Our Jackson Home: A Night of Storytelling, Vol. 6
A Night of Storytelling is a biannual Our Jackson Home event that seeks to create a warm environment for you to dig deeper into the people and places of our city by hearing personal stories from your Jackson neighbors. Happening Friday, April 13, right here at theCO, this event is family-friendly and free, and Stacey's Ice Cream Cruiser will be set up starting at 6:30pm. Click here to read about our awesome presenters and performers.
Member Spotlight: Kelly Maust
Kelly Maust was fascinated by the jewelry that her mother-in-law used to send her from Ecuador. The stones were meticulously polished and shone in a variety of vibrant colors—except they weren’t stones; they were made from palm seeds.
Ecuadorians harvest the seeds, dry them out, and then colorize them with vibrant dyes. They then use the seeds to make lovely and eco-friendly beads, small toys, keychains, ornaments, and more.
Two years ago, when Maust and her husband were visiting his parents for Christmas, Maust had an idea.
Introducing: Driving Innovation
Starting this month, theCO is launching one of their best-kept secrets.
Using a grant from Governor Haslam’s Rural Task Force, theCO has been stripping out the insides of RVs to transform them into mobile platforms devoted to informing, equipping, and preparing our rural communities for emerging jobs. They’re calling the project “Driving Innovation.”
“Within the scope of our contract with the state of Tennessee, we will go to all nineteen distressed counties and half of the at-risk counties,” explained Bria Pittman, Program and Outreach Manager for Driving Innovation. “The purpose is to take resources to those communities. . . . So we’ll be rolling on in, literally.”
Coding Skills Give Students Endless Job Opportunities
Dev Catalyst is committed to preparing high school students for profitable careers in technology-based fields, such as advanced manufacturing.
According to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, over the last five years, Tennessee has ranked in the Top 10 for the largest percentage increase in the United States in manufacturing GDP, which reached $49.1 billion in 2016, making it 17% of the state’s total GDP. Advanced manufacturing job creation in Tennessee, in particular, far outpaces the rate of national growth.
Technology has revolutionized the manufacturing industry. The incorporation of robots on the assembly line has led to quicker, more efficient production. Companies have also streamlined the manufacturing and production process by using computer-aided design software.
Member Spotlight: Joshua Guthrie
Tell me about what you do.
I am between jobs right now. Since graduation, I worked at H&M Company, architects and engineers here in town, but then I started having a sense that this just wasn’t it as far as long-term career. It was a great job, awesome company, great to work for, but it just wasn’t fitting. And so, I decided to quit my job back at the end of the year. I’ve always known that I’m very left-brain, problem-solving, that sort of thing—but also very right-brain, creative, and I needed an outlet to experiment with that. So theCO has been a really great opportunity to try some ideas, work on some things that I’ve been thinking about for a while but just haven’t because I never had the time, so I don’t have a business per say, but I am considering trying to mass-produce what I’ve been working, which is a computer monitor stand.
Made at theCO: Mystery Block Lamp
Anyone who has walked into theCO the last couple of weeks may have experienced a flash of childhood nostalgia—memories of sitting on the living room couch, game controller in hand, leading an Italian plumber past a giant, turtle-like being to rescue a kidnapped princess.
To illuminate the new shop at the front of theCO, Austin Thompson, founder and owner of Random Pieces of Wood, has built and installed a light shaped like the Mystery Block in Super Mario games.
New Year, New Ideas: One Year Later - Terrinopolis
Last January, theCO hosted an event called “New Year, New Ideas” as an effort to spread the word some incredible community efforts that were making headway in 2017. One year later, we are celebrating some major progress in these projects and letting you know how you can best support them in 2018.
When Ryan Pflasterer’s daughter, Addison, was nine years old, the two of them began creating the story of a Phoenix father and prodigal daughter that took place in kingdom called Terrinopolis. The king plants seeds for a magical garden, which grows as he awaits the return of his princess.
Now, that garden is taking root in Jackson.
CO.STARTERS Spotlight: Megan Peden Pottery
Tell me a bit about your business.
I make and sell mostly handmade functional work, like cups, mugs, bowls, plates. I make to order, I try to encourage people to give me commissions for dinnerware sets for friends who are getting married and stuff like that, but most of my sales come from the pottery sales at Union and art fairs. Since graduating from Union, I’ve been trying to grow the business and hopefully get it big enough to where I can eventually do that as my career.