Your Ultimate HobbyScool FAQ: Crafting, Teaching, and Earning Explained
Thinking about joining a HobbyScool event but want the full picture first? This is the whole thing in one place — how the free summits work, what the Craft & Create Club actually delivers, what a VIP Pass gets you, what's in the shop, and how speakers, affiliates and brand partners work with us.
Nothing here is a sales pitch. It's the answers people email us for, written down.
What is HobbyScool?
HobbyScool is an online home for creative hobbies. We run free virtual summits, monthly craft workshops, and a digital shop full of printables, planners and replays. Everything is taught by working instructors who do this for a living — quilters, painters, letterers, organizers, papercrafters, digital artists.
We ran our first virtual summit in July 2022. Since then more than 111,000 makers have attended a HobbyScool event. At HobbyScool we've watched the same thing happen over and over: people don't want another course sitting in a dashboard. They want a set time on the calendar, a project in front of them, and other people doing it alongside them.
Whether you've never crafted before or you've been making things your whole life, there's a way in.
The two main ways to join
Option 1: The Craft & Create Club
Your monthly creative routine. Every month you get a brand-new craft workshop taught by a different expert instructor. Projects rotate through the year — watercolor, lettering, home décor, fiber arts, papercraft, seasonal makes.
It's a good fit if you want consistent creative time on the calendar, you like step-by-step instruction, and you want a relaxing hour or two carved out that's just yours. The Club runs on monthly, annual and lifetime plans.
See what's inside the Craft & Create Club
Option 2: The free monthly summits
Your year-round creative adventure. Every month HobbyScool hosts a themed multi-day virtual summit, and every one of them is free to attend live. Themes cover creative self-care, home organization, family crafts, journaling, papercraft, digital tools like Cricut, Canva, Procreate and AI, holiday projects, handmade skills, and more.
Get notified when the next summit opens
So which one do I pick?
Craft & Create Club
One steady workshop a month that arrives automatically. Pick this if you want structure and routine.
Monthly summits
Immersive themed events with dozens of workshops over three days. Pick this if you love variety and seasonal bursts of inspiration.
Most people do both. The Club for the monthly habit, the summits for the seasonal spark.
Can beginners join?
Yes, and most people who show up are beginners at whatever that month's craft happens to be. Every workshop — in the Club and at the summits — is taught for someone starting from zero. You get clear instructions, a supply list ahead of time, and an instructor walking you through it.
I'm busy. How much time do I actually need?
Craft & Create Club: most projects take one to three hours, and you can pause and come back whenever.
Summits: each event runs three days with a full lineup of workshops, but you attend as many or as few as you want. Nobody is checking. Day 1 workshops go live at 9:00am EDT and stay free to watch for 24 hours, then Day 2 opens the next morning, and so on. If a workshop's window closes before you get to it, a VIP Pass brings it back.
What are HobbyScool summits?
Summits are our signature events — three days, one seasonal or creative theme, more than 30 instructors, free to attend live. Registrations run between 7,000 and 20,000 makers per summit.
Here's the 2027 lineup:
Exact dates go out by email as each summit opens. Get on the event list and you'll hear first.
What's included in a VIP Pass?
A VIP Pass is an optional upgrade attached to one specific summit. It gets you:
- Lifetime access to every workshop in that summit, so the 24-hour window stops mattering
- Speaker bonuses — extra templates, guides and mini-lessons contributed by the instructors
- Downloadable templates, printables and guides
- Discount offers on shop products and memberships
- A watch-anytime experience if live doesn't fit your week
Lifetime means for as long as HobbyScool continues to offer that program — not the lifetime of the buyer. If HobbyScool were ever sold, lifetime access carries over and the new owner honors it. We'd rather say that plainly than let anyone assume something different.
Membership, billing and cancelling
How do I cancel?
Cancel yourself any time through the ThriveCart customer hub at hobbyscool.thrivecart.com/updateinfo, which is also linked at the bottom of every invoice you get from us. Or email help@hobbyscool.com and we'll handle it.
What happens to my access when I cancel?
You keep access through the end of the billing period you've already paid for. Nothing gets cut off the moment you click cancel.
Where do I log in?
Club workshops and summit VIP content live in your HobbyScool course login. If something isn't showing up where you expect it, our help docs cover most of it, and help@hobbyscool.com covers the rest.
Why sign up for the weekly newsletter?
Every Sunday you get a creative prompt, first word on new summits and workshops, subscriber-only discounts, new product announcements, and general inspiration for making creativity a normal part of your week. It's free, and 44,800 makers are already on it.
Join the weekly HobbyScool newsletter
The HobbyScool digital shop
Printables, planners, journals and past summit workshops all live in the shop. Everything is a digital download — nothing ships.
What can I find in there?
- Craft templates and project planners
- Journals and trackers
- Seasonal printables and coloring pages
- Summit workshop replays and themed bundles
- AI coach kits — a planner paired with a matching prompt pack you paste straight into ChatGPT or Claude, no paid AI plan needed
How do I get my purchase?
