#maconmade

[globalcouture1]

#Repost @alesia.danielle ・・・ Two years ago today 🎓 I wore red chucks lol . .www.globalcouture.net #globalcouture . #merceruniversity #sociologymajor #spanishminor #educatedblackwoman #blackgradmagic #blackgradsmatter #maconmade #maconit

[queensarena]

"Got mine on Valentines! Season 1 of the hit TV series, "Underground". I am background acting in upcoming March 8th's Season 2. Be watching out for me, Sarena aka "Miss Hollywood"! Airing on WGN TV and Hulu!!" @undergroundwgn @undergroundwgnfans @underground_wgn #blackhistorymonth #bgactors @filmmacon @maconfilmfestival @maconarts @macongasoul @maconmade @mercercluster @mercermaniacs @merceryou @jurnee_smollettfans_ @jurneebell @wgxa.news (at Blackwood Entertainment)

[collegehillalliance]

Macon Made Spotlight Series: Macon Beer Company

This Maker Spotlight has been a long time coming. Honestly, we'd be remiss if we didn't feature this maker in our series. So raise your glass and meet the Macon Beer Company, the Heart of Georgia's very own microbrewery !

"Engineering Great Beer" is definitely an appropriate slogan for a company founded by engineers who wanted to use their skills, talent, and knowledge to make some great beer. 

This is Jeremy Knowles, frontman and Lead Brewer of Macon Beer Company. 

Jeremy is/was a professional chemical engineer. Like most of our makers, Jeremy decided he was done working for someone else, and he figured out a way to start a business that would be a really cool job. I mean, who else gets to spend their days playing with a super-sized chemistry set and tasting beer all day?

The super-sized part comes later, but these are just some of the chemistry things laying around. Everything is used to create the MBC products that you can find on tap at loads of local restaurants and bars. The flagship beer was released in 2013, and it is cleverly named "Macon Progress." The other craft MBC brews are seasonal offerings that were released alongside major events in Macon as a way to highlight those events. "Macon Love" came out during last year's Cherry Blossom Festival, and "Macon Music" was available for this past Bragg Jam. MBC has also released "Macon History" and a Homebrew brand.

The Macon Homebrew was part of a new Homebrew Competition with last year's Macon Octoberfest. Homebrewers were able to enter into the competition, and the winner got to go to MBC and collaborate with them in creating and commercializing the recipe for what is now the Macon Homebrew. The end result is a peach IPA that truly is unique and limited edition. In fact, it may never be made again! At least not exactly like this. 

Using their seasonal brews and release dates to highlight Macon's unique festivals and events has gained MBC lots of attention and quite the following. They are looking to expand the seasonal selections and offer more than just draft beer. If you're looking to try what's brewing at 345 Oglethorpe Street, check any local restaurant or bar, especially downtown. If you want your favorite restaurant or bar to start supporting local business through our hometown brewery, ask your bartender about carrying Macon Beer. 

Stay tuned for when we take a look at the super-sized equipment I mentioned earlier along with a run-down of the science and the classic building that MBC uses as their makerspace. In the meantime, like them on Facebook and check out their website to learn more about the coolest engineers in town and their great beer. You can always tweet them about how much you love having a local craft brewer here in Macon. But please, tweet responsibly.

[collegehillalliance]

New perspectives and backgrounds enrich communities with different skill sets and collectively grow the group’s knowledge base.

James Tiberius Burke, makezine

I just got done reading this fantastic article about inclusion in makerspaces, especially in the ever-present effort to close gender gaps in the maker community. Burke lays out examples of makerspaces that have implemented succesfull initatives that begin in the new member recruitment phase and  the orientation process for makerspace members. He emphasizes the importance of makers focusing efforts on opening up their communities to more than the average maker. From the engineers to the stay-at-home moms, everyone benefits from a truly inclusive maker community. The quote above really summed that up for me.

All my interviews with Macon Makers have taught me that our community is unique in their burning desire to share their love for whatever they do or make. It is rarely about selling their wares. Makers want to make a difference just as much as they want to make their product or craft or art. Musicians just want people to love and make music even if it isn't theirs. Artists just want people to appreciate the arts again. Builders want to build things that serve a purpose and/or beautify the surroundings. I love that about this town and, specifically, this maker community. 

