Hello everyone!
I've been getting a few questions about when I'm bringing back in-person workshops, and I thought I'll share more here! I'm announcing what my new Online Workshops are and how they're different/ similar to my traditional workshops or courses. This is really a post about my thought process (which can be a bit long aha) in case you're curious, so feel free to skip to the sections you're interested to learn more about!
ANNOUNCING TWO NEW WORKSHOPS:
Crepe Paper Succulent Workshops (September)
Video will be published for a limited time only! 1st September to 15th September.
Materials can be sent to you if you're based in Singapore. More info here: misspetalandbloom.teachable.com/p/crepepapersucculent
Crepe Paper Wall Rose Workshop (October)
Video will be published for a limited time only! 1st October to 15th October.
Materials can be sent to you if you're based in Singapore. More info here:
WHY NOT HOST IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS?
It's now Phase 2 in Singapore, which means businesses are open but with safe-distancing measures in place and masks being mandatory. Many of my industry peers have also relaunched workshops and are hosting small groups of 4. That's wonderful, and I applaud them, but to me, I'm very averse to taking any risks, and well - this could be a selfish reason - I kinda hate the idea of teaching with a mask on. YES, I'LL ADMIT THAT AHA.
I have bangs, so with a mask on, you really can't see any part of my face except my eyes! Unfortunately, I also do not have a good ear, and I have trouble picking up what people say behind a mask. Ultimately, it doesn't sit right with me that my students aren't getting the best teaching performance from me if 90% of my face is covered, and when I'm not being my most comfortable and confident.
Another crucial factor, which I probably should have mentioned first, is that I am now without a proper studio. I have returned to my bedroom to craft, as my studio space is now temporarily housing my family members who have had renovation works stalled due to the pandemic. I'm not complaining, I love having them here, and I'm fine working from my bedroom, but it means I'll have to rent out external studios for any in-person workshops, and at this moment, with workshop attendance rates being unpredictable, the administrative costs plus safety risks aren't worth it at the moment.
WHAT'S AN ONLINE PRE-RECORDED WORKSHOP?
This is exactly like watching my Online Course or a Youtube tutorial. You hit play, and can press pause or rewind whenever you like. This means you set your own pace to learn.
You'll have a top down view of my hands working through the different steps. And I've recorded a voiceover going through all the instructions (and sometimes with a funny commentary too, or at least, I try to be funny, aha)
I understand that for online teaching videos, you're also not looking at my face, aha. But, I do appreciate that I can record it beforehand and edit it so that you're watching my best performance. I can ensure that the instructions in my voiceover are clear and concise (trust me, I take the longest time for voiceovers because I record each section at least twice and pick the best one), and I can even add notes on the screen or zoom in at key moments.
Thus, while not as intimate as an in-person workshop, I can at least guarantee a good quality for the teaching content.
WHY NOT USE ZOOM?
I admire teachers who are teaching over Zoom, that's amazing. I've tried Zoom, its great, but I can't imagine teaching on it - I wouldn't know where to look! Or who's talking! Believe me, I'll be a distracted mess if I taught over Zoom AHA. So to all the teachers out there, BRAVO.
I also imagine myself as a student, and I think I would prefer the flexibility of time. I didn't want my students to tune in on a specific time and day - I've had multiple instances for my in-person workshops where students can't make it because something popped up in the last minute. That's life isn't it? So, since life can be so unpredictable, if I can offer a format that allows my students not to worry about committing to a fixed time and date, I don't see why I shouldn't do that!
BUT WHY IS THE VIDEO UP ONLY FOR 15 DAYS?
The main thing I considered was that I wanted this to be as close to an in-person workshop as I could offer, and the biggest draw of attending a workshop to me is having all my materials and tools right there pre-packed for me. That's what I'm offering for these 2 workshops as well, and setting a start and end date helps me coordinate when I send out the materials.
Lastly, I think an end date provides a little bit of push, haha, if you get what I mean! Sometimes we tend to procrastinate if we know we have unlimited access to a class, and thus the 15 days I think is a good amount of time to allow flexibility but prevent procrastination.
WHY THE PRICE?
Haha. This is the question isn't it. Honestly, the rise of Zoom workshops has kinda flipped the workshop market on its head. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with how others are pricing their workshops, its just something so new, that I think we all don't know how to go about it, and we're all testing the waters.
I understand $50/$90 seems quite high compared to other Zoom workshops, or even to the free Youtube videos you can watch. I'm using the price of my in-person workshops as a comparison, and the time that goes into prepping the materials (I'm cutting all the leaves and petals for you, yay!), making the videos, hosting it on the Teachable platform, courier fees, I hope all these factors justify the prices I'm offering. As much as I want to offer all my knowledge for free, well this girl has gotta eat too!
WILL YOU STOP IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS COMPLETELY?
No, definitely not. But I won't lie, it might be a long time coming. This pandemic doesn't seem to be ending any time soon, and until I get my studio space back, and when I feel its safe to start meeting you all again, I might be using this online pre-recorded format instead. I know some people learn better during in-person workshops, and I'm sorry about that, it's definitely something that I'm constantly thinking about and reviewing.
To conclude, I hope this gives you some insight! I've always aimed to be transparent, and sharing it here also helps me sort through my own thoughts too. Thanks for reading, I hope to see you in class! :)
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