This one is a long one (and a fun one). My conversation with Lauren Martin, founder of Cool Aunt Creatives, clocks in at just over two hours and covers a huge range of ideas about community, creativity, and what it means to keep building a meaningful life after school.

Lauren shares her Guelph origin story, how exploring downtown shaped her early connection to the city (including a shared love for the now-gone Dis-a-Rays), and what it was like navigating that post-university chapter of moving away, coming back, and trying to find real community as an adult. We also dig into her pandemic-era reset, learning new creative skills through trial and error, and how all of that eventually led to Cool Aunt Creatives, its workshops, and its bigger event universe.

We talk about:

– Coming to Guelph for school and choosing to stay

– Making friends as an adult and building “third spaces”

– Learning new hobbies, making mistakes, and pushing through discomfort

– The meaning behind “Cool Aunt” and the ethos of the brand

– Why structured play matters, especially for adults

– Cool Aunt Creatives workshops, markets, and the kind of makers Lauren loves to work with

– Fairy & Iron and building a fantasy world that continues across events

– Creating dance spaces for adults that are joyful, structured, and not overly competitive

Connect with Cool Aunt Creatives:

Website: https://coolauntcreatives.com/

Events calendar: https://coolauntcreatives.com/events-calendar

Workshops: https://coolauntcreatives.com/workshops-1

Cool Aunt Jr: https://coolauntcreatives.com/cool-aunt-jr-summer-camp

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coolauntcreatives/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coolauntcreatives/

More links (including other platforms): https://linktr.ee/coolauntcreatives

Thanks for listening!

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