Artists and makers with a growing audience often wrestle with whether, when, and how to scale their operations. This panel discussion and workshop will explore this topic with the founders of Bloodroot Blades (Athens, GA) and East Fork Pottery (Asheville, NC), moderated by Annie Milroy Price of Mountain BizWorks. The focus will be on exploring ways to align your business model and practices with your long-term vision, while remaining profitable. Attendees will have the chance to reflect on their own goals for the future while learning from both of these highly-acclaimed makers about the opportunities that they have embraced and the challenges that they have overcome.
About the presenters
Bloodroot Blades
- Luke Snyder: Luke began making knives and wooden objects with his father at a very young age. An avid hunter and gatherer and former PhD candidate in forest ecology, Luke now works full time as part of Bloodroot Blades. He is married to Helen, and they have three children: Wren, Nell, and Muir.
- David Van Wyk: David comes from a family of woodworkers and farmers. A former high school English teacher and craftsman hobbyist on the side, David began making knives with Luke in 2010. David is married to Katy, and the two of them enjoy gardening and working on their house on the Bloodroot property.
- Katy Van Wyk: A former PhD candidate in English, Katy now handles all things social and communicative for Bloodroot. When she’s not helping manage the business, she enjoys gardening and is an avid reader.
East Fork Pottery
- Alex Matisse: In 2010, Alex founded East Fork Pottery in the mountains outside of Asheville, North Carolina. Today East Fork produces a range of contemporary dinnerware and decorative ceramics and sources a range of other considered objects for the home. Alex leads East Fork along with business partners Connie Matisse and John Vigeland as they begin to scale their production and sales. In 2018 they will relocate their production to a large facility in Asheville and open new retail locations in Atlanta and New York City.
Pricing
This workshop is part of the Entrepreneur’s Workshop: Craft Your Commerce Series being offered by the Center for Craft, UNC Asheville, and Mountain BizWorks. The series includes three workshops and a special Alpine Course for makers. The sessions work great on their own, but they’re also designed to build upon one another and we encourage you to consider participating in the full series. Get your tickets below. Limited financial need-based scholarships are available. To apply for a scholarship please continue to this form. UNC Asheville students are also eligible for scholarships; contact Brent Skidmore for details.
| Ticket Package | Early-Bird Thru 2/12 |
Regular Starts 2/13 |
| Sustainable Growth Strategies Workshop: individual ticket | na | $20 |
| SOLD OUT Series Pass: all 3 workshops | $65 | $75 |
| Alpine + Series Pass: the full experience for makers wanting to take the next step (note: no longer includes access to 3/15 workshop as that has sold out) | $345 | $375 |
