Product Details
For handmade sellers, paint party leaders, DIY studio owners and laser business owners
Build Your Own Shopify Store. Stop Renting Someone Else's.
The Maker's Shopify Course is a self-paced video course that takes you from an empty Shopify account to a finished handmade store you built yourself — no designer, no code, no monthly agency bill.
★★★★★ Rated 5.0 out of 5 from 11 reviews · short video lessons · lifetime access · taught by a working studio owner
$369 one time, normally $549. Founding-member price, lifetime access, every lesson added later included.
What Is The Maker's Shopify Course?
The Maker's Shopify Course is a self-paced online course that teaches handmade sellers, workshop owners and laser business owners how to build and run their own Shopify store, start to finish.
It is short video lessons you follow at your own screen: picking a free theme, organising products into collections that actually sell, setting up shipping and local pickup, selling workshops and classes as bookable products, the SEO basics, and branding the whole thing so it looks like you.
It is taught by Heather Bennett, who has run Paisley Grace Makery, a brick-and-mortar DIY studio in Fernandina Beach, Florida, since 2015, and who built and still runs the Shopify store you are reading this on.
One payment of $369. Lifetime access. Not a subscription, not a template you have to keep paying for, and not a done-for-you service — you end up knowing how your own store works.
Taught at The Next Level Maker Conference
In August 2026 Heather taught the Shopify session at The Next Level Maker Conference at the Gaylord Texan Resort, to a room of laser and handmade business owners — on the same programme as the LightBurn, xTool and photo-editing sessions. This course is that material, expanded, at your own pace.
Who The Maker's Shopify Course Is For
Four kinds of maker take this course. What they have in common is a business that has outgrown the place it is currently living.
How do I move my handmade shop from Etsy to my own website?
The Etsy seller who is tired of the cut
You have the sales and the reviews. What you do not have is the customer list, the look, or the margin.
The course walks you through standing up your own store beside Etsy first, so nothing is at risk, then moving your listings, your photos and your traffic across on your own schedule.
What you work through
- Setting up a store that can run alongside Etsy while you transition
- Rebuilding listings as proper products with variants and options
- Collecting email addresses — the thing Etsy never lets you keep
- Pointing your existing audience at the new shop without losing them
How do I sell workshops and classes on my website?
The paint party or DIY studio owner
Selling a class is not selling a mug. You need dates, seat limits, deposits, private party enquiries and a way to stop people booking a seat that no longer exists.
This is the part generic Shopify tutorials skip entirely, because the people writing them have never had to turn away a walk-in.
What you work through
- Listing workshops as products with dates and limited seats
- Local pickup and in-studio collection, set up properly
- Deposits, private party bookings and custom order forms
- Keeping a calendar of classes that does not need rebuilding every month
How do I sell laser and personalised products online?
The laser or personalisation business owner
Your machine is not the bottleneck. Taking a custom order through a website without twenty back-and-forth messages is.
The course covers the options, fields and product setup that let a customer tell you exactly what they want before they pay.
What you work through
- Personalisation fields and option apps on a product page
- Pricing variants so custom work is not quietly losing money
- Product photos and listings for made-to-order items
- Shipping settings for heavy, fragile and oversized pieces
How do I make my website actually look professional?
The maker whose site was built at midnight and never finished
You started a site. It is half-built, the theme does not look like your brand, and you have been meaning to fix it for a year.
You do not need to start over. The course is just as useful as a rebuild as it is a first build — several reviewers took it with a site already live.
What you work through
- Choosing and setting up a free theme that fits your brand
- Collections and navigation that guide a shopper instead of losing them
- Colours, fonts and the details that stop a site looking like a template
- The SEO basics so people can find the shop on Google
What Does It Actually Cost to Sell Somewhere Else?
This is the question nobody answers honestly, so here are the real published numbers, and the honest version of both sides.
Selling on Etsy
- $0.20 to list an item, every four months
- 6.5% transaction fee on the item price plus shipping and gift wrap
- Payment processing on top, varying by country
- 15% Offsite Ads on attributed orders, dropping to 12% once you pass $10,000 in sales over 365 days — and at that point you can no longer opt out
- Etsy Plus, if you take it, is $10/month
Selling on your own Shopify store
- $39/month on Basic, or $29/month billed yearly
- 2.9% + 30¢ per online card payment on Basic
- No listing fees, however many products you add
- No forced advertising cut once you grow
- Shopify currently offers a 3-day free trial, then $1/month for the first 3 months on most plans
Fees published by Etsy and Shopify, checked October 2026. Both change their pricing; check the current pages before you decide.
