people's emails. So it's like once a month, I'll send out an email with upcoming events. Sometimes, if an event was like really good and I just want to send like a little note of gratitude, I'll also do that.
I'm on Instagram a lot. Sometimes I have to give myself Instagram breaks. And you might be thinking, "Oh, because we doom scroll." No, because I post 27 stories on my story, and I'm like, "No one actually wants to see this. Turn it off." So I would say Instagram for like the most up-to-date. What's this girl doing today? In terms of Craft Club, our website for slightly more formal but like still up-to-date information. There is a Facebook page. I'm not as active as I am on Instagram. And then we recently created a TikTok two weeks ago.
[0:32:18] LHL: And it blew up.
[0:32:20] ML: It did, yeah. It did. I created the TikTok. I made a video, a really casual, I don't know, three-picture video. And then I didn't completely disconnect, but I mostly disconnected to prep for our camping event and be present at our camping event. And so every time I would check my phone, the notifications would be insane. And I'm like, "I want to answer every single one of your questions, but I also want to be present with these women that have taken their whole weekend and decided to come to this event. Yeah, if I had to put them in a hierarchy, I would say website first and foremost, Instagram secondary, and then TikTok and Facebook are probably on the same level. It's more like Facebook is more casual content, whereas Instagram and our website is the need-to-know details.
[0:33:07] LHL: I know. Because I mentioned to her, I saw her on TikTok a few weeks prior to this interview, and I'm like, "I'm going to be interviewing her. I know her." And it was really exciting to see so many people excited about the community that you're building.
[0:33:20] ML: Yeah, it is exciting. And then that's where that impostor syndrome creeps back in, and I'm like, "Am I actually the right person for this job?" And I'm sure there's like a Rachel Hollis book out there some more saying that I am. But I'm like, "Wait a minute, no one's actually questioning that besides you." And if they are, they're not vocalizing it to you, so don't worry about it. And that's been my newest thing in life is just trying to let go, and it'll be what it will be, and –
[0:33:46] LHL: It's a good reminder for us all.
[0:33:48] ML: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I want to be that person. I'm not quite that person yet, but one day I'll be calm, cool, and collected.
[0:33:56] LHL: Are there certain crafts that are your all-time favorites that you go back to again and again that you love? Not necessarily with the Craft Club, but you as an individual.
[0:34:04] ML: Oh, okay. I love crafts that are inherently messy in the sense of I guess I just like being messy. Where it doesn't necessarily need to be like this finished, polished piece. Scrapbooking and collaging. And I'm obsessed with vision boards. It'll be like, "Okay, I have a vision board for my corporate job. I have a vision board for Craft Club. I have a vision board for what I want to eat for dinner this year." I love that sort of like taking all these pieces and putting them together, and then not messy really. But I love paper beads. I've never gotten into knitting and crocheting for the sense of I have not picked up the literal, how do you – I don't even know. Hook this? I don't know what word I'm looking for right now. But I watch it and I'm mesmerized by it, and then I try it and I can maybe get a couple of loops.
It's like driving a manual car. I understand the concept, but putting it into – I don't even know. Putting it into action, I guess, is like just not a thing I've managed. But paper beads is that same sort of like you can be watching a show while doing this. And so I just cut up a whole bunch of paper sometimes in like shapes. And then I had this little tool, and I just twist it. And I always have like my little tacky glue on the side, and you just dab a little bit on the end, and I throw it into a box, and I just keep doing it. And you can do it with magazine pieces, leftover scrapbook paper. I think that's why I like it, because I can use all my scraps from like vision boards and scrapbooks into these. It's very sustainable.
Also, in this similar vein to scrapbooking, junk journaling is a new thing. I haven't done it yet, but I'm seeing everyone doing it. Since probably March, I've been saving trash. I have this little basket on my dresser, and I might pop the tag off of a new shirt, and I'm like, "That's going in my junk journal pile." And so I have it all there. We've gone to concerts in the past year, they give you a wristband. I've cut those off and put those in the pile. And, oh, the amount of hotel keys I've stolen that I've put in this basket, because I'm like, "I'm going to make a junk journal with all these." I just haven't sat down and actually done it yet.
[0:36:12] LHL: Are they all significant pieces of junk, or is some junk-junk?
[0:36:16] ML: Nah. Do we really need to save clothing tags? No, probably not.
[0:36:20] LHL: No. Unless it's like a top that's like this embodies my whole personality. I mean, I have an attachment to certain clothes where I'm just like, "This screams Laura."
