CROSSVILLE – Upper Cumberland residents will get a chance to celebrate and explore a new “maker space” at the Cumberland Business Incubator (CBI) in Crossville during an open house event scheduled in April.
The grand opening, scheduled for 10 a.m.-noon Wednesday, April 8, will also give visitors a chance to meet CBI clients and tenants. A maker space is a creative, DIY space where people can gather to create, invent and learn. The CBI maker space is a membership based workshop that provides tools, equipment, training and a supportive community of creative people and volunteers that help bring ideas to life.
The CBI maker space includes a 3-D printer, laser cutter, woodworking shop, electronics bench, computer-aided drafting (CAD) design area, printing arts area, an assembly area with assorted hand tools, a fabric arts area including a Disney embroidery machine and knitting machine, and a vinyl cutter (including heat press equipment).
“We are one of the few organizations in the region to offer this kind of space for entrepreneurs,” Holly Hanson, director of the incubator, said in a release.
The incubator received a $50,000 prize last fall to create the space. The prize was awarded through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Growth Accelerator Fund competition. The competition, in its first year, attracted 800 applications from across the country. Finalists were reviewed by a panel of experts in entrepreneurship, investing and business plans. Only 50 organizations were awarded prizes.
The CBI is located at 2569 Cook Road, Crossville. RSVP’s are requested; call (931) 456-4910.
