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The Art of Connection — the podcast

@theartofconnectionpod

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🎙️ The Art of Connection podcast
✶ A space to explore connection + conscious creators in our community
✶ Hosted by Yana — founder of @oakandhaven

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Checking in — I’m still here still deep in the baby bubble with my two girls, and loving being slow and quiet right now. I’m tending to my little world for a bit until I’m ready to emerge from my shell 🐚

When I do have something to share, I’ll be sharing it over email first (not so much here, I’m making snail mail a priority over socials). So if you want to be first to know when I’m back with new pieces, writing, or whatever comes next — my email list is the place to be. Link in bio 💌

No rush on my end, I’ll emerge when I emerge. Thank you for being here in the meantime xx sending lots of winter sunshine and love to you xx 🌞 by @theartofconnectionpod

Call me dramatic but listening to how Yana introduced the episode we filmed two years back for @theartofconnectionpod had me absolutely sobbing my eyes and heart out 🥺

The episode is now live + you should go listen to it.

Forever a muse in my world @oakandhaven — I am so proud of you + us and all we have created in the years that have followed.

🤍

Link in comments! by @theartofconnectionpod

This one’s for the creatives, the dreamers, the photo takers, the deep feelers! The ones building something that feels like home to them 🍯

In this week’s episode, I am DELIGHTED to be relaxing and chatting poolside with the luminous @sophierowlands___ about the beauty of slow growth, learning from the seasons, building heart led business, and the joy of blooming in your own time 🐝

We would love to know if there’s a key moment in here that pulled at the heart or made you think about creativity or community in a different way ✨ Share your thoughts in the comments or on stories and tag us so we can keep the conversation blooming 🌻 xx

Listen via Apple Podcasts or Spotify — link to listen is in my bio 🎧 by @theartofconnectionpod

Isn’t it interesting how cafes are never just about eating — they’re about weaving connection and nourishment into a space for the benefit of a community.

In this week’s episode, I sit down with Mika Richter, the heart behind @thehearth_cafe in QLD. We talk about what food has meant in her life and family, why cooking feels like an act of love, and the risks and rewards of following a dream.

It’s a conversation about nourishment that goes far beyond the meal on the plate 🫒🥖🍷

What a joy this conversation was. A reminder to go back to the simple forms of nourishment: soul food and true connection.

You can tune in now to this very special episode 10: More Than a Meal — Mikka Richter on Food, Family & Connection at The Hearth Cafe and Providore

Thank you Mikka for your time and energy for this interview. I have loved seeing your vision evolve into the living breathing space it is now ❤️‍🔥 xx Yana by @theartofconnectionpod

Some days it feels like motherhood pulls me away from creativity. Other days, it feels like it’s the very thing that makes my art possible. Maybe it’s not about balance at all, but about learning to dance with the two.

This week’s episode of The Art of Connection is all about that dance — the weaving of making and mothering, the beauty in imperfection, and the small ways we can claim space for ourselves as creatives and mothers.

I’d love to know — do you feel like motherhood (or big life transitions) has changed your creativity?

Big love to you xx Yana by @theartofconnectionpod

I get it: Letting go can feel scary — whether it’s relationships, old identities, or pieces of ourselves we’ve outgrown. But I’ve learned the void never stays empty 🕳️ ✨

In this week’s episode of The Art of Connection, I share my own story of release and renewal — from endings to fresh beginnings with my family. It’s a big one!

🎧 Tune in now, link in bio. I’d love to know what you’re letting go of 🌬️ by @theartofconnectionpod

Lately I’ve been sitting with the parallels between two practices I’ve come to love: strength training and working with clay.

At first glance, they feel like opposites — one built on strength, the other on softness. But both have been teachers in centering, breath, patience, and the simple act of showing up.

Not to mention the element of fire and the burrrrn that is present in both 🔥

This week on The Art of Connection, I share how strength and softness aren’t enemies, but companions — and how the pressures we meet, whether in our muscles or in the kiln, are all part of our growth.

