The Maker's Playbook

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We spend so much energy measuring success by how visible or "full time" our craft looks from the outside, but the version of making that actually sustains you might look completely different from what you think it should. Over the last 5 years, since we first interviewed Camille Beckles (of Camille at the Wheel), on our debut episode here at the Maker’s Playbook, Camille has had the opportunity to say yes to the most exciting, challenging, and community-driven ceramics opportunities of her career. And it's her full-time job that gave her the freedom to do it. When survival isn't on the line, your art gets to be whatever you want it to be. Could releasing the pressure to monetize everything (and leaning into what genuinely sustains you) actually be the most serious thing you can do for your creative practice?
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For fifteen years, the first piece of advice out of my mouth to anyone asking about self-employment has been the same: keep the outside income as long as you possibly can. And for fifteen years, I wasn't doing it.
Until now.
In this solo episode, I'm sharing a significant personal update — what led me to take an outside job after fifteen years of running my own businesses, what burnout actually feels like versus just being really tired, and the surprising freedom that comes from detaching your creativity from your ability to pay the bills.
Plus the one question every maker should ask themselves before they spend another minute stressing about Instagram.
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Most of us have been told — implicitly or explicitly — that success as a maker means growth: more followers, more orders, more revenue. But what if the real question isn't how big can this get, but what do I actually want from this? Taylor Friese of Maker Bakery built a waitlist that stretches years into the future not by chasing a bigger audience, but by getting radically clear about who she makes work for and why — and letting that clarity do the marketing for her. And when you get clear on what you actually want — not what success is supposed to look like, but what you want — the right people tend to show up, ready to wait in line for it.

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If you've ever Googled "how to price my art" or "how to grow a creative business" hoping someone would just hand you the right answer — this episode is for you. Rebecca digs into why making confident business decisions as an artist or maker isn't about finding the perfect formula. It's about treating your art business like a science experiment: forming a hypothesis, testing it, analyzing what actually happens, and adjusting from there. Whether you're a full-time maker relying on your craft sales to pay the bills, or a side-hustle artist still holding onto that day job, this episode will help you stop waiting for permission and start making decisions that actually move your creative business forward.

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Most of us assume that building a creative business takes years of groundwork before the work can speak for itself — but what happens when the work takes off before you've had time to figure out the business? Aaron Raymond of Redacted Ceramics went from renting a wheel for a week to running a full-time pottery business in under two years, and his story raises a quiet but important question: does the conventional wisdom about "paying your dues" actually hold up? As Aaron shares, a clear creative vision — one rooted in the Portuguese tile work he encountered while living abroad — combined with a willingness to use technology as a tool rather than a shortcut, allowed him to develop a style so distinctive that it found its audience almost before he was ready for it. The real lesson here may be that sustainability isn't about how long you've been at it, but about knowing your limits, protecting your hands, and resisting the pressure to scale past what the work can actually bear.
Check out Aaron's work here: https://redactedceramics.com/
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Follow The Maker's Playbook on Instagram @themakersplaybook

Have questions about the show or want to say Hi? Email us at: podcast (at) makers-playbook (dot) com