So what are your thoughts? How important do you think an inclusive community is in a makerspace?

[collegehillalliance]

Macon Maker Profile Series: Bone Creek Farms

Aaaaaaand we're back with the first College Hill Macon Maker profile of 2015! We want to celebrate the new year with our first applicant to go through the process of receiving a Custom Macon Made Seal through Modern Giant Design. 

For a bit of background, here's the original Macon Made seal. We absolutely love it, so College Hill decided to work with Modern Giant Design to provide customized seals for our Macon Makers to place on any marketing or branding for their products and business. The idea here is to help promote shopping local while spreading symbols of pride in our gorgeous and truly unique city.

Our first applicant genuinely embodies this sense of pride in her city, her product, her work, and... her goats!

That's right, goats! The goats are the key to the success and drive over at Bone Creek Farms, run by Tisha and Alan Carr, Jr. 

We met with Tisha and her adorable goats at the farm to learn more about her work and how she got started in the handmade, organic skincare business. Tisha makes tons of products on the farm from goats' milk, essential oils, and more all-natural ingredients. 

Not only do Tisha's products look great, they all smell fantastic! But they definitely are not easy to make. Tisha gave us a behind-the-scenes look at her "soap room," which smells and looks amazing, but you can tell this is no leisurely hobby.

From the heat and chemicals to the scents and flavors, Tisha does it all back here.

She pours soap into molds and even cuts them. 

Although she used to do that without this fancy thing!

Somehow, she gets these gorgeous soaps!

Tisha has hundreds of different flavored soaps for a variety of uses. You can find facial wash and pet soap bars among the Bone Creek Farms' wares. But don't forget: it isn't just soap!

Among the ingredient-conscious line of hair and skincare products, Tisha has also found ways to partner up with other local merchants and farmers to expand her products. One such partner includes a fellow market merchant and beekeeper who has hooked Tisha up with some natural and local beeswax for her new lip balm, which comes in an ever-growing list of flavors!

It's this business model of ingredient-conscious products in a family owned and operated atmosphere that has landed Bone Creek Farms a membership in Georgia Grown. But how did they start out? What got them in the hair and skincare business? Why goats?! 

Glad you asked.

Tisha used to bake cakes on the side. Judging from the fact she's a whiz in the soap room, we can definitely guess as to how beautiful and delicious her cakes were. But she was always very ingredient-conscious, so she decided to get chickens on the farm to have fresh eggs for her cakes. What started out as a few chickens pretty much exploded into almost a hundred eggs (which usually become chickens). They had incubators in the house and little baby chicks just hanging out until they could be sold.

A lot of people don't know where you would even sell chickens. Luckily, your friendly neighborhood College Hill intern has been to a chicken auction or two before. They are... an experience. Any baby farm animal you could want can be found at a chicken auction, from pigs and puppies to ducklings and chicks. That also includes those precious baby goats. Tisha saw one at a chicken auction and fell in love. She had to have goats on the farm. Goats require a lot of prep work on the farm though, so Tisha and Alan cleared out some land and got the fencing up to give her new goats a proper home. 

The idea was to invest in Nigerian Dwarf and Nubian dairy goats to be able to make Bone Creek a legitimate goats' milk dairy farm. What a lot of people don't realize is how intensive, and costly, it is to start a dairy farm from scratch. Between the equipment and licensing fees, Bone Creek Farms could not swing the finances toward Tisha's dairy farm. 

By this point though, the goats were home and Tisha wasn't letting go.

Could you? No, I didn't think so. Tisha and Alan did their research, attended a symposium, and switched their focus to soap. And it was only soap for a while, until hunting season. Tisha and Alan both love to hunt, but the unscented shampoo and conditioner made for hunters to eliminate artificial fragrances was stripping Tisha's hair. She looked up how to make her own shampoo and conditioner, and Tisha found that she could create unscented bath products that still left their hair and skin healthy. I know a ton of people who would love to get their hands on something like that. 

From then on, Tisha has been creating products that people use regularly with store-bought counterparts that are not always the best for our bodies. From shampoo and conditioner to body lotion and bug spray, Tisha makes it all right in her home and has been selling it at the Mulberry Market for almost a year and just started at the Wesleyan Market. 