I’d love to hear your thoughts too - what’s been your experience with strength training or going to the gym? Does it draw a parallel to any other part of your life? 💥

Thank you @coach_suzz for being there for me each week while I discover this part of myself 🏋🏼‍♀️

🎧 Listen to the full episode now — link in bio.
with love, Yana by @theartofconnectionpod

In this episode, I reflect on the seasons of my life when I was burning the candle at both ends — fuelled by coffee, stress, and the constant hum of urgency. I share how that pace left me exhausted, why I no longer work to the detriment of my energy and capacity, and what it looks like to intentionally create a business and life that feels spacious, restorative, and sustainable.

If you’ve ever felt like being “busy” is a badge of honor or that exhaustion is just part of the deal, this conversation is a gentle reminder that there’s another way. I promise you, it’s worth it 🧡🧡

I’ve included a few photos here for you to see! One of them is my teaching staff photo - you might not be able to tell but I remember being absolutely exhausted. I didn’t know i was neurodivergent at the time, and was forever tired and just pushing myself through every moment of the day with pure determination. 10/10 recommend NOT doing that, and creating your dream job instead. In these photos i can see my essence in my face and can see ‘myself’ here. I’m completely me. 🥰✨ such a turnaround compared to March 2018! 😅

As you’ll find out, the last few months haven’t been as smooth sailing as usual — and I explain why in this episode.

Tune in, take a breath, and maybe reflect on where you can bring a little more spaciousness into your own days. If this episode resonates, I’d love if you shared it with a friend who might need the reminder too.

Let me know if you’ve listened! 👂🏼 by @theartofconnectionpod

EPISODE 5
LIFE UPDATE: HEALING, A NEW HOME, AND NEW HORIZONS 🍋🌅🏡

In this heartfelt episode of The Art of Connection, I reflect on turning 34 and the deep gratitude I feel for motherhood, partnership, creativity, and community.

I share tender moments from my birthday celebrations, alongside the bittersweet process of farewelling my beloved honey-bricked home. Through poetry and reflection, I honour the space that nurtured my healing and creativity before stepping into a new chapter with my partner and daughter. With Oak & Haven entering a new season, this episode is my gentle reminder to myself (and to you) of the beauty in transition and the joy of trusting what unfolds next.

I hope this episode brings you a sense of solidarity if you’re also navigating change and new chapters, or the grief that comes with bittersweet starts and endings ⛵️ Know I’m right there with you.

Let me know what you think 🧡 xx Yana by @theartofconnectionpod

I can’t wait for you to listen 🎧 let me know how it felt for you ✨ by @theartofconnectionpod

✨ Welcome back! ✨

After a two-year pause, The Art of Connection is returning, and I couldn’t be more excited 💥

This podcast has always been a space for creativity, connection, and living with intention—and now, I’m bringing it back with renewed energy, love, and devotion with the help of a wonderful friend who has helped me edit and produce these episodes! 🙌🏼✨

Since the first episodes, life has grown and shifted—Oak & Haven has flourished, my work and heart have expanded, and I’ve learned what it truly means to back myself. This podcast is now a home for solo reflections, rich conversations with makers, artists, writers, and healers, and a way to explore the art of living creatively, fully, and connected.

I think of all of us in the community weaving our own threads of a larger tapestry of connection. This is one way of bringing the threads a little closer, and to see again how when we follow the pull of our desires, each of us is connecting to the art of connection — connection to ourselves, and the larger source of eternal connection 🕸️

Here’s to coming home to ourselves, to the heart’s work, and to sharing this journey with you. Let me know what you think. 🧡🧡

Love, Yana xx by @theartofconnectionpod

Episode 3 Recap — Exploring Connections in the Creative Cupboard with Yaz Del Mar – Part 1 ✨

This episode holds such a special place in my heart. I sit down with the effervescent and bold Yaz Del Mar— founder of Tiny Cupboard Creatives to explore how art has carried her through life’s most profound transitions: from married to single motherhood, from business partner to solo entrepreneur, and from cancer patient to survivor.

It’s a conversation rooted in creativity, resilience, and the quietly transformative power of making.

A moment that stays with me:
“Yaz is not like any other woman I have met before, and our chance meeting was written in the stars in 2021…”
This episode is an homage to creative kinship—and how art connects us to ourselves, to others, and even to something greater. Listen via the link in my bio or wherever you enjoy podcasts. I hope it leaves you feeling seen, stirred, and gently inspired.

You can find Yaz at @tiny_cupboard_creatives by @theartofconnectionpod