Our Story
When Covid shut down the world, quilt and craft teachers who traveled for a living lost their income overnight. Guild meetings stopped. Conferences canceled. The workshops that had supported careers for decades simply disappeared.
Lyric had a choice: watch that happen, or do something about it.
As co-founder of the Global Quilt Connection, she helped build the systems that let teachers keep teaching and guilds keep meeting. They met over Zoom, over video, over whatever technology they could figure out together. Teachers who thought their careers were over found new audiences. Guilds that thought they'd go dark stayed connected.
But Lyric saw that it wasn't perfect. Talent wasn't a problem. Technology was.
Brilliant teachers were sitting on skills their students needed, stuck behind a fear of cameras, platforms, and "figuring out the tech." So she built a place to solve that specific problem.
The Academy for Virtual Teaching exists to help quilters, crafters, and artists do one thing: turn what you already know how to make into a real online teaching business without needing to become a video editor, a marketer, or a different person to do it. We've built a community of makers doing exactly that. We aren't influencers or high level gurus. We are working artists and teachers figuring out how to reach students beyond our own zip code, with the equipment we already own.
Our Team
Lyric Kinard: Founder & Virtual Teaching Strategist
Lyric has spent more than 25 years as a working artist, author, and educator, teaching in person on five continents before she ever taught on a screen.
She was named International Association of Professional Quilters Teacher of the Year, and her design and textile work has been shown internationally.
What drives her now is watching someone go from "I don't know how to start" to running a class with paying students. She built AVT because she got tired of watching talented teachers count themselves out over a fear of cameras and tech they could learn in an afternoon.
You can see Lyric's own art and textile work at LyricKinard.com.
Tori McElwain: Marketing & Curriculum Development Coach
Tori helps quilters, crafters, and creatives simplify the business side of teaching online - from course structure to digital marketing to the AI tools that make both easier.
She's the author of Workshops Unleashed and founder of the Digital Marketing Magic Coaching Program (DMMC). Before this, she designed quilt patterns, taught, and trained on technology - she brings a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction to how she builds a workshop that actually converts.
Find her at https://www.heytori.tech
Beth Ann Williams: Zoom Teaching & YouTube Coach
Beth Ann is a quilting and fiber arts instructor, designer, and author known for making complex techniques feel approachable, whether you're brand new or years into your craft.
She moved her own teaching online in 2020 and built a real following through live workshops, on-demand classes, and her YouTube channel. She now helps other teachers do the same, expanding their reach without losing what makes their teaching theirs.
Find her at BethAnnWilliams.com or YouTube.com/@BethAnnWilliamsQuilts.
Our Sister Company
The Global Quilt Connection
Where we put teachers in front of the people who want to hire them.
Our sister site where we connect quilt teachers with the students and guilds around the world that are seeking virtual workshops and programs.
Live-streamed Quilting Sampler Platters: Learn from our best teachers!
Teacher Listings
Online Workshop Listings
Virtual Programming for Guilds
Visit https://www.globalcraftconnection.com/
Ready to teach what you love, online?
Interested in how
VIDEO EDUCATION
can fit into your business?
You are in EXACTLY the right place!
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Maybe you've taught in person for years and don't know where to start with video. Maybe you've got the skill but freeze the second a camera turns on. Maybe you just don't know if anyone would actually want to learn from you.
Every teacher in this community started exactly there. You don't need professional equipment.
You don't need to go viral. You need a clear next step - and a community of teachers who've already walked this path with you.
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