Fan Mail? Feedback? Suggestions?

Every creative hits the moment when they realize that putting their work out there isn't the same as being found.

Chase Harpole is a knitwear designer, data scientist, and PhD in political science who came to knitting almost by accident and turned it into a creative business rooted in radical inclusivity. In episode 62, Chase and I talk honestly about what it takes to build a creative teaching business — including the moment he realized "if I build it, they will come" wasn't working, how a top-down camera transformed his in-person classes, and the very real tension of showing up authentically online when visibility doesn't feel equally safe for everyone.

If you've been wondering whether your creative perspective is distinct enough to build something around, Chase's story will give you a lot to think about.

In this episode:

• Chase shares how knitting emerged from frustration with abstract academic work — and immediately became a creative obsession
• Why passion alone doesn't fill a class roster, and what Chase is doing differently now
• How a top-down camera changed everything in his beginner knitting classes
  The data science approach Chase uses to design inclusive sizing across body types
• Why showing up on social media can feel like "a deal with the devil" — especially for creators from marginalized communities
• Chase's dream of building infotainment around knitting that appeals to people who don't even knit
• Why hiring people for what you can't do is the move that frees you to do the work only you can do

Find Chase Harpole:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaseharpole/
Ravelry: [https://www.ravelry.com/designers/chase-harpole-2
Latest pattern, Paladin Tank: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/paladin-tank

Links mentioned in this episode:
Ravelry — knitting pattern database: https://www.ravelry.com
Handcrafts and Hobbies Convention: https://hh-americas.com/
This Old House (PBS): https://www.thisoldhouse.com
Gardener's World (BBC): https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mw1h
American Society for Testing Materials (sizing standards): https://www.astm.org

If you're wondering whether your creative perspective is ready to become a teaching business, start with the right questions:
12 Questions Before You Build Your Course:
https://www.academyforvirtualteaching.com/f/12-questions-before-you-build-your-course

Join the Academy for Virtual Teaching's Free Community: https://www.academyforvirtualteaching.com
Instagram: http://Instagram.com/theAcademyforVirtualTeaching
Facebook: http://facebook.com/theAcademyforVirtualTeaching

Never stop creating,
Lyric

Learn more about The Academy for Virtual Teaching here.

Let's Connect!

• Join The Academy for Virtual Teaching
• Instagram
• Facebook

>> Register for the FREE webinar: Make an Effective Promotional Video in 3 Easy Steps! You will learn how to get conversions with authentic connections instead of pushy sales!

Fan Mail? Feedback? Suggestions?

What if good marketing isn't about being clever — it's about listening?

Dawn Prickett started Twice Sheared Sheep at her kitchen table, unraveling thrift-store sweaters to recycle the yarn because she couldn't afford new skeins. Today it's a multi-million-dollar knitting-notions company with around fifty employees — most of them stay-at-home moms.

In this episode, Dawn and I dig into the marketing wisdom behind that growth: how to find messaging that makes people feel seen by using their own exact words, why you only need to talk to five people instead of a thousand, and the "pyramid of marketing" that explains why features fall flat and transformation sells.

We also get into the real business stuff: building a brand-ambassador program that feels natural instead of pushy, knowing when it's finally time to hire, and why "I just need to buy groceries" is a perfectly good reason to run a business.

If you've ever frozen up trying to make your offer perfect, felt gross about promoting your own work, or wondered how you're supposed to market without a big audience yet, this conversation will help.

Learn more about The Academy for Virtual Teaching here.

Let's Connect!

• Join The Academy for Virtual Teaching
• Instagram
• Facebook

>> Register for the FREE webinar: Make an Effective Promotional Video in 3 Easy Steps! You will learn how to get conversions with authentic connections instead of pushy sales!

Fan Mail? Feedback? Suggestions?

Graphics are one of my favorite things, and also one of the biggest time traps I see creative teachers fall into.

In this episode of the Creatives on Camera podcast, I'm breaking down the one question that changed everything about how I approach making images: what is the single job this image needs to do? Once you know that, the font tweaking, color obsessing, and hours in Canva start to disappear. I walk through the hierarchy of image purposes (from stop-the-scroll to bridge to teach-and-tell) and show how understanding where an image lives can completely change the decisions you make about it. I also share how I build out Canva template files so that every new course or product launch already has every image size ready to go, and how that system has cut my graphic-making time from hours down to 40 minutes or less.

We also talk about our new course, Canva Made Simple, which is now available in the Academy for Virtual Teaching.

Learn more about The Academy for Virtual Teaching here.

Let's Connect!

• Join The Academy for Virtual Teaching
• Instagram
• Facebook

>> Register for the FREE webinar: Make an Effective Promotional Video in 3 Easy Steps! You will learn how to get conversions with authentic connections instead of pushy sales!