Craft+Work On The Road

In addition to running my consulting practice, I also run an event series for soloists, founders, and leaders working in the Shopify Partner ecosystem called Craft+Work.

After two successful London events, we decided to head across the pond and catch up with our friends in New York City and Toronto.

Ten days, two events, two countries, a 13-hour train ride, and an OG Shopify reunion — it was quite a ride! Here's what happened.

New York City

We kicked off our North American Craft+Work adventure in New York, where 30 agency and app company founders came together to discuss building better businesses.

Huge thanks to Ross Beyeler, Arianne Foulks, and Galen King for sharing insights on scaling, project management, and a 20-year career in e-commerce. Craig's "Conversation Stations" were once again a crowd favourite.

The Long Way to Canada

The next day, we headed to Penn Station for our 13-hour train to Toronto. It seemed like a good idea when we booked it, and despite my reservations, it turned into quite an adventure.

We even managed to drink the Amtrak bar dry — no, that's not me playing into British stereotypes! Anyone who knows me knows I'm a two-drink max these days. It turns out they swapped over stock once in Canada and only loaded five beers! But I digress.

I was especially excited to return to Toronto for the first time since 2019 and reconnect with friends and former Shopify colleagues. The slower pace was also a welcome change after the frenetic energy of NYC.

Toronto

Our Canadian edition was held at The Underground at The Drake Hotel. After adjusting to a suitable level of coolness (the AC, not the people!), we got started.

Our guest presenters (Trudy MacNabb, Blair Beckwith and Jess Chan) took to the stool and shared their stories of product development, career paths, and leadership development. Open, honest, and reflective presentations are at the heart of Craft+Work, and all three sessions sparked great conversations.

We wrapped up our time together with another edition of "Conversation Stations", which, interestingly, yielded very different responses than our group in NYC and rounded out by decompressing at the post-event happy hour.

Event reports

We intentionally don't record Craft+Work events, but the photos above will give you a taste of what happened during our North American adventure.

You can also see the complete gallery from NYC and Toronto, along with write-ups of previous events on the Craft+Work website.

What's Next?

Craft+Work will return in 2025.

If you're a soloist, founder, or leader working in the Shopify Partner ecosystem, please sign up for the Craft+Work newsletter to get early access to the schedule and ticket info.

Join the conversation on "Craft+Work On The Road" on Linkedin