The honest version: Etsy brings you shoppers and your own site does not. That is worth real money when you are starting. What it costs you is the margin, the customer list and the look of the place. Most makers who do well end up running both — and the one thing that makes that possible is being able to build and change your own store without paying someone every time. That is what this course is for.
What You Learn
Short video lessons, in the order you would actually do the work, following along in your own Shopify account. Several reviewers had a working site inside a few days; most take it a lesson at a time. You have lifetime access, so there is no deadline.
Pick a theme without paying for one
Shopify's free themes are genuinely good now. You will choose one that fits your brand and set it up properly, instead of buying a $400 template you then cannot edit.
Build products that sell themselves
Titles, descriptions, photos, variants and options — set up so a shopper can see what they are buying and what the choices mean, without messaging you first.
Organise with collections and navigation
A maker catalogue sprawls fast. Collections, menus and a structure that guides someone from the home page to the thing they actually want.
Workshops, classes and local pickup
Selling a seat is not selling a sign. Dates, seat limits, deposits, private party enquiries, and local pickup set up so in-studio customers are not paying shipping.
Shipping and checkout that do not leak money
Rates for heavy, fragile and oversized handmade work, plus the checkout and notification settings that stop orders turning into customer service.
Get found: the SEO basics
Page titles, descriptions, image alt text and product copy written so Google and AI answer engines can tell what you sell and where you are.
Brand it so it looks like you
Colours, fonts, logo placement, and the small details that are the difference between “a Shopify store” and your shop.
Automate the busywork
Email capture, order notifications, the apps worth having and the ones that are not, so the store runs while you are in the studio.
What Comes With the Course
Short, specific videos you follow at your own screen. Watch once, or keep one open while you build.
Including every lesson added after you join. The course is still being built out, and you get all of it.
$369 instead of $549. The price goes up as the course fills out; what you pay now is what you pay, forever.
Founding members tell Heather what to cover next. Several lessons exist because someone asked.
Reviewers mention getting unstuck at no extra charge. You are not left alone with a half-built site.
One payment. No renewal, no per-sale cut, no licence.
Who Teaches It
Heather Bennett has run Paisley Grace Makery in Fernandina Beach, Florida since 2015. It started in her garage after the company she worked for closed.
The studio runs public workshops most weeks, mobile and corporate parties off site, a library of more than 2,000 projects, a bi-monthly DIY subscription box, a retail side and a personalisation side. She owns the building, runs the laser, and prices the kits.
She also built this store. Every setting she teaches is one she uses on a shop that takes real orders, every week, with a real studio behind it. When Shopify changes something, she finds out the same way you would — by running a business on it.
What Students Say
★★★★★ 5.0 out of 5 from 11 reviews. In their own words.
I didn't have a clue on where to start. In 3 days I had a website, knew how to use variables, infinite options app and how to set up the email collection. It's been better than hiring someone to do it for me because I'm in control. And help is only an appointment away with Heather, who always gives much more than she should!
Robin
I learned the basics of starting a website in the Blueprint course but this one made me a real, functional website. I never thought I could ever be a website designer! Any time I have run into issues I am able to ask questions and get things sorted for no extra charge.
Tickled Pink Arts and Crafts
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time — and Heather serves it up just right! This course masterfully breaks down what feels like an overwhelming daunting task into bite size pieces so that it makes perfect sense. TONS of tips and tricks.
Anita
The Maker's Shopify Course was a game-changer for my business and website. Before taking the course, I struggled with optimizing my Shopify store and creating a seamless shopping experience. The course provided clear, actionable steps that helped me improve my website's design, organization, and overall professionalism.
Sherry Hanson
The course has so many nuggets in it and I am not even done. The course is broken down into small bite size videos which makes it easy to follow along and implement. Should have bought the Shopify course a long time ago.
Terrie Hicks
I highly recommend Heather's Shopify course! It helped me build my store, better understand how Shopify works, improve my site's overall design, and save a tremendous amount of time and frustration.
Regina Davis
One Payment. Lifetime Access. Founding-Member Price.
$369, normally $549. The course is being released lesson by lesson, and founding members lock in the lowest price it will ever have — including every lesson added later.
Compare that with the alternative. A designer build for a handmade shop typically runs into four figures, and you still cannot change it yourself afterwards. A paid theme is a few hundred dollars and teaches you nothing. An agency retainer never ends.
You are buying the ability to run your own store. After this you can add a product, launch a workshop, change your homepage for a holiday or fix a shipping rate yourself, on a Tuesday night, without waiting on anyone.