So what about now? 

Well, now Tisha is looking to expand her market to online shoppers. She wants people to seek out her product more than just at the local market. She's looking for ways to streamline her packaging process so that she isn't hand-labeling every tube of lip balm and bottle of body spray. Tisha caught the market on all-natural at the best time, and she is trying to grow as it grows.

As a result, she's looking to become part of the Macon Made network and add a custom seal to her product. We are so proud to reveal our first official Custom Macon Made seal to a maker who has been trying to encourage shopping local and using her interests and resources to give back to the community from day one.

Now Tisha can use her own seal on any branding or marketing she chooses! You can too by applying for your own Custom Macon Made Seal.

Please support Tisha and Bone Creek Farms, and find out more about their current product stock, by giving their page a "like" on Facebook! See them in person at the Mulberry Market each Wednesday in Tattnall Square Park or at the Wesleyan Market on the second Saturday of each month in the main parking lot at Wesleyan College. The next one will be on Valentine's Day this year!

Oh, and some of the goats will "kid" this spring in March or April, so ask on Facebook if you can visit the farm to see the babies! They love visitors, and you can check out the farm. In the meantime, here's a picture of my favorite goat, Foxy Bella!

[collegehillalliance]

» Workshops | Macon-Bibb's Local Arts Agency

Let's just call this part two of #WorkshopWednesday as we take a look at the schedule of the Macon Arts Alliance's upcoming Amplify workshops for our local makers and artists and their small businesses. The link above takes you to the Alliance's schedule that also lists each workshop's focal topic, times, and costs with links to online registration through eventbrite. 

The first workshop covers "Marketing in the Arts," and it will take place at the 567 Center for Renewal on January 24th. Future workshops cover everything from selling products on etsy to using Wordpress and social media to making an artist profile for Ovations 365--the Alliance's resource for the arts, cultural exhibits, and community events in Central Georgia. Make sure you check out the full description of each workshop, and if you are interested in the first workshop, go ahead and register here!

You won't want to miss these amazing opportunities to further your business and/or craft, so we will make sure to post reminders about the next workshop too!

[collegehillalliance]

Roland Neel owns two small businesses that must be handled very differently.

Have you seen the latest #MaconMade news? Roland Neel is the very definition of a #MaconMadeMan who was able to take what he new about his community, and his customers, to thrive in some of the worst times to be a small business owner. Check out the full article at the link above for more info on how Neel took the loss of a family business legacy and turned into two very different small business success stories!

[collegehillalliance]

Macon Maker Spotlight Series: Cherry Street Ink

Last week, we got to catch up with Jessica Carroll, co-owner of Cherry Street Ink with her husband, Stephen "Structure" Dunn.

Q: How did Cherry Street Ink get started? Why tattoos and piercings? 

Cherry Street Ink got started when my hubby and I had been working in this industry and decided we would like to be in control of our own fate. He has been a body piercer for over 12 years now, and he also sits on the health department's consolatory board, working closely to help improve the understanding and awareness of this industry and also to help regulate tattoo and body piercing guidelines for this area.

He is an amazing body piercer and without a doubt even if you were to pay him double he would not pierce anyone if it would not work on their body. That is the kind of work ethic that it takes to make a business successful.

Well. He never said it wouldn't hurt.

Q: What made you choose this location?

We chose Downtown because this is home. I grew up here--from shopping for furniture to wearing my grandmother's amazing fur coats from Barn's Furs. I have heard stories all of my life from my mother who remembers getting all dolled up and headed downtown to shop. This was the place to be on Sundays! For my husband, this was where he always spent his Friday and Saturday nights DJing at nightclubs. 

Structure still DJs on the side... of his Room of Piercings

The location of Cherry Street Ink was chosen out of all of the locations we looked at because walking up the stairs was kind of mysterious and allowed for curiosity to set in before you get in to the shop. We also love the landlord. He is so helpful and has a deep commitment to building up the downtown area. His ambitious attitude continues to give us the drive to stay successful. 

Gotta say I love the staircase! Jessica is totally right about the sense of mystery or curiosity.

But the actual upstairs is nothing like what you expect...

