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This episode is pure Riley Black Project live chaos.

John and Crystal sit down with Alexis from 1819 Madera for a fun, honest, and very relatable maker business conversation about life after Next Level Maker Conference, creative freedom, custom awards, name badges, business partnerships, parenting, conferences, Zumba, and the never-ending “after the event” to-do list.

Kendra couldn’t make the start of the episode, but don’t worry, she was absolutely still part of the chaos.

In this episode, we talk about what happens after a big maker conference when you think you’re finally going to get a break, but instead the orders, events, deliverables, and business opportunities keep coming. Alexis shares what 1819 Madera has been working on, including a big full-color badge order, custom event awards, and the lessons that come from trying new products that take way more time than expected.

We also get into one of the best parts of being a creative business owner: when customers actually trust you with creative freedom. From custom name tags and acrylic pieces to awards for major events, we talk about why the best projects often happen when clients give makers room to do what they do best.

Of course, we also recap some Next Level moments, including the MakerFlo Success Lounge, Zumba that John and Crystal absolutely intended to attend, late-night networking, trade show exhaustion, and why conference weeks are both amazing and completely draining.

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In this episode of The Riley Black Project, John and Crystal sit down for a solo life and business update after a wild stretch of travel, trade shows, content work, and real-life chaos.

We talk about Next Level Maker Conference, the validation that comes from seeing your community in person, and why events like this matter so much for makers, laser owners, creators, and small business owners. Online comments are great, but hearing people say “we see what you’re doing” face-to-face hits different.

From there, we recap our last-minute trip to UV Energize in Nashville, why we decided we needed to be in the room, and how showing up in person created real opportunities for Riley Black Studios. We talk about trade show content, vendor outreach, why emails get missed, why face-to-face conversations still matter, and how we ended up working with Mimaki USA on product overview videos for two newly launched machines.

We also get into testing live stream coverage at events, filming machine launches, working alongside marketing teams, the chaos of shooting on a busy show floor, and why trade shows are such a huge opportunity for brands to create content that keeps working long after the event is over.

Fair warning, the second half of this episode gets more personal. We talk about some heavier life stuff because that has been part of our reality lately too. One of the goals of this podcast has always been to remind people that they are not alone, whether you are building a business, running a laser, raising a family, grieving, struggling, growing, or trying to do all of it at the same time.

🎙️ The Riley Black Project
Lasers, life, business, content creation, and all the ish in between.

Support the show

If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon!! You can check out the tier options and perks here: https://www.patreon.com/TheRileyBlackProject

Check out my Linktree for my social media links & all the different things I have to offer! https://linktr.ee/RileyBlack

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What happens when a handwritten recipe, a small-town move, and one laser turn into a full engraving business?

In this episode of **The Riley Black Project**, John and Crystal sit down with **Michael and Flora from Havet Engraved** to talk about their journey from Port St. Lucie, Florida to Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, and how they went from one machine in a basement to a growing engraving business with lasers, UV printing, sandblasting, metal marking, apparel, and more.

Michael and Flora share how a sentimental engraved cutting board sparked the idea for their business, why personalized gifts mean so much, and how one small-town customer ordering cutting boards helped them start building real momentum. They also talk about originally planning to open a UPS Store, realizing that franchise life was not the right fit, and choosing to go all in on their own engraving business instead.

We get into the real stuff too: scary business pivots, working with your spouse, educating customers on what laser engraving, UV printing, and sandblasting can actually do, learning new machines, investing before you feel ready, and why networking can completely change the trajectory of a small business.

Whether you’re a laser owner, UV printer, sandcarver, maker, small business owner, or creative entrepreneur trying to figure out your next move, this episode is packed with real-world lessons on growth, risk, community, and building a business around meaningful work.

🎙️ **The Riley Black Project**
Lasers, life, business, content creation, and all the ish in between.

Support the show

If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon!! You can check out the tier options and perks here: https://www.patreon.com/TheRileyBlackProject

Check out my Linktree for my social media links & all the different things I have to offer! https://linktr.ee/RileyBlack