You get a download link by email immediately after checkout. No waiting, no shipping.
Can I buy past summit workshops?
Yes. Individual workshops, themed replay bundles, and complete summit collections are all in the shop. Good if you missed an event or a VIP window closed before you got to it.
What's the refund policy?
Shop purchases carry a 14-day guarantee. If a download won't open or the file is wrong, that's a fix rather than a refund — email us and we'll get you the working file. Duplicate orders get refunded with no time limit. Gift cards aren't refundable.
Are there discounts?
Yes — newsletter subscribers get exclusive deals through the year, and new resources go in every month.
Visit the HobbyScool digital shop
For expert speakers
Every summit is built from more than 30 instructors teaching what they already teach. Here's how that works.
What do I get out of speaking?
- Your workshop in front of a summit audience of 7,000 to 20,000 registrants
- Affiliate income on everything you refer
- Email subscribers — when attendees opt into your free gift, they join your list directly
- Authority in your craft niche and connections across the instructor community
Does it cost anything to speak?
No. Speakers participate for free and earn commissions on what they promote.
Is there an audience size requirement?
Yes. We look for instructors with an email list of at least 2,000 subscribers, because the summits run on shared promotion — every speaker brings their people, and everyone's audience grows.
How do speaker commissions work?
Same rates as the affiliate program below. Commissions are paid by PayPal after the refund period closes.
Apply to speak at a HobbyScool summit
For affiliates
What is the affiliate program?
You promote HobbyScool summits, VIP passes and memberships to your audience and earn commission on what sells. There's no cap.
What are the commission rates?
- 50% on the full event funnel — the VIP All-Access Pass at any price tier, plus the order bump and any upsells or cross-sells in that funnel
- 30% on memberships — monthly, annual and lifetime. Recurring plans pay 30% on every renewal for as long as the member stays subscribed and you stay in good standing. Lifetime pays 30% of the one-time payment, once, since there's nothing to renew
How do I sign up?
Create your affiliate account, connect PayPal, grab your tracking links, and start promoting with the swipe copy and graphics we hand you.
When do affiliates get paid?
Roughly three weeks after each summit ends, once the refund period has closed. Recurring membership commissions pay monthly.
Can I change the marketing assets?
Please do. Rewrite the emails in your own voice — they always perform better that way.
Learn more about the HobbyScool affiliate program
For brands and sponsors
Brands reach the HobbyScool audience through a placement in the weekly newsletter. Audience numbers, open and click rates, and the verified demographic breakdown are all published on the newsletter sponsorship page.
Press and media enquiries go through the media page.
Want to teach with us?
HobbyScool runs on instructors who already know their craft. If that's you, there's a summit slot and an affiliate link with your name on it.
Apply to Speak Become an AffiliateQuick answers
Are HobbyScool summits really free to attend?
Yes. Every HobbyScool summit is free to attend live. Each day's workshops go live at 9:00am EDT and stay free to watch for 24 hours, then the next day's workshops open. If you want to keep the workshops after that window closes, the VIP Pass is the optional upgrade that gives you lifetime access.
How many people attend HobbyScool events?
111,308 makers have attended a HobbyScool event since the first summit in July 2022. Individual summits draw between 7,000 and 20,000 registrations, and we run twelve of them a year.
What's the difference between the HobbyScool Craft & Create Club and a summit VIP Pass?
The Craft & Create Club is an ongoing membership that delivers a brand-new craft workshop every month, taught by a different instructor. A VIP Pass is a one-time purchase attached to one specific summit, giving you lifetime access to that summit's workshops plus speaker bonuses. The Club is your monthly creative routine. A VIP Pass is a keepsake of one event.
What does lifetime access mean for a HobbyScool VIP Pass or membership?
Lifetime access means for as long as HobbyScool continues to offer that program, not the lifetime of the buyer. If HobbyScool were ever sold, lifetime access carries over and the new owner honors it.
How do I cancel my HobbyScool Craft & Create Club membership?
Cancel yourself any time through the ThriveCart customer hub at hobbyscool.thrivecart.com/updateinfo, which is also linked at the bottom of every invoice, or email help@hobbyscool.com and the team will take care of it. When you cancel you keep access through the end of the billing period you've already paid for.
How much commission do HobbyScool affiliates and summit speakers earn?
Affiliates and speakers earn 50% on the full event funnel, which covers the VIP All-Access Pass at any price tier plus the order bump and any upsells, and 30% on memberships. The 30% applies to monthly, annual and lifetime plans. Recurring plans pay 30% on every renewal for as long as the member stays subscribed.
Dr. Destini Copp
Founder, HobbyScool · Digital Product Strategist · MBA Professor
Dr. Destini Copp is the founder of HobbyScool, a creative education platform connecting makers, crafters and hobby enthusiasts with expert educators from around the world. More about HobbyScool.