Cherry Street Ink could easily be mistaken for the edgiest doctor's office you've ever seen. It's clean and neat, instantly dispelling the stigmas you might have about tattoo parlors.

The walls are covered in gorgeous artwork, almost all of which is original work from the artists who work at the shop. 

Q: How did you select the artists who work here now?

Selecting the artists that we currently have was not an easy task. We have had some super talented, but not so nice people, work for us since we opened. It took us a while, but we finally found that amazing talent with a great attitude. These guys are just perfect. They love what they do and love interacting with people. They also continue to get better with their work every day. I am so lucky to have found all of these guys.

Only two of the guys were at the shop when we went by, but we were lucky we got to witness some true artists at work. First up, we have JJ:

Then we have Kevin Dixon, who painted most of the art on the walls:

The shop has these awesome interactive portfolio stations that allow customers to search through the previous work each artist has done as well as previous piercings. If you'd like to check out more of the artist's work, just go by the shop and take a look! They also have tons of examples online if you want to look through them while at home.

The kiosks even have software that allows you to test out any script you want done in tons of different fonts! From someone who got a script tattoo, that's one of the coolest things a tattoo shop can offer.

They also have hardcopy portfolio albums and tons of tattoo and piercing magazines for inspiration or something to do while you wait to get inked.

Q: What has been the biggest challenge for you and the business?

The biggest challenge has been to get some of the downtown people to look at tattoos in a different light so to speak. Having them understand that we are not grungy, dirty, tattooed, crazy people who are all going to hell was a bit tedious. I think that when they saw our families and our interactions with the community they began to realize that we are also moms and dads and good people.

Q: If you could do anything for your business and money wasn't an issue, what would you do? 

If money were no object in a land of dreams, I would love to help rebuild the downtown area. There have been so many great improvements and renovations that I would love to be apart of the transformation. It would be amazing to take a stroll around the block and see all of the beautiful architecture restored to its original magnificent state. Not that this is directly for my business, but if the area was filled with more life then it could only help the growth of my business.

Q: What was the coolest tattoo you've done/seen done here? Best story behind one?

The coolest tattoo is a hard one. There have been so many interesting ideas and stories to go along with them. We have heard it and seen it all. Just recently a father and his daughter came in, and they were getting baptized the next day. The father wanted a tattoo to memorialize his journey to where he is today. While this is a simple story, the significance of someone who is firm in their religious beliefs deciding to get a tattoo is not something we see everyday. Usually, it is more ridicule and judgement. 

If you want a tattoo, but can't think of anything, Cherry Street just rolled out the new "Wish Wall." The artists have drawn and sketched pieces that they would love to ink on someone, and they are willing to do so at a discounted price! Each design will only be done once, so you've got yourself an original and unique custom piece.

Q: Why would you call Cherry Street Ink "Macon Made"?

Cherry Street Ink is Macon Made because this is who we are. I am Macon Made from the generations of Maconites that raised me with great pride and the ability to achieve anything and the desire to reach out to my community and offer them high quality, clean standards, and awesome art. My husband is not from Macon, but he chose Macon as his home. His name is synonymous with the music scene here, and he has put his heart into Cherry Street Ink to give back to the community that has been so awesome to him. 

Q: What does being a maker mean to you?

Being a Macon maker is more that just opening up shop. It is about supporting your community and showing your passion for the people that live and work in your community. Going out in the community and be a part of everything that makes this a better place to live, lifting people up and making things happen is what being a Macon maker is all about!  

Q: How do you think the Maker Movement will impact Macon and/or Middle Georgia?

To me this means, being able to be proud of where you come from and showing people that one person can make a difference and choosing to go out and make that difference.

The Macon Maker Movement is a great way to get people to realize why they have taken the path that they have and how they can go from where they are to a place that makes a difference and builds their community up.

We loved getting to know these incredibly talented Macon Makers! We are so proud to have them in the center of downtown as they continue to support progress in Macon. 

If you are interested in getting inked with some custom work, Cherry Street Ink is giving away 3 custom tattoos at their Christmas Party on December 13th! Check out the Facebook event for more information. Be sure to add them on Facebook and Instagram to see more of their stunning artwork. To set up an appointment or if you have any questions, call 478.257.6155 or shoot them an email. 

