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June 21, 2021 | Tom Ballard

Speakers and sessions announced for “The Maker City Summit” in September

By Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA

This year’s “The Maker City Summit” in Knoxville will be a multi-day event, according to an announcement from the organizers.

Scheduled for September 13-19, the annual spotlight on and information sharing for the local maker community will include two-hour events Monday through Friday of the week followed by nearly five hours of sessions on the last day that will end with a social networking opportunity.

Organized by the Mayor’s Maker Council with support from the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center, the 2021 Summit will include weeknight “Deep Dive” workshops focused on specific topics of interest to makers. They will be held at various locations around Knoxville, but registration for in-person attendance is very limited. All workshops will be recorded, thanks to LTW Mortgage, with recordings available to all registrants after the Summit.

The regular Summit session on Sunday will be held at the Jackson Terminal with live streaming as an option for those uncomfortable with in-person attendance. Here’s the current agenda:

  • 9:15 a.m. – Welcome from Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon;
  • 9:30 a.m. – “Wake-up and Structured Networking” led by Booth Andrews of The Booth Andrews Company in Knoxville;
  • 10 a.m. – “Create and Contribute” featuring Shannon Downey of Badass Cross Stitch in Chicago;
  • 11 a.m. “Guided Business Networking” led by Catherine Port Cahill of Knoxville’s Let Her Speak;
  • 11:30 a.m. – “Process to Prosper, Biz Strategy” featuring Kandis Troutman of The Creative Architect in Knoxville;
  • 1 p.m. – “Refresh and Guided Networking” led by Jen Schappel of KindBody Movement, also located in Knoxville; and
  • 1:30 p.m. – “Power (and Art) of Storytelling” featuring Kiran Singh Sirah of the International Storytelling Center in Jonseborough.

Here’s the schedule for the “Deep Dive” sessions with all running from 6 to 8 p.m. at the listed location:

  • September 13 – “Marketing for Growth” featuring Perri duGard Owens of duGard Communications in Nashville (Central Cinema with a capacity of 50 people);
  • September 14 – “Sales Channels. What’s You Next Step?” with Sarah Loebner of Towns Toffee in Sweetwater (The Change Center with a capacity of 20 attendees);
  • September 15 – “The Art of Teaching Art Workshops” featuring Nick DeFord of the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg (Mighty Mud with a seating capacity of 25);
  • September 16 – “Product Photography Basics” with Bruce Cole of Bruce Cole Photography in Knoxville (F32 Photo with a capacity of 20 attendees); and
  • September 17 – “Business of Making: Accounting and Legal” featuring Adrienne Webster of Adrienne Webster Accounting and Haseeb Qureshi of Morehous Legal Group PLLC, both from Knoxville (Knoxville Arts and Fine Craft Center with a capacity of 20 attendees).

Here’s a link to registration.


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