[0:36:30] ML: It's not every single clothing tag, I will say, but there have been a couple that I just really like the design of that I'm like, "Yes, I'm going to keep this." And then I know at the beginning I said I'm a crier. I think I'm also someone who holds almost everything to some level of sentimental value. It's like my most recent hotel tag, we just went to a concert last week in Mansfield, and we got a hotel. Because unless you live in Mansfield, it is terrible to go down Mansfield. So, I was like, "We're just going to get a hotel room because I don't want to deal with this." And so, I have that tag.
And it was one single night. And the concert was wonderful, but it wasn't super special. But what was special to me was that I was there with my husband, who I love. His brother drove up from Philadelphia to be there with us. And we also had an extra ticket, so we just gave it to a stranger that we found on the internet. And so what I envisioned in my junk journal is this page where that hotel key is there. A picture of the four of us at the concert is there. I think that's the only trash I kept from that one. But then I could just add little concert lyrics or whatever else along the side of it. Someone might say that that hotel key is trash or the property of Homewood Suites, but it's now mine, and it's going in my journal.
[0:37:39] LHL: That's lovely.
[0:37:40] JA: Hoarding is part and parcel for being a creative, I feel like. Yeah.
[0:37:44] ML: Yeah. Especially now that we have Craft Club, I've had to dedicate a space in my house. I always had a dedicated space, but it was like a shelf or a cabinet. And now it is a whole corner of my basement.
[0:37:59] LHL: Is there a certain craft or a certain medium that you're intimidated by that you really, really want to try someday?
[0:38:06] ML: Oh, looking around this beautiful studio is intimidating because, painting, I can't do it. I can't do it. I don't have the finished product that I see around the room, that I'm like, "This is beautiful." I think just like painting in general. I would love to either embrace the fact that my painting style is not going to be as realistic as someone else's or maybe take a class or two to learn more about it. Yeah, we'll see what happens there. It is really intimidating. I think it would take a big push to actually sign up for a class for something like that because that's type of intimidating it is.
[0:38:42] JA: I mean, you're already walking the walk of like play and experimentation and embracing potential failure and all that stuff. So, why not continue?
[0:38:51] ML: Babe, I'm signing up for a painting class.
[0:38:53] JA: There you go.
[0:38:55] LHL: You just gave me an idea, though, when you were talking about that. So, when we do our Art 'Round the Room, we have a resource guide that we used to print, but now we just send as a PDF after. So people know what materials they used and then where they can further their education, either online with the school of YouTube or with local art classes in the area. Oh my gosh, I'm going to butcher it. But Jason Bagatta's school, Art House Studios Art House Studios of painting and drawing. I think there's more to the name or something like that. But he's in Manchester on Hannover Street near Mosaic Art Collective.
[0:39:30] JA: And one of our co-hosts, Becky Barsi, is currently taking a class with him.
[0:39:33] LHL: Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And I just went to his figure drawing session the other day, but there's classes at Kimball Jenkins and all this. But maybe Creative Guts should have archive resource page for where people can take classes. I'm going to do that.
[0:39:45] ML: Yeah. I think one thing I've learned since starting this is that usually the stuff is there, the classes, the groups, it's there. It's just a matter of finding it. And so, I think a page like that would be wonderful.
[0:39:58] LHL: Yeah.
[0:39:58] ML: I think we're going to do it.
[0:39:59] LHL: Yeah.
[0:40:00] ML: And it came from this conversation.
[0:40:01] LHL: You should do it. And you should do Art 'Round the Room.
[0:40:05] ML: I don't have anything on November 16th as of right now.
[0:40:08] LHL: Okay. I'm glad we talked because you got to book it. You got to say, "I'm going to go to this." It's ticketed, but we do offer waivers for anybody if finances are a barrier to coming to it. And it's like it's a Sunday afternoon, and there are usually around 40 folks there. And you get to meet a lot of local artists and other cool people that want to learn more about art. We have a lot of like wet and dry mediums and all that kind of stuff. It's really fun.
[0:40:34] JA: If you happen to stumble into like a ton of money and decide at one point you want to do something with it, how would that influence your creativity?
