Meet the team
We have a team of lovely people who are incredibly passionate about helping guests get creative
in our colourful Central London studio and around the world.
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.
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.
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 when 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. Enjoys hosting lino printing, pottery painting and vinyl design.
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.
Candida Bradley
Coach, artist and facilitator
Candida is a coach, artist, and facilitator, passionate about where creativity can take us, along with helping purpose-driven people navigate transitions—whether in their careers or creative journeys.
She has been making since they can remember, and over the years, have run a craft shop and led all kinds of creative workshops. She loves bookmaking, embroidery, lino printing, and pottery—seeing where trying a new craft can lead is always exciting!
Now, Candida combines coaching with creativity, guiding people to explore possibilities, build confidence, and create meaningful work.
Whether Candida meets you to craft or you are curious about personal growth, connect with them!
Find Candida on Instagram @Candida_Bradley_ or on their website CandidaBradley.com.
Sienna-Rose Wood
Textile master, content queen 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 or visit her Etsy.
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!
Kat Carson
Illustrator, crocheter and all round maker
Kat graduated last year (2023) doing an Illustration BA (Hons) at Arts University Bournemouth and now specialises in digital 3D illustration. But apart from that, they love always being creative in as many artistic avenues that they can get their hands on! Kat loves to crochet, paint, lino print, DIY and many other things. Their favourite type of art is anything quirky and unexpected, to which they enter a lot of art competitions along those lines!
Kat's in the process of starting their own business and posts a lot of work on Instagram at @ah_that_kat and @that_kat_crochets. Check them out!
Katie Downing
Multidisciplinary artist
Katie is a fun-loving multidisciplinary artist with a BA (Hons) in Illustration and Visual Media from University of the Arts London. Encouraging people to give new things a try is a passion of hers, and she believes in making creative practice more accessible, alongside all the goodness to emotional wellbeing it brings.
A massive video game nerd at heart, Katie also has an avid interest in history and the natural world.
You can find Katie's art Instagram at @peasantjester
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
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.
Diana and Sam Lehane
Co-creaters of M.Y.O
Diana and Sam are a couple who initially ditched their corporate careers in 2017 to pursue the mission of helping adults explore their creative sides through arts and crafts. They KNOW that 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 been quite the journey having hosted 10,000s of guests over the years, so you can enjoy exploring that creative side of yours! They are now no longer involved in the business.
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
