Carol Z. Shane
Like the rest of her colleagues in the Maker City, Ashley Garner of Nest is looking ahead to next month’s Maker City Summit, the annual gathering of Knoxville’s vast community of artisans, designers, fabricators, brewers, foodies and other small business owners. For the past two years Garner, halfway through her term on the Mayor’s Maker Council, has been in charge of the Summit’s lounge area.
The Maker City’s biggest event of the year Sept. 8-10 is packed with speakers — 27 total, all of them leading lights in their fields. Local stars including Jes and Wes Breitenbach, who have built Crown Upholstery into Knoxville’s largest upholstery shop; Casey Fox, Big Ears’ director of development, who plans, organizes, and directs the festival’s fundraising activities and VIP experiences; Hannah Houser, president of HH Creative LLC and manager of…
