The Makit Together Line-Up
We are so excited to announce this year's line-up of awesome humans to be our class leaders! Check out the list below!
Your Co-Hosts
Christy Nelson & Kashoan ward
Christy & Kashoan started out as crafting friends way back in 2011. Christy is the owner of Makit Takit Craft Studio. Kashoan is a creative entrepreneur. Together these ladies own & run Makit Together and Makit Market. You can sometimes find them on Youtube hosting Take A Break & Make. They often refer to themselves as "business besties" and have matching scissor tattoos.
Christy is teaching:
Make a Bulky Stocking- Friday Session Four
Intro to Drop Spindle Saturday Session Two
Visible Mending- Sunday Session Two
Makit Takit Making Session- Monday Session One
Kashoan is teaching:
Sticker Journaling- Friday Session Three
keynote/instructor
nia patterson
they/them
Nia Patterson (They/Them) is a Black, Non-Binary, and Queer Multi-Disciplinary Business Owner. They are also well-known and well-respected for their work as a body liberation activist, artist, creative, podcast host, and published author. Nia is the multi-passionate force behind Nia Patterson LLC, @TheFriendINeverWanted, and Self Love Tool Chest. They are also the host and producer of two podcasts: Body Trauma, and Everyone's A Little Fatphobic. Their work centers around creativity, spirituality, art, and business creation, as well as Queer identity and liberation work. Nia is deeply passionate about advocating for all people in all bodies with a heavy emphasis on marginalized folx and, as a result of their work, seeks to bring resources and services to those who do not readily see the representation of themselves in the world.
Keynote -Thursday Night
Product Design Sunday Session One
Instructor
Mollie Leisinger
she/her
Artist and educator Mollie Leisinger is the founder of SayDoSay Pottery Studio. After obtaining a Fine Arts degree from UNL and teaching Pottery in Lincoln Public Schools, she took the leap to open up her home studio in 2020, where she created work to sell and also taught classes. It became a quick reality that classes were popular and being sought after and it was time to grow into a bigger space. The universe led her to a perfectly charming building nestled in the downtown Bethany neighborhood and the space came to life in February of 2022. Mollie loves learning, sharing, teaching, creating, and connecting with people in the community. Teaching is a passion of hers and she feels incredibly grateful to have been able to create a space that inspires and allows so many ideas to come to life.
SOLD OUT Intro to Pottery Group 1 - Thursday Session One
Intro to Pottery Group 2 - Thursday Session Two
Slab Building Yarn Bowls Group 1 - Thursday Session Three
Slab Building Yarn Bowls Group 2- Friday Session One
Bead Making Using Underglazes Group 1- Friday Session Two
Bead Making Using Underglazes Group 2- Friday Session Three
Pottery Glazing Session- Sunday Session One
instructor
Nicole Stevenson
she/her
Nicole is the CEO and creative director at Dear Handmade Life. At 24, she turned her passion into her profession when she started selling Random Nicole, a handcrafted clothing line at flea markets and backyard craft fairs, which grew into a thriving retail and wholesale six-figure business that was carried at over 250 shops around the world. Nicole's desire to help other creatives pursue their dream business and discover the joy of making led her to teaching, consulting, running a workshop studio and eventually co-founding Dear Handmade Life in 2007. She now connects, educates and shortens the learning curve for other creatives by creating community and sharing what she's learned through the Dear Handmade Life events, blog and podcast
Canva for Creatives - Saturday Session Three
Video Editing 101 for Social Media - Saturday Session Four
How to Teach Your Craft - Sunday Session Three
Instructor
Monique Herzig
she/her
Alchemy was a very good name for my business, because I'm always transforming something into something else: pulp into paper, yarn into socks, and plants into potions for skincare and scent. I share my home with my husband, two young adults and our two rescue dogs.
Distilling Herbs & Flowers- Friday Session One
Natural Perfumery- Friday Session Two
Instructor
lesley darling
she/her
Based in the Great Plains, Lesley’s passion for fiber and folk life has led her to Scotland, Wales, Sweden, and beyond in search of traditional skills. In addition to growing natural dyes, she is a knitter, spinner, weaver, and raises angora rabbits. She teaches workshops throughout the US for beginners and advanced students with humor while sparking their curiosity for fiber and folk culture.She is a custom natural dyer for internationally known artist-organizer Pattie Gonia, among others, and has collaborated with the National Audobon Society and various organizations across the country.
Indigo Dyeing - Thursday Session Two or Thursday Session Three
Instructor
Heather Ladman
she/her
Heather is a Prek-6th grade art teacher in the Malcolm Public Schools District. When she is not teaching, she enjoys making her own art in her grain bin studio. In addition, she loves being outside, reading, flipping unique finds, and fishing. Her husband calls her the 90% because she often has multiple projects going at once, none of them ever considered "done". Heather lives outside of Lincoln with her husband, son, two daughters, and their dog Cooper.
