The Riley Black Project

Send us Fan Mail 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-t...

Send us Fan Mail 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. ...

Send us Fan Mail Next Level is almost here, and we are officially in conference prep mode. In this episode of The Riley Black Project, John and Crystal go live in the Riley Black Project Community to talk all things Next Level Maker Conference, booth prep, content creation, networking, health updates, and how we’re trying to stay consistent even when life keeps getting chaotic. We talk about what we’re bringing to Next Level, including Keychain Thingies, UV DTF stickers, portable fans, jewe...

Send us Fan Mail We’re finally back! After a short break, The Riley Black Project returns with a guest who has been dodging us for years: Kristen Thompson of Kristen Thompson Designs. Kristen joins John and Crystal to talk about her journey from corporate work at Lowe’s, to Cricut crafts, Etsy digital designs, sublimation tumblers, laser engraving, full wrap tumbler designs, Photoshop mockups, and building a creative business around the products and designs she actually loves making. We ge...

Send us Fan Mail Crystal bought a new laser… so naturally, we had to talk about it. In this episode of The Riley Black Project, John and Crystal sit down for a life update episode packed with maker business pivots, laser talk, content creation lessons, ADHD updates, travel plans, and a major Riley Black Studios website refresh. Crystal shares her first impressions of the xTool F2, why she chose it for jewelry and small personalized gifts, and how the camera alignment has already made engrav...