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 to 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.
Morayo Akodu
General Manager and all-round creative, with passion for fashion and jewellery design
Carla Williams
All Round Creative and Operations & Creative Executive
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.
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 27 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 him out @JackCaseyCeramics and Jackcaseyceramics.com
Sienna-Rose Wood
Textile master and all round maker
Sienna is an Illustration BA(Hons) graduate of Falmouth University, currently living and creating in London. They are inspired and motivated by all areas of creativity but have a profound passion for embroidery and drawing. They love to produce detailed pieces of work, often combining different mediums to create unique pieces of art work.
Sienna has always been fascinated by textiles, as it runs in the family, and has been embroidering for a many number of years. However at university, they discovered different ways in which they could combine their love for drawing, painting and mark making with their love for textiles and embroidery. They are completely drawn to the process and methodology of embroidery.
If you want to see more of Sienna's work follow them on instagram!@siennarosewood
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.
Asha Wilson
Illustrator, designer, community arts practitioner
Asha's visual practice revolves around abstract character concepts and perspectives, with a focus on representing queer individuals; illustrative type; comedic and story-centric work alongside slice-of-life style pieces that celebrate the joy and absurdity of the everyday. They are completing their masters degree in community arts and anthropology and have already worked with community organisations and charities such as: @lgbtiqoutside @dspdope @young.barbican .
Fun fact -> their favourite colour is 'Red/maybe Orange, open to being convinced' . Can you convince them during your class?
Make sure you follow Asha on @that_there_asha to keep up with their amazing work and check out their website Ashawilson.com!
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
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.
Ezgi Yildiz
Designer and illustrator
Ezgi is a London-based graphic designer and illustrator. She's also an ultimate film lover, an incorrigible cat person and a big fan of quirky designs.
Her adventure as a small business owner started way back in Turkey, where she created minimal postcards with fun puns.
Currently working from a little studio in North London, she create stationery products, postcards, art prints and stickers under her small business, Little Black Dot.
The name of the shop is inspired by one of her favorite painters. She always starts her creation process by sketching with her black pen, and 'Everything starts from a dot'
as brilliantly pointed out by Wassily Kandinsky. For her, this dot happened to be little and black, and the next thing I knew, it grew into Little Black Dot, a place for laughter and joy!
Check Ezgi out @LittleBlackDotDesign and her Etsy here.
Maika Spooner
Studio 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 [currently on mat leave].
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.
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