Gelli Printmaking - Saturday Session Three
Gelli Printmaking - Saturday Session Four
instructor
Alex svoboda
she/her
Alex Svoboda is a clinical and community herbalist and the owner of Arise Botanicals, a local company that offers herbal remedies, consultations and hands-on education. Alex cultivates medicinal plants and vegetables on a .4 acre urban farmlet. She can also be found out foraging and admiring the trees in and around Lincoln. She is on a mission is to help people connect to the earth centered healing that brings about transformative change. In the garden or out in the community, Alex carries a deep reverence and respect for both plants and people.
Kitchen Herbalism- Saturday Session Three & Four
Crafting Quality Skincare- Sunday Session One
Making Medicinal Teas- Sunday Session Two
instructor
Dianne Fago
she/her
Dianne is a self-taught artist living in Omaha, Nebraska. She loves creating pieces of mixed media art that are full of colors and texture. Searching for new ways to create texture in her work led her to use a lot of items that were destined for the trash can. Dianne is a YouTube content creator and has been published in Art Journaling Magazine, and Somerset Magazine.
ART JOURNALING-Sunday Session Three
ART JOURNALING- Sunday Session Four
Instructor
aj young
any with respect
AJ Young is co-owner of Co-Create Studio based in Fennville, MI. AJ’s teaching experience runs from textiles & fiber art, to general crafting, to the university classroom. He has been crafting since he was very young, but started knitting seriously in 2014 while working on his dissertation. That led to taking classes in quilting and bag-making and he was hooked. AJ dabbles in pretty much anything with fiber or textiles - dyeing, weaving, crochet, etc. - but also has a longstanding love for printmaking & mixed media, especially when fabric is involved.
Stitched Histories - Friday Session One
Quilted Postcards- Saturday Session One
Make Your Own Planner Stickers- Saturday Session Two
instructor
Jon'el Hunt
she/her
Known online as the Cheeky Tufter, Jon'el is a contemporary fiber and textile artist. She plays with yarn and other textiles to create rugs, wall art, home décor and other usually (but not always) functional one of a kind, unique pieces and now she's excited to share this modern twist on this old art form with you!
SOLD OUT Rug Tufting Group A -Friday Session One & Two
SOLD OUT Rug Tufting Group B- Friday Session Two & Three
Rug Tufting Finishing Session- Sunday Session One
Instructor
Julia Franken
she/her
Julia Franken is the head yarnicorn and lead knitting/crochet teacher at Makit Takit. She was taught by her Grandma and Great-Grandma to crochet when she was around the age of ten. When she got a little older, she closed that door and went on with life thinking she wasn’t crafty at all. After having her children, she picked up her crochet hook, quickly followed by some knitting needles! Julia now keeps adding and collecting new crafts left and right!
English Paper Piecing- Saturday Session Four
English Paper Piecing- Sunday Session Four
instructor
Katie Mac
she/her
Katie Mac is the COO + Director of Digital at Dear Handmade Life. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, two kids and crazy dog. She started her professional career working for large corporations like IBM and Rolling Stone Magazine before finding her niche working for and with creative business owners. She believes in shopping small, eating local and always roots for the underdog. You can find her hosting weekly gameday festivities to cheer on her beloved Georgia Bulldogs, heading to the ballpark to root for her Braves whenever possible, binge watching all the true crime with her husband, eating ALL the tacos with her college-aged son, singing all Taylor Swift with her teenage mini-me daughter and squeezing in as much time with her girl gang as possible.
Airtable 101- Saturday Session One
Digital Organization Using Google Drive -Saturday Session Two
Airtable 201- Sunday Session Four
Instructor
Kelly Afflek
she/her
Kelly of Tomato Tomato Creative, helps kids and adults alike unlock their creative selves with, DIY craft kits and creative workshops. Her workshops are based on the process of art and creative exploration to boost one’s own inspiration.
Mess-terpiece Collage - Friday Session One
Woodburning- Saturday Session One
instructor
Elena Madsen
she/her
When Elena was about 5, she attended a church craft day with her mom and ever since then, she knew that it was a cool thing to do. She enjoys learning new skills, and loves helping people see their crafting visions come to reality. She took up embroidery during the pandemic and has used her design skills and love of pop culture to enhance her projects.
French Knot Embroidery- Friday Session Four
Instructor
vui dang
she/her
Located in Lincoln, Nebraska, Vui specializes in hand engraving, lettering, and illustration to create unique and custom pieces. She first came across engraving in 2021, learning from YouTube videos and online resources, and immediately fell in love with the process. She has continued to work to develop her skills ever since and is looking forward to sharing her knowledge!
SOLD OUT Engraving Coated Metal- Friday Session Three
Instructor
Sarah Haws
she/her
Sarah is equally comfortable with the fiddliest of hand stitching or a table saw. She's been embroidering, cross-stitching, and sewing for most of her life and she's looking forward to sharing some of her best skills. If we're lucky, we'll get a glimpse of her service dog, Miles.
Souvenir Stuffies - Friday Session Two or Saturday Session Three
instructor
Raven King
Raven is a decorator at Butterfly House bakery and teaches classes using buttercream and the famous Sunflower House Cookies.
Cookie Decorating- Friday Session Four or Sunday Session Three