[collegehillalliance]

Whether you're an artist, an engineer, or somewhere in between, this will be the space for Macon's Makers to collaborate and create.

- Amanda Castro at 41NBC/WMGT in Macon and Warner Robins 41NBC just ran an article about the newest community makerspace in Georgia and the first one in Macon. The space will be called SparkMacon after the organization of makers and creators who have worked together to bring a unique space devoted to the needs of makers, tinkers, and hobbyists.  Check out the article, and stop by the space to see how it's coming! Maybe you could find some awesome DIY project you always wanted to try! We'll see you at 557 Cherry Street in Macon, GA. Make sure you congratulate them (or even comment on the news article) on exceeding their crowdfunding goal, and raising just over $10,000!

[collegehillalliance]

#MaconMaker Spotlight: Prodigy Woodworks LLC

Since it's the first #WoodworkWednesday, we are happy to present the first maker profile of the College Hill Tumblr Refresh: 

Prodigy Woodworks LLC

Meet Brooks Patterson, owner and founder of Prodigy Woodworks LLC. Brooks is a maker at heart, and he has been one of the truly lucky ones who were able to make their lives around that passion. He has been tinkering and creating new projects out of old products since he was a kid. Now he has created a new home and life in Prodigy. Seriously, but we will get to that later.

Prodigy started out in 2005 when Brooks and the gang acquired the building at the corner of Terminal Avenue and Poplar Street in downtown Macon (that's 454 Terminal Avenue, to be exact). Brooks was already working for a cabinetmaker in Griffin at the time. "They weren't using any kind of technology. It was all regular saws and regular equipment" which wasn't working out for Brooks. "I just wanted to do something different, and so that's how we ended up starting this place." 

Prodigy is definitely different from your average cabinetmaker. 

We take on a lot of things because we got tired of subbing it out. We started doing our own countertops, got the machinery to do that, so we could keep it in house. We were subbing metalwork out; we got tired of doing that. Now we've got our own metalworking machines and tools. So we are able to do just about everything. People call us in for design work too, and we are able to design and build our own jobs. 

When asked about what obstacles Prodigy faced, Brooks said it was the money at first. "Acquiring financing was a huge hurdle for us," at first. "That takes years. You don't start out with all the money you want, and you only get fifty percent of what you need. We had to make it work." Another was getting "a good set of people." Brooks says that's another one that took years. The Prodigy staff currently is a really good set of people who were "picked," and Brooks says he works with friends, people he knows work well together. The Prodigy staff now consists of two full-time staff members who work alongside Brooks "in the shop together or out on the property" when they have on-site fieldwork, remodeling, or contracting to do. Then Larry mans the office, quoting and configuring projects and ordering material. Brooks's wife, Leah, runs the books, taking care of auditing and invoicing.

The biggest, by far, was actually learning the technology which is now the backbone of the company. Prodigy started out without any new technology, but learning to use the new tech when they got it was the hardest. "You break a lot of things, you tear up a lot of stuff, and technology is not really easy to fix. I've had to learn that along the way. Adding machines, networking all these machines together--it really, literally, took years to do. [...] And then staying on top of it, because after you get it all done, you keep updating things. Technology changes, and there's always something coming along that's faster."

Prodigy has quite a bit of new technology and machinery in the shop, enough for a separate post! We will cover that exclusively next week on #TechTuesday! There's some really cool stuff they are working with, so be sure to check back then.

We bought up buildings to help the neighborhood around here. That's actually just...fun. It's a lot; we bit off a lot with that. But it's really fun work to me. We acquired this building, which is 454 Terminal, and 310 Sixth Street and 340 Sixth Street, which is right across the street from here. We acquired all of that from NewTown as a distressed property. They had it since 2002. I've rented here since 2005, but I only rented this one little section; the rest of the property was just in really bad disrepair. There were a lot of homeless people living in the buildings, a lot of drug activity down the south end of the street, just a really bad place.We saw that over the years, and I like fixing things, so we decided last year to buy it. It took us a couple of months to actually sit down with NewTown and UDC to actually get that deal rolling. In August of last year, I think, we acquired the buildings. We've had one year into this, and we've done a lot of work. You know, we've cleaned up the streets, cleaned out the buildings, renovating each one of them. We are currently working on two spots right now to lease them out. These are buildings that have been, pretty much, abandoned for fifteen years. [...] We lease to a gym now, which is Rush MMA. They have a lot of members, so the parking lots are full again. It's coming alive, the neighborhood is really coming back. We are renting out two more spaces next month to new tenants. It's actually worked,the hard work we've put in; it's making people come back to this area. [...] We want to build to lofts in the Sixth Street Project, and we want it to be part of downtown again even though it's right across the tracks from it.