[0:40:45] ML: If I stumbled into a ton of money, I would wait 6 months before doing anything to keep myself humble. And then to be fully candid, I'm traveling first. I have a huge heart for the country of Rwanda, specifically. And it's been a goal since like 2018. I tell him, I'm like, "Listen, I would love to be there for like three months, six months, a year, however long a visa could go for." And he's so supportive of it. He, being my husband that I just pointed to, is so supportive of it. But we have a job and we have animals and bills. That would be like first and second, keep my job for a little bit, travel. And then in like a perfect world, Craft Club would be a full-time endeavor. I would want to have a studio that's doing the exact same thing that Craft Club is doing, but on like a random Tuesday evening over summer break or whatever the case is. And also, still traveling. But if I had the money, I didn't need the job, that traveling would become more frequent. Maybe we are also in other parts of the state on random Tuesday evenings as well.
[0:41:46] LHL: Maybe you're hiring staff to help you accomplish all this stuff.
[0:41:48] ML: Yes. That would be a dream.
[0:41:54] LHL: It's a ton of money. You can dream.
[0:41:55] ML: I know.
[0:41:57] LHL: Well, now is the time where we wind down the interview a little bit and do rapid-fire questions.
[0:42:03] JA: Yeah, are there any artists that influenced you?
[0:42:05] ML: I think everyone's influenced me. Specifically, my high school ceramics teacher. Yeah, Lori Sweeney. We're friends on Facebook.
[0:42:12] LHL: The next one is not on the list, so it's going to be a surprise to you, too. It's very, very random. And the rest kind of makes sense, but this one's super random. Who's your favorite Muppet?
[0:42:20] ML: I couldn't even name one. Who are the Muppets? Okay, I know who the Muppets are as a whole, but individually.
[0:42:27] LHL: Kermit the Frog. Miss Piggy.
[0:42:28] ML: Oh, Miss Piggy. It would be Miss Piggy then.
[0:42:30] LHL: Oh, okay.
[0:42:30] ML: Yeah. Okay.
[0:42:31] LHL: Kermit.
[0:42:32] ML: Yeah.
[0:42:34] JA: Did you have like a favorite color?
[0:42:35] ML: Green. As I wear a whole bunch of it.
[0:42:37] JA: Yep.
[0:42:38] LHL: Embodiment right there. Favorite scent?
[0:42:42] ML: Oh, santal. I don't know if that's a specific scent, but every time I find something that has santal in it, I'm obsessed.
[0:42:48] JA: I don't even know what that is.
[0:42:48] LHL: I don't either.
[0:42:49] ML: Like a lot of body care products have something called santal. I don't know. S-A-N-T-A-L.
[0:42:56] LHL: I have to look that up.
[0:42:57] JA: Yeah. Is there a favorite sound that you might have?
[0:43:00] ML: Oh, I really like the sound of rain.
[0:43:03] LHL: What's your favorite texture to touch?
[0:43:06] ML: Oh, my cat.
[0:43:10] LHL: It's a very common answer. That's the number one answer we get. Yeah.
[0:43:12] ML: Yeah.
[0:43:13] JA: What's the most inspiring location you've traveled to?
[0:43:16] ML: Rwanda. Yeah.
[0:43:17] JA: Okay.
[0:43:19] LHL: What is the last new thing you learned?
[0:43:22] ML: Oh. No. I knew how to do that. I don't know. I guess to sound super cliche, I'm learning every day. I learned how to be a guest on a podcast.
[0:43:30] JA: Yay. There you go.
[0:43:31] LHL: Woohoo. We were part of that experience.
[0:43:36] JA: And if you could go back in time, what advice would you give your younger self?
[0:43:39] ML: Girl, stop being so dramatic. It's all going to work out. Everything's going to be okay. You're going to find what you want. And the people that are meant to be around you will be around you. And take a deep breath to simplify it. Take a deep breath.
[0:43:54] JA: Love it.
[0:43:54] LHL: Love it. Yes. I need to hear that all the time. Meg, thank you so much for being on the podcast.
[0:44:02] ML: Yeah. Thanks for having me. This was really fun.
[0:44:04] LHL: This was awesome. You did wonderfully. It was such a good conversation. And when we listen to it again after editing, I know I'm going to enjoy it again.
[0:44:11] ML: Oh, great. Thank you. I'm going to be nervous to listen to it, but I'll make myself listen to it.
[0:44:15] JA: Oh, the nerves don't go away.
[0:44:17] ML: Okay. Perfect.
[0:44:17] JA: I was just listening to myself on the way over here, and I was like, "Oh my god." But yeah, it's good.
[0:44:22] ML: I will say, though, because I started posting on TikTok long before Craft Club was a thing, that really changed the way I did view myself as a whole, but also like viewing myself just speaking. I'm like, "Okay, it's really not that bad. You're a normal person. It's fine."