The Maker's Shopify Course teaches you to build and run a Shopify store. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Shopify Inc. A Shopify subscription is separate and paid to Shopify. The course does not promise any particular level of sales.
Where This Sits Alongside the Blueprint
Think of it as the difference between the business and the storefront. The Maker's Blueprint is the business plan: pricing, policies, sourcing, planning and marketing across workshops, parties, kits and finished goods. The Maker's Shopify Course is the building: the actual website those things get sold through.
Neither one requires the other, and you can take them in either order. If you are deciding: take the Blueprint first if you are still working out what to sell and for how much. Take this one first if you already know, and the thing standing in your way is the website.
Questions, Answered
What is The Maker's Shopify Course?
A self-paced online video course that teaches handmade sellers, workshop owners and laser business owners how to build and run their own Shopify store, from choosing a free theme to listing products, setting up shipping and local pickup, selling classes, and the SEO basics. One payment of $369 with lifetime access.
How much does the course cost?
$369 as a one-time founding-member payment, normally $549. There is no subscription, no renewal and no cut of your sales. Lifetime access is included, and that covers every lesson added to the course later.
Do I need to already have a Shopify account?
No. The course starts from an empty account, so you can sign up as you go. Shopify currently offers a 3-day free trial followed by $1/month for the first 3 months on most plans, which is enough to build your store before you are paying full price.
How much does Shopify itself cost on top of the course?
That is paid to Shopify, not to us. As of October 2026, Shopify's Basic plan is $39/month, or $29/month billed yearly, with online card rates of 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic. Grow is $105/month ($79 yearly) and Advanced is $399/month ($299 yearly). Check shopify.com/pricing for current figures.
Is this worth it if I already have a Shopify site?
Several reviewers took it with a site already live and said it was what turned a half-built site into a finished one. If your store exists but the theme does not look like your brand, the collections are a mess, or you cannot change things without help, the course is as much a rebuild as a first build.
Should I leave Etsy for my own website?
Not necessarily, and the course does not tell you to. Etsy brings you shoppers your own site will not, which is worth real money early on. What it costs is the margin, the customer email list and control of how your shop looks. Most makers who do well end up running both. The course teaches you to stand up your own store alongside Etsy first, so nothing is at risk while you move.
What does Etsy actually charge?
As Etsy publishes it: $0.20 to list an item for four months, a 6.5% transaction fee on the item price plus shipping and gift wrap, payment processing on top varying by country, and Offsite Ads at 15% of attributed orders, dropping to 12% once your shop passes $10,000 in sales over 365 days. Past that threshold you can no longer opt out of Offsite Ads. Etsy Plus, if you take it, is $10/month.
Can I sell workshops and classes, not just products?
Yes, and this is one of the main reasons the course exists. You will set up classes as products with dates and limited seats, handle deposits and private party enquiries, and configure local pickup so in-studio customers are not charged shipping. Generic Shopify tutorials skip this entirely.
Does it cover personalised and custom laser orders?
Yes. Personalisation fields and option apps on the product page, pricing variants so custom work is not quietly losing money, and shipping settings for heavy, fragile and oversized pieces. The aim is a customer telling you exactly what they want before they pay, instead of twenty messages afterwards.
Do I need to know anything technical?
No. There is no code in this course. If you can follow a video and click along in your own browser, you can do it. Reviewers describe the lessons as broken into bite-size pieces for exactly that reason.
How long does it take?
It depends how much you build as you go. One reviewer had a working website in three days. Most people work through it a lesson at a time around the rest of their business. Lifetime access means there is no deadline and you can come back when Shopify changes something.
Do I have to buy a paid theme?
No. The course deliberately uses Shopify's free themes, which are good enough now that a paid template is rarely worth it for a handmade shop. You keep that few hundred dollars.
Can I ask questions if I get stuck?
Yes. Reviewers mention getting unstuck at no extra charge. You are not left alone with a half-finished site.
Is this a franchise or a licence?
No. You keep your own business name, your own branding, your own customers and all of your revenue. You are buying training, not a licence.
Is this course affiliated with Shopify?
No. It is an independent course taught by a Shopify store owner. Shopify Inc. does not endorse or sponsor it, and your Shopify subscription is a separate payment to Shopify.
Your Shop Deserves a Real Home Online.
You already make the thing people want. The only part missing is a storefront that is yours — one you can open, change and grow without asking permission or paying a toll on every sale. That is a weekend of lessons away, and then it is yours for good.
Get The Maker's Shopify Course