Brooks and his team have taken it upon themselves to give back to their surrounding community, applying their skills to support the growth and development of the neighborhood. Brooks said it best when he described how he gets new machines that aren't always so new:

Sometimes we make the tools that make our products to help us make the neighborhood.

If that isn't the best definition of a true Macon Maker, we don't know what is.

They've kept much of the building's original features, like the above steel fire door that divides the master bedroom and the kitchen. They also try to upcycle as much of the original structure as possible in their renovations, both in their own loft and the Sixth Street Projects. The hardwood and the vanity pictured below in the master bathroom is constructed from reclaimed wood from the warehouse.

Brooks's favorite feature is the shower, and it is easy to see why: It's gorgeous. The tile work in the bathroom is also the only thing not done by Brooks in the loft, and Leah was proud to say it wasn't because he couldn't have done it. They were just in a hurry to get it done, since she was nine months pregnant at the time.

The coolest part of the loft in our opinion takes us back to Prodigy's roots in cabinetmaking: the kitchen cabinets

Check out this video to see how these bad boys work. They are sleek and automatic.The bedroom doesn't have a closet, but rather similar cabinets with a sleek wood grain finish instead.

This loft is everything you want in a loft, and the Pattersons have truly made this space from almost nothing.

Prodigy is commonly a young person who is exceptional at something, but it is also an impressive or outstanding example of a particular quality as well as an amazing or unusual thing, especially out of the ordinary course of nature. Brooks loves extraordinary things, and he has surrounded himself with them; it shows in everything Prodigy does.The Pattersons and the whole Prodigy team genuinely live up to the Prodigy name.

If you are interested in having Prodigy Woodworks design, build, and/or install really almost anything, check them out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more samples of their work in the field as well as to stay updated on the Sixth Street Projects. Email Brooks if you would like more information or a quote.

If you would like to be profiled with College Hill for work as a maker, email us and let us know!

[collegehillalliance]

I am proud to host the first-ever White House Maker Faire. This event celebrates every maker — from students learning STEM skills to entrepreneurs launching new businesses to innovators powering the renaissance in American manufacturing. I am calling on people across the country to join us in sparking creativity and encouraging invention in their communities.

President Barack Obama

June 17, 2014

What better way to start #FaireFriday than to highlight the first White House Maker Faire? President Obama showed his support for not only the maker community, but also the astoundingly positive impact we have on local economies. He declared the date of the White House Maker Faire, June 18, 2014, a National Day of Making and invited inventors, students, and entrepreneurs of all ages to celebrate the work they are doing as well as what the Maker Movement means for America.  If you missed out on the fun, just head on over to the White House Maker Faire website for videos and updates. The site even features a blog that focuses on the economic data and news updates relevant to the Maker Movement. 

The site also calls any and all makers to stay engaged and provides a list of actions you can do. The key is to let people know you are a Maker and connect with other Makers using #NationofMakers, especially on Twitter. We'd love to see some great Maker posts from you, so be sure to post it to us on Facebook or mention us on Twitter!

[collegehillalliance]

Maker Monday on a Wonderful Wednesday: Georgia Pallets

Sorry for the delay, but because of Labor Day this edition of our Maker Monday Profile will have to make its appearance on Wonderful Wednesday instead. This week I had the privilege to sit down with Mollie Davis and Andrew Eck, who are not only two of Macon’s most involved makers, but also friends of mine and fellow students, who in their spare time are working on receiving their education from Mercer University.

  This dynamic duo has begun making everyday items out of used pallets, salvaging them from assured disposal. Crafting everything from easels to bar signs, Georgia Pallet has gained recent notoriety resulting from their willingness to accept and embrace strange and of the wall requests. In true Macon Maker fashion, there isn’t much these two can’t or won’t make.

