Over the past month, we’ve told you about the benefits to attending The Maker City Summit at The Mill and Mine. About the keynote speakers coming from Fizzle and HGTV/Discovery and Sensai to share what they know about marketing – which is a lot.
We’ve told you about the workshops, where you can pick up good advice on wholesaling and dealing with the many legal considerations of running a business.
And about the panel discussions, in which you can ask your questions via a handy app and squeeze all you can out of conversations about branding and target customers and strategic growth, as well as work/life balance and making the best of rejection.
We’ve shared info about the many experts who will be on hand for one-on-one sessions, including Etsy and Weebly specialists and photographers who will show you how to shoot better product shots.
Ah! But not a word about the food and beverages, a topic which has swayed many a purchase and activity and might be the final reason you’re looking for to attend this year’s summit on September 23. So enjoy this shout-out to these wonderful sponsors, and bring your appetite to the summit!
Let’s start with coffee, because let’s admit that if we don’t we’ll get nowhere fast.
Three Bears Coffee will pour their exceptional blends as summit participants arrive and check in at 10 a.m. You know Three Bears from its colorful coffee caravan at the Market Square Farmers Market.
If there’s coffee in one hand, there ought to be a doughnut in the other, and Status Dough will be at the summit to make that happen. Dennis Perkins wrote for the Knoxville Mercury about Status Dough in a comparison of local options: “The only doughnut that made me do backflips belonged to Status Dough on Bearden Hill. Their old-fashioned cake doughnut had a craggy top, with crispy bites that were draped in a light glaze. The combination of the crisp shell and the fine crumb made a texturally thrilling bite that created an instant craving for another.”
If that’s not enough to get the taste buds tingling, let’s talk about lunch.
Chef Jesse Newmister will offer flavorful dishes from TaKo Taco, located at the Mill and Mine, where the summit will be held. On the menu are chilled spicy mushroom and black bean dan dan noodles, cold Thai-fried chicken wings, or chilled curry chicken salad, black cardamom raita and potato chips. The entrees will be served with cucumber tomato salad and fresh fruit.
Photo from Knoxville News Sentinel
Newmister says the TaKo Taco menu is inspired by the conviviality of street food. A local maker himself, Newmister sources his products from local providers, including breweries, farms, a taqueria and a mushroom grower.
All the expertise that will be shared during the afternoon sessions will surely make a body thirsty, so it’s a good thing that beverages will be available for the Maker Meetup that wraps up the day. While you’re chatting and debriefing from everything you’ve heard, you’ll want to sip a Foeder Aged Saison or a North Knox Old Gold from Elkmont Exchange provided by Fox & Fogarty. (The Saison has barrel-aged for nearly 8 months, says general manager Johnny Miller.) Or maybe a Blackberry Sunset from Sugarlands Distilling Company. It’s made with 40 proof Blockader’s Blackberry, pineapple juice, orange juice over ice with a dash of cayenne on top. Libacious is partnering with Elkmont Exchange to serve a special beer cocktail. The Printshop Beer Co. also will be pouring its craft beers. So choose carefully. Or call an Uber. Your choice.
The Tootsie Truck will also be available for nibbles during the Maker Meetup.
Still not ready to call it a day? Head over to Pretentious Beer & Glass Company for the after-party. Laugh, drink, visit, repeat.
And still there are goodies to be had, like a Summit T-shirt supplied by Fox & Fogarty. And giveaways of free tuition for Arrowmont workshops and space in the Southern Market Etsy store.
Be inspired. Be educated. Be connected.
The Maker City Summit 2018 has it all. There’s so much to gain at the Summit, at this point you’ll struggle to think of reasons NOT to attend If you register now, the tickets are only $44 (compared to $50 at the door).