[0:44:35] LHL: Yeah. Meg, thank you again for being on Creative Guts. It's been a joy. And with that –
[0:44:41] LHL, JA & ML: Show us your Creative Guts.
[OUTRO]
[0:44:49] LHL: Another huge thank you to Meg for joining us on Creative Guts. That was so lovely.
[0:44:55] JA: Just her energy is she's so vibrant and excited. I love that she's been able to do so much so quickly. And you can tell that she really loves it.
[0:45:02] LHL: I can't believe when she said they started this year, the amount of stuff that she is doing with the assistance of her husband. But really, I kind of figured there were more people behind it based on everything that she was saying, and it's just a real testament to what she's produced.
[0:45:18] JA: Absolutely. And clearly, she brings excitement to the process, and she is able to reach out to people. And they love what she's doing, and we love what she's doing. And I should probably sign up a little craft workshop at some point.
[0:45:32] LHL: I know. Yeah. I'm very tempted. I'm definitely going to be subscribing to her newsletter and following her on social media so that I can see what's coming up next because I think there's this perception of craft versus art. We didn't really get to dig into that too much, but I think that sometimes that's where impostor syndrome can play a part, where people think craft is just separate from art, or there's different thoughts about what it is, but it's creating. And it's a great way to learn how to create different things in different ways.
[0:46:01] JA: I know these boundaries are super artificial. She's taking risks. She's making things happen. She's very much an artist, even though she might not want to claim that for herself just yet, but she is.
[0:46:13] LHL: Yeah. And yeah, I think curating of the environment is the art in itself as well. I'm so thrilled to hear that there is such a fevered excitement for this in New Hampshire and that people are coming and they're selling out these events. When you're a community builder and an organizer, there's a lot of people that say, "Oh, we should do this. And I want to go to this." And then they don't necessarily show up to just even attend, let alone coordinate and organize. And to see that she's building such a community where people are excited to show up is just so powerful.
[0:46:47] JA: It's great.
[0:46:48] LHL: Actually, Joe, before I give the website and all the details of our guest today, what craft do you want to do someday?
[0:46:59] JA: Oh, that's a good question. What craft?
[0:47:01] LHL: Is there something you're like –
[0:47:02] JA: You know, it's so weird. Hearing her embrace craft is intimidating to me in some way. And I'm an art teacher. I'm an artist. I've gone to art school, painting, drawing, sculpture, you name it. But I really have a blind spot for even what's possible, you know? That's why we have this art club at my school that has been popping off, and I feel like there's a lot of similarities in some of the things that they're excited to do. They're making sort of decorating frames, and they're making phone cases, and carving soap, and they're making stamps out of Legos, and all these things. And I'm like, "What? I didn't even know you could do that." I don't know. It's like a whole world that I don't know enough about.
[0:47:50] LHL: Oh, that's so cool. And yeah, it's like what is craft and what isn't, I guess, in some cases. But something I did in high school, just a wee bit, and other people I've known who have participated in this, but I love the idea of getting into stained-glass making. And I think that I would love to take a stained-glass class sometime and create in that medium.
[0:48:11] JA: Can we shout out Studio 550? Because that's where my wife has been taking stained-glass classes for the past year.
[0:48:18] LHL: Fantastic.
[0:48:18] JA: She's just really embraced it as something that she does regularly.
[0:48:21] LHL: Oh, wow. That's awesome. Well, that's very inspiring. Maybe I shall do that someday.
[0:48:25] JA: Do it.
[0:48:26] LHL: And you know what, dear listener, you should do? You should go to nhcraftclub.com and check out all the cool stuff that Meg and her husband, who is helping her from time to time, make happen. It's truly amazing. You can also follow her on Instagram, and TikTok, and Facebook, where their handle is NH Craft Club. As always, you can find those links and more in the episode description and on our website, creativegutspodcast.com.
[0:48:53] JA: You can also find us, Creative Guts podcast, on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Discord. If you're not on social media, but you want to stay in the know about what we're doing, join our newsletter list. We're on Substack, and you can find the link to sign up on our website.
[0:49:06] LHL: This episode is sponsored in part by the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts. Thank you to our friends in Rochester for their support of the show. And a big thank you to Art Up Front Street for providing a space where creative guts can record.
[0:49:18] JA: If you love listening and want to support Creative Guts, you can make a donation, leave us a review, interact with our content on social media, purchase a merch, whatever you're able to do, we appreciate you.
[0:49:29] LHL: Thank you for tuning in. We'll be back next Wednesday with another episode of Creative Guts.
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