Meet the team
We have a team of people who are incredibly passionate about helping guests get creative
in our colourful Central London studio and around the world.
Diana Muendo and Sam Lehane
Co-creaters of M.Y.O
Diana and Sam are a couple who ditched their corporate careers in 2017 to pursue a mission of helping adults around the world get more creative through arts and crafts! They believe everyone is creative, they just need an outlet. This is why they set up M.Y.O, as they felt so many adults don't explore that side of themselves enough and it has lots of mindfulness benefits, along with being just good fun and a great way to boost confidence and connect with others.
It's beenquite the journey and they can't wait t o meet you in the studio one day, so you can enjoy exploring that creative side of yours!
Feel free to reach out to them on Hello@MYO.Place.
Maika Spooner
General Manager and Pyrographer!
Maika joined us in late 2020 and we're so happy to have her on board! She started out doing marketing and is now running the studio for us.
With a passion for wood burning (pyrography) and helping people get creative, along with netball, dogs and lots more!
She runs her own creative business called MadebyMaika and is always up for giving creative things a go!
As well as running the studio, she is known to teach our lino printing, watercolour painting and painted ceramics classes and help us produce crafty how-to video content for brands.
Check out MadebyMaika.co.uk and @madebymaika.
For anything related to the studio, drop her an e-mail on Maika@MYO.Place.
Carla Williams
All Round Creative and Studio Assistant
Carla was mega happy to join the team as really believes in what we are trying to do - providing fun and creative experiences for everyone to enjoy. She is very much into self love, wellbeing and expression and she thinks that getting creative and crafty can be the perfect way to do that! She's resourceful, regularly finding old or broken bits around the home and pimping it to make something new and unique. She feels that putting your energy into making something is special - even if it isn't perfect or you don't keep it, its the experience that makes you feel good! A couple of quotes she loves below - lovely!
"There is no way to happiness - happiness is the way."
"Leap, and the net will appear"
Carla also makes handmade macrame plant hangers, earrings, headbands, props. You can DM her for purchases and commissions on Soultohanddesigns.
Jasmine Karis
Textiler and Designer
Jasmine-Karis is a South London based Textiles Artist and Designer recently graduated from a BA Fashion Textiles: Print degree at London College of Fashion. She seeks to engage her audience by connecting them with their everyday surroundings through sustainable textiles processes. Her inherent interest in her Jamaican heritage has fuelled her natural affinity for story telling through fabrication. Her work spans across community, wellbeing and the interweaving of language and visual imagery.
Check her out on instagram @jasminekarisofficial and her website jasminekaris.com
Check out her creative blog [coming soon!]
Sarah Beckett
Pottery Specialist and All-Rounder
Sarah is a graphic designer and marketer by day and creative host with M.Y.O by night. She is a pottery whizz and an all-rounder too.
Super friendly and gets a real kick out of helping others explore their creative side. She also helps is with some of our content - instagram posts, newsletters, blogs.
She also makes and sells handmade pottery, follow her on red_ldn.
Claire Austen
Musician, Jeweller and Performer
Claire is a musician (the violin!) and teaches music. She also loves watercolour painting and the mindfulness benefits of getting creative. She recently completed a masters in psychology and loves running workshops and helping others explore their creative side.
She'll be helping us teach watercolour painting, lino printing, t-shirt and tote bag design, handmade pottery and painted ceramics classes, along with many more! Oh, she's Irish too.
She runs a little creative jewellery business too.
Jack Casey
Master Ceramicist and Potter
Jack is 25 years old and hails from North London. He specialises in creating functional ceramics but loves all things making. In his spare time he likes cycling, mountains and retro video games. He's thrilled to be joining the talented group of creatives at M.Y.O, from whom he can learn and be inspired by, whilst helping to spread the creative bug and all the joy and satisfaction it can bring to anyone's life.
"Creativity is contagious. Pass it on." - Albert Einstein
"If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would get done." - Rita Mae Brown
Check her out @JackCaseyCeramics and Jackcaseyceramics.com
Kendall Murphy
Lino Printer and Creativity Champion
Kendall was a regular guest in the studio, trying lots of our creative classes, so we were delighted she was interested in joining the team to help us teach classes too!
She is a bit of a lino printing fanatic, but likes to dabble with all sorts of creative things.
Abby Hobbs
All round Illustrator and Designer
Abby has been with us for over 2 years now and loves drawing, painting and illustrating. She does commissions for companies, websites, children's books and tonnes more, along with recently being awarded a scholarship by The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, so she can pursue a masters in Children's Book Illustration. She also illustrated Diana's children's picture book - Big Hair Parade.
As she now lives outside London, she tends to host our virtual illustration and drawing classes.
Check her out @Hobbbins and AbbyHobbs.com.
Edlyl Asis
Master Calligrapher and Brush Letterer
Edlyl is a gem of a creative and uses her lettering skills to design wedding decor, chalk boards, signage and shop windows, along with teachers others how to do it. She also works in events, PR and partnerships at stationer Martha Brook.
Edlyl hosts our popular modern calligraphy classes and has also learned how to do painted ceramics and lino printing.
Check out Edlyl.co.uk and @by.edlyl.
You?
Have a desire to help spread more creativity and colour around the world?
We're regularly on the look out for general creatives, potters, textilers, studio helpers and everything in between, so if there's a particular class you like to teach or job you'd like to do to keep our studio looking amazing, drop us an e-mail on GetCreative@MYO.Place. Thanks
