Mikey, Daniel & Jonathan - WIPS & Chains Retreat 2027

A sneak peek ahead: we are working towards creating a Crochet Crowd + Yarn Dragon retreat. We are in the beginning stages of planning.

Our agent, Joanne, who is known for finding the right hosts for her craft-centric retreats, is bridging a gap to create two separate, yet together, crochet and knit retreats.

She mentioned Yarn Dragon to me, but I didn't know who that was. Unknowingly to me, as I don't pay close attention to people's names for the fun people online, I had been following Jonathan, aka Yarn Dragon, already and regularly watching his content for yarn-tainment value.

Joanne already had an established craft-centric operation and asked me to serve as a host on one of her river cruise boats in Europe. I thought to myself, my personality can rub people the wrong way who don't know me. Is there a way for me to create my own retreat so that the community that comes is already aware that I am off-the-cuff and rolling with the waves?

What was intriguing was that she could get supplies from areas of the world we haven't been able to reach. Joanne chose Jonathan to see if we could work together to create an incredible event. Not realizing I already follow him, I was over the moon. He's fun online and breaks the mould of what a knitter or crocheter looks like. Love when barriers are broken.

In my space of the world, YouTube Hosts and designers can be highly competitive, to the point that the joy can be sucked from the moment as one person is doing the legwork and everyone else is just the team. I've been lucky in the past, working with several hosts who, when it came to showtime with our community, delivered and provided a positive experience. It's not always the case, from what I understand.

Changing Up The Plan

We've had our conversations to kick-start the planning, and ultimately, the game is to run separate programs simultaneously. Three of us have one solo goal...

The Crochet Crowd, aka Michael and Daniel, will run our group in the Crochet Crowd format, in our usual informal way.

Yarn Dragon, aka Jonathan, is already doing destination travel with the yarn arts in his own way. Jonathan owns a yarn shop in Seattle and has access to his own materials, but can use our agent to help get more if needed. Will run his group the way that matches his style and what he wants to convey.

Mikey's program will be crochet-centric, and Jonathan's program may be a mix of crochet and knit. Both of us will have our own programs in motion. Both of us will have our own kits to give to guests who sign up for either. You cannot sign up for both workshops, as they run at the same time.

While both workshops are in motion, the goal is to bring both groups together for shared activities, stitch socials, and possibly more experiences that reach beyond the world of yarn.

Both of us have the maximum number of guests we can handle, and the venue has a maximum space allowance that will dictate our group sizes and the combined group as a whole.

We are in talks of doing 'rotary' where I will host one of his classes, and he will host one of mine, essentially switching spots to mix it up a bit. It will allow both of our communities to interact and get to know us.

Now is the time to get familiar with Jonathan. He hosts retreats already and is destined for France and Iceland in the future. He is located in Seattle, Washington. Our common goal is to keep this joint adventure originating in the USA and explore going across the big pond.

I'm sure his program is going to be a smash hit, and together with ours, three of us will be around to provide a relaxed and fun atmosphere. He will make an announcement when we go live to gather his community for his group, and we will do the same on our end.

Right now, we are considering jumping on a ship together and/or a land retreat location. Either way, I expect it's going to be a hell of a great time.

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