Here are Mollie and Andrew showing off the easel that was custom made to display the Macon Made seal a couple of months ago.

Q: You probably get this question a lot but, why pallets? How did this unique idea come about?

Mollie: I was off campus last summer and needed a coffee table for my place. My Dad runs his own company and he has a lot of pallets at his warehouse. We decided to make a coffee table out of a pallet and then a close friend of mine dared me to sell it and I did. I made a lot more money off of it then I expected, but still needed a coffee table, so Andrew and I decided to begin making them regularly.

Q: What pallet product are you most commonly making? What is your favorite to make?

Andrew: We are making a lot of bar signs recently, although I prefer the coffee tables.

Mollie: Well we started off just doing tables, but now people just love the custom work and we are doing a lot of signs including the work we did recently for the Macon Beer Company. I personally love the signs because of painting. A lot more creativity goes into the project when you combine pallet and paint.

Q: Describe as best you can the normal process for your most common requests?

Andrew: Someone will message us with something in mind, almost everything we do is custom work. Which keeps things interesting. It's challenging but rewarding to have to meet someone's expectations but with creative leeway. After deciding how we are going to attack the project, we then begin the work with the pallets.

Mollie: We usually start by cutting down a pallet. We prefer oak pallets, because they are sturdier. We try to find oak if we can but most of the ones we find are made out of pine. After getting the pallet, we take the boards from the back and bring them forward to make the table uniform. Then we take the bars from a separate pallet and cross them to make the legs. But that’s just the process for a table. Almost everything we make is something we’ve never made before. People want things that are just made for them, therefore we have to be flexible and creative with each process we use.

Q: Any tips for aspiring furniture craftspeople/ entrepreneurs?

Andrew: Do it! If you're passionate about something do it! Sit down and write out what it would cost to do it and ask yourself if it's worth making or doing whatever and not making anything and if or when you can make money is when it becomes exciting.

Mollie: I mean just recognize that what you do is valuable to someone and get what you do out there. Especially when it’s something you enjoy doing because then it hardly feels like work. If you do it because you love it just do it and then get the word out. Creating a twitter was probably the best thing we ever did. Over 500 people follow us to learn about pallets. How cool is that?

Q: What does the word “maker” mean to you?

Andrew: A maker to me is a hands on entrepreneur, he literally makes his business.

Mollie: Yup, that sums it up pretty well.

Q: What is the most exciting part of the Macon Maker movement for you?

Mollie: Most exciting for me is working with other makers by interacting in community. For example getting to make pallets with Macon Beer Company for Bragg Jam. People who love Macon are also loved by Macon. That creates support from all over, whether it be Warner Robins, Spark Macon, or College Hill people really want to see small businesses strive in this area.

Andrew: Yea I agree. It would definitely be meeting other makers and entrepreneurs who are similarly passionate about making or doing creative things. It's fun being recognized as the pallet people and often times we get into more conversations than we would like about pallets. People donate pallets to us it's a little out of hand at times. But it's great to hear time and time again the support from people who are excited about the furniture or us being entrepreneurs. I would love to see Macon as a maker town. As a place where people come to be creative. We have all the parts we just need to put them together.

Here is an action shot of Mollie and Andrew hard at work.

  If you like what you have read here and want to test Mollie and Andrew's creativity or just get them to construct your next pallet coffee table, you can find them on their aforementioned Twitter, as well as Facebook or Instagram.

And be on the lookout for next weeks Maker Monday Profile, when we return to our normal schedule. Thank you for supporting the Macon Maker Movement!

[collegehillalliance]

Tom's Precision Sharpening - Maker Monday Series

As you travel a ways down Forsyth Road to the Monroe County Line, you’ll pass a sign for “Tom’s Precision Sharpening”  right on the county line, that is simply impossible to miss. If not for the sign though you’d undoubtedly drive right passed it because Tom Morgan and his son Matthew run this dynamic sharpening shop out of their back shed, stationed directly behind their home.

As their logo suggests, this father-son duo specializes in sharpening “anything that cuts things,” from saw blades to kitchen knives, but these two talented makers don’t limit themselves to just sharpening. As the new parents Jessica Walden and Jaime Weatherford can attest; they just had Tom’s Precision Sharpening restore a large piece of iron they used to make a headboard. These crafty makers can do it all, considering there isn’t much Tom and Matthew Morgan haven’t sharpened over their near 45 years of combined sharpening experience.

