We were lucky to catch up with Sarah Tokley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sarah , appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

When the pandemic hit I turned to creativity as an outlet and mental health break for both myself and my children. As a family we made the decision to turn it into a side hustle as a way to teach our children some usable skills and expand our creative community. 6 months into the pandemic I lost my long time management career and in a heart beat knew that I was going to follow my creative goals and build our creative workshop business. I grieved the loss of my career because it was known and familiar, but I was so excited to be able to take what I was loving about my crafting workshop business and build that into a full time business.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Born during the pandemic…..as so many stories now begin. Our girls at the time in grade 3 and 4 refused to participate in on-line schooling. They disconnected from their activities and peers and their anxiety levels grew. I was looking for a way to keep them engaged, teach them some valuable skills in the absence of school, and have some fun. So we turned on the camera (that they were both so afraid of) and started crafting on facebook live. At first there was no audience, but we showed up anyway. We were having fun creating and the more the camera was on the more at ease my girls got. Ove time our audience grew and we continued to hear the same messages from our viewers…”please don’t stop crafting live” We were a beacon of positivity. We made many mistakes on camera, we were real, we laughed (mostly at ourselves) and we have a positive outlook. We crafted live on facebook for 396 days. Some projects were great…others were a flop. It was not un-common for me to try new techniques and projects live for the first time. Six months into the pandemic we moved and I lost my 20 year career. I grieved that loss for a short period of time, but saw it as an opportunity to throw myself fully into the building of this new business and this creative community. As the pandemic restrictions lifted, those who were watching us live asked if I would consider hosting classes. Teaching others was not un-familiar to me. Making people feel welcome, safe and confident was also something that I was good at. So we set to figuring out how to start offering classes in our basement. That was the first step. Over time we started partnering with other local businesses that had space so that we could teach larger groups. On a whim one of the followers asked if I would consider offering a weekend retreat. I had adopted an outlook to never say “no” immediately, especially if the question may scare me a little. So I looked into it and hosted my first weekend long retreat in October of 2021 with 19 strangers! It was an absolute blast. In 2022 we hosted 5 retreats with just over 75 participants. As 2022 grew to a close and our business was growing we knew it was time to start looking for a space to call our own. We were building a brand, and offering classes and retreats but we did not have a space to call our own. We took a huge leap and signed a lease on a commercial space in February of 2023. Your Creative Junction is a creative community. A place to create, connect and craft. A place for other creative instructors to teach what they are passionate about. A makers market where local hand made items are sold. A place where all ages and abilities are made to feel welcome, safe and build their confidence through being creative. We now have the space to offer all kinds of creative class with many different mediums. We offer registered classes, drop in crafting, take home kits, birthday parties, day camps, girls nights and so much more. If you can think it, we can do it. We are setup with a small wood shop. We retail wood blanks, Country CHIC paint and other craft supplies. We currently have 7 local makers in our market. Everything from hand sew items to organic soy candles to sublimation tumblers and macrame! Above all else when you come to Your Creative Junction you are made to feel welcomed, safe and your creativity has you feeling joy.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

There is a particular goal or mission that is driving my creative journey. I want everyone to feel that sense of belonging in our creative community. I want to break down the wall of competition, feeling not good enough, and perfectionism. I want everyone, all ages and abilities to feel welcomed and safe to create what brings them joy. Understanding that it may not be what brings their neighbour joy but that does not make it any less beautiful.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Growing my social media presence has been a journey. I think if I was to give advice to anyone it would be to show up authentically. Tell your story. Show the messy and failures. Like, comment and share other peoples work! Be consistent and show up every single day. Interact in the comments in a genuine way…not slimy. Be patient and don’t give up. Stay positive. Share your passion.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/YourCreativeJunction
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourcreativejunction/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourcreativejunction

Image Credits
All images where taken by me with permission from those in the photos to be used for promotional purposes.