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• The final Swerve Launch event is Dec 3 featuring Kyle Webster, an internationally recognized illustrator, who lives right here in Winston Salem.  Kyle will speak on Marketing Your Creative Business. Tell your friends about Swerve, and invite them to join us!

• The Swerve website is now live!  Log onto www.swervetriad.com to check out your new hub for the creative industries in Winston-Salem and the Triad. You can see the events lined up for the next six months, as well as the Directory, and Job portals to help you connect with each other and new business.

• See our press in the Winston-Salem Journal!

November 12, 2015

Swerve, the cool new hub connecting creative enterprises for networking, collaboration and learning new skills launched on November 5th! Check out this video to learn more!

Swerve Launch Nov 5 at Flywheel in Winston-Salem, NC

Fifty creative individuals joined the Center for Creative Economy to participate in the launch of Swerve. Each joined in conversations around the challenges they are facing with their business, and what they need to solve them.

Swerve seeks to retain, attract and grow our creative businesses and impact the local economy. “Creative entrepreneurs live locally, hire locally and jobs their businesses create are not easily shipped overseas. Swerve is here to support the success of the Triad’s creative economic engine,” said CCE Director, Margaret Collins.

Swerve will develop a member base, host monthly meetings, and provide specialized programming to help individuals, startups, mid-level, and mature creative businesses thrive. “The meetups will provide forums for members to discuss the presentations together, and explore how to apply the information to their business,” said Collins. See our events lined up for the year. Topics include moving your idea into a product or service, marketing a creative product or service, pitching and funding a creative business, mentorship partnering, and much more. An online creative directory, and helpful articles will also be shared through the Swerve blog, website, and social media channels.

Swerve is sponsored in-part by The Winston-Salem Foundation, NC Arts Council, and Technicon Design. Community strategic partners include Flywheel, Technicon Design, Arts Council of Winston-Salem, Kenan Institute for the Arts, Forsyth Tech Small Business Center, Center for Design Innovation, and Wildfire.

Margaret Collins with Swerve sponsor Brent Wickham, Technicon Design

CCE to host Triad Design Leadershop Sep 30-Oct 1 with Intuit’s Innovation Catalyst Leader, Wendy Castleman

Center for Creative Economy will be host Triad Design Leadershop September 30 – October 1 at the new Center for Design Innovation, 450 Design Ave. in Winston-Salem. The distinguished guest Keynote is Wendy Castleman, Innovation Catalyst Leader at Intuit, makers of QuickBooks and TurboTax.

During the September 30th Keynote, Castleman will introduce Intuit’s “Design for Delight” methodology, share their story of success, and how to apply these skills to your business.

On October 1st, participants of the Innovation Workshop will receive hands-on experience in applying these skills, focusing on rapid experimentation for testing key assumptions in developing ideas.

Tickets are available for purchase now! Early Bird and Student rates available. Package rates to both Keynote & Workshop available, too.

Purchase tickets here

For more information, click here

Girls Driving for a Difference coming to Winston-Salem, August 12-14, to lead FREE WORKSHOPS on design thinking and leadership for middle school girls ages 11-14.

Click here for more information.

Join us on June 4th at Flywheel for Improv for Innovation! Network and learn new skills exploring the principles behind Improv Comedy.

Are you looking for a way to unlock your inner creativity? Attend the Improv for Innovation event and workshop led by author of the Go Big! Toolkit, Chris Mumford, and hosted by the Center for Creative Economy and PDMA on June 4, at 5:30 p.m. at Flywheel, 525 Vine St. in Winston-Salem. CCE and PDMA have partnered to bring this unique program to help creative industries, product designers, and general businesses seeking innovation. The hands on workshop will provide tools to incorporate in your business and networking opportunities. Registration and networking begins at 5:30 p.m. The improv session will take place from 6-7:30 p.m. followed by a reception. The cost is $15 per person and advance registration is encouraged. You can register here.

Don’t worry, there’s no script, no director, and you won’t be asked to perform on stage below vibrant lights. Acting experience is not required. In fact, Mumford’s improv workshop is less about acting and more about preparing for the unexpected. Through a series of exercises, ensemble members will learn the fundamentals of improv and discover how these tools can be used to foster creativity, innovation, teamwork, leadership and the ability to adapt in an ever-changing world.

“Improv is unpredictable. Players must think-on-their-toes and find solutions to the unexpected,” said Mumford. Improv is a great way to build team chemistry, and authentic relationships. It also supercharges design thinking (a method where challenges are solved visually). It’s the perfect medium to identify shared areas of interest and combine them into a larger mission with no pre-conceived agendas. The medium allows you to receive gifts you can use later. Players learn to be creative, engaged, and adapt quickly. It’s fast paced, fun and playful – laughter is welcomed and encouraged, said Mumford.

ABOUT CHRIS MUMFORD

Chris Mumford is the founder of Joe Startup, an entrepreneurial and author of the book, the Go Big! Toolkit. He has spent 17 years in Asia and the U.S. working on investment backed product designs. His experience with technology, consumer products and healthcare projects led him to develop his technique of infusing improvisation and design thinking into his development process. Mumford teaches innovation, design thinking and entrepreneurship as adjunct faculty at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC – Chapel Hill. He is also the cofounder of Launch Chapel Hill, a business accelerator, and 1789 Venture Lab, a co-working space.

CCE is now accepting applications for the US Creative Business Cup.

CCE is now accepting applications for the US Creative Business Cup, a global competition for creative business startups. Deadline for applications is June 21 at 12:00 midnight. The national winner will compete in Copenhagen, Denmark in November 2015 as part of the international Creative Business Cup. Click here for more information.

CCE moves into new offices at Flywheel in Wake Forest Innovation Quarter

Today, CCE moves into its new coworking space at Flywheel, the cool downtown spot for meeting and closing deals! Check out our new digs in Flywheel’s beautifully designed spaces at 525 Vine St. in Wake Forest Innovation Quarter in downtown Winston-Salem. Recently featured in the NY Times. Stay tuned for updates from Flywheel!

TDL returns to Winston-Salem March 4-5. This transformative keynote and workshop series features world class innovators from DesignThinkers Group, Joel Van Dyke and Marc Bolick.

The Center for Creative Economy will host Triad Design Leadershop in a two day event on March 4-5. This transformative series features world class innovators from DesignThinkers Group USA. Joel Van Dyke and Marc Bolick will inform, enlighten and inspire business leaders like you to use great design to improve your business’ bottom line. In both a keynote on March 4 and a hands on workshop March 5, the speakers will share their expertise in using design thinking to craft memorable customer experiences for companies and organizations.

For more information  To Purchase Tickets