  The experienced twosome are pictured above with finished products in hand. That is Tom on the right, and his son Matthew on the left.

  Q: What all can you guys sharpen?

Tom: Anything pertaining to cutting, whether it is wood cutting or metal cutting. We sharpen all items that cut things, everything from kitchen knives to drill bits, saw blades, and planer blades used to cut large stacks of paper. There are a lot of different things we sharpen.

  Here is a before and after shot of a sharpened tool commonly used in the plumbing industry. Tom mentioned to me that you can often restore a tool by sharpening it, and he charges a fraction of the price it would cost to buy a new one. Sharpening old tools is becoming a more practical, inexpensive solution for handymen everywhere.

Q: What would you say is your most common sharpening request? How does the process to sharpen that item work?

Tom: The carbide tips on the saws is probably our most common request, and for that we first check the saw blade for any missing teeth and if there are any we mark them and put that blade in a different stack than the others. Then my son Matthew puts the tips in wherever they are missing and then he brings the saw blades back to me and I set up the machine depending on how many teeth are in it and how big it is, and once the machine is set up the sharpening is automatic for that one. Some things are automatic but a lot of stuff we do is manual also.

Q: What is the strangest sharpening request you have ever seen?

Tom: Well see, a lot of people buy these samurai swords off of those knife shows on TV and they will bring it in here and want it sharpened. There you’re talking like a 36 to 40 inch long blade and they want that whole edge razor sharp, yeah that’s probably the strangest.

Matthew: Outside of sharpening though we do plenty of other things, like the restoration of door hinges and other metal materials. Sharpening is our main thing, but we are always doing other stuff too like we just finished restoring a piece of iron that Jessica Walden and Jaime Weatherford turned into a headboard, so it’s definitely not just sharpening for us.

Q: So how did you guys get into the sharpening business? How did this become the family affair it is today?

Tom: I started out when I was about 17, working for “Ream Tool Company,” where we specialized in sharpening tools and a guy I worked with over there taught me pretty much everything I know, and then I taught my own self some things. From there I went to “Bibb Sharpening” and then to “Bibb Tool and Cutter” but once they shut down I got all the equipment and decided to open up my own shop and over the years I’ve moved here and there but always sharpening. I’ve had this particular company open for almost three years now.

Matthew: As far as making this a family affair, I started working for my dad when he had his shop inside Bibb Tool and Cutter and that was in about 2005, I think.

Tom: Yeah, that sounds about right

Matthew: So when the economy slumped in about 2008, and the housing market slowed down people stopped building so they weren’t dulling tools for us then. So my Dad had to let me go. But in 2011, when my Dad’s business partner, James, bought out Bibb Tool and Cutter and my Dad bought all the equipment from him to open up this shop here, he immediately hired me back because he knew he wouldn’t be able to handle the work load on his own. So I’ve been sharpening in this business for about 6 or 7 years.

Q: When you hear the word “Maker,” what does that title mean to you?

Matthew: From what I’ve read and seen on social media from you guys it seems like a positive community of small businesses and entrepreneurs that are…

Tom: Just trying to make it

Matthew: Yeah, just trying to make it. I definitely dig the idea of it, from what I’ve read about it.

Q: What potential do you guys think the “Macon Maker” movement has for our community and Central Georgia as a whole?

Matthew: I think if people get behind these small businesses and makers around here it will definitely boost the economy and keep Macon’s money in Macon. I think that is definitely the most important aspect for me. It’s going to be a way to bring all of us small businesses together and help with getting the word out through advertising and such, but most importantly it’s about keeping Macon’s money in Macon.

  Here is Tom in action, using the aforementioned manual sharpening method. 

Email the guys, Facebook them, or call 478-992-9091 to sharpen up some of those dull tools sitting in your garage or let these makers craft you a metallic masterpiece. 

Stay tuned to all of College Hill's social media outlets for more information on the Macon Maker movement and be ready for next week's Maker Monday Profile featuring Jason Frost. If you are interested in featuring what you make on the Maker Monday series, email maconmade@gmail.com. 

-Austin The Intern