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Winston Salem, NC – January 18, 2021 –  Center for Creative Economy (CCE) welcomes Suzanne Moore in the new position of Community Engagement Manager.  Suzanne joins CCE with over 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sector focusing on Advancement and Resource Development. She is a native of Winston-Salem and has worked most recently in Asheville, NC.   She will be responsible for developing and directing stewardship and sustainable funding activities for the organization. Ms. Moore is an accomplished fundraising professional with extensive experience in nonprofit development. 

According to Founding Executive Director, Margaret Collins, “CCE is fortunate to have found a stellar candidate in Suzanne Moore with her amazing skills and experience. As we celebrate our 10th anniversary in 2011, we are devoting a new position on our team to secure the resources for CCE to be sustainable for the next 10 years!”

We would like to acknowledge The Winston-Salem Foundation in selecting CCE for a capacity-building grant for the next three years.  These funds will secure the Community Engagement Manager position, and help CCE grow and continue to impact creative entrepreneurs and jobs in Winston-Salem and across the U.S.  

Since 2011, CCE has created and launched programs that provide inception-stage business training to strengthen and expand the capacity for creatives and artists to launch sustainable companies.  CCE is a nonprofit organization building the creative economy and creative community in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and the U.S. Since 2016 CCE has launched 50 creative startups in its accelerator, which have produced $8.1 million in revenue and raised $7.4 million in investment.  Collectively, these companies have created 177 new jobs. 

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At the Center for Creative Economy, we define creative enterprises as companies and individuals that combine design, arts, and technology to create a product or service that gets created, made, and distributed into the economy. According to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis,  creative industries contribute $700 billion to the US Gross Domestic Product and $26 billion in revenues in North Carolina.

In fact, the creative economy is growing faster than any economic sector. Our Creative Startups cohorts are included in that increasing number of creative industry professionals that are revolutionizing education technology, print and digital design, creative R&D, software, fashion, film, music, and countless other fields that specialize integrating arts and innovation.

Hair Styling, Make up, and Prosthetics

Christal Schanes, Creative Startups alum and Founder of MEDwig, is changing the world of possibility for medical patients suffering from hair loss. Her career expertise in commercial and stage wig building, hairstyling, makeup, and prosthetics with UNC School of the Arts inspired a company in constructing high quality, custom, medical wigs. Her approach uses state-of-the-art materials that allow patients to have the look and security of natural hair while still allowing hair regrowth to occur.

Creative Tech

Another alum, Carrie Shaw, works at the intersection of health education and virtual reality storytelling. She is the CEO and founder Embodied Labs, a virtual reality platform for healthcare services workforce training. As a medical illustrator and health educator, Carrie developed an interest in the possibility of using virtual reality storytelling to convey the perspective of vulnerable patient populations. Embodied Labs now specializes in creating interactive VR programs that promote healthcare professionals to share expertise and value patient care.

Embodied Labs has just celebrated 1.5 years and currently have 13 academic institutions and 11 long term care & home health agencies using Embodied Labs for caregiver training and development.  For further context, the academic institutions that have signed with them are using Embodied Labs across MD, DO, PA, PT, social work, and nursing programs.  Here is an article by University of New England on how their medical students are using Embodied Labs.  All of these institutions have subscribed to their software to be used on VR hardware that they house in their sim centers, libraries, or centers for faculty teaching & learning.  It’s great to see the uses for VR-based training continue to grow!

These companies are only a couple of examples of how creatives are building the economy and community through the channel of creative industries. Creative Startups Winston-Salem shares in the vision of stimulating innovation and creativity by providing an environment in which creatives can grow in this rapidly expanding industry.

Need help tackling those difficult obstacles in your business?  

If you are a creative entrepreneur, check out Creative Startups’ high impact business accelerator. Join Creative Startups for an online info session on May 24th, and learn how to launch, grow, and scale your creative business.

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Andrew is a designer, musician, and entrepreneur. In 2014, Andrew was offered a promotion as a District Sales Manager with his previous employer. The promotion would include relocating from New Jersey to Winston-Salem, NC. Even though he enjoyed his new position, he wasn’t truly doing what he felt he was meant to do.

Andrew has always been interested in digital marketing. Once moving to NC, he discovered the Triad’s movement toward entrepreneurship. So he started to focus his time on touching up his marketing skills, along with teaching himself multiple programming languages, and how to use design software. 

 Diving Into Creative Entrepreneurship 

In March of 2017, Andrew was ready to take the plunge into starting his own company. He left his full time job and started Hewbie Marketing Agency, a web design and web development firm. In the beginning, Andrew focused on helping as many small businesses as possible. Within a few months, a list of clients was developed and team members were added to the growing company.

Enter CCE!

Connections, connections, and more connections . . .

As a startup, he met entrepreneurs, designers, and creatives throughout the community. One of those connections happened to be Swerve member, Mike Foley. Andrew and Mike share common interests and started collaborating on projects. Mike invited Andrew to the November Swerve event, Getting Your Business in Shape for 2018 with speaker MaryAnn Hauser.  He learned about CCE and Swerve, and discovered that CCE was hiring a part-time Marketing Manager. Andrew applied for this amazing opportunity.  He looks forward to making a positive impact on the creative community and getting to know each you.

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Founding Executive Director for Center for Creative Economy, Margaret Collins, is named Triad Business Journal’s 2017 Power Player!

“These are the individuals who have taken the baton, if you will, to champion truly catalytic efforts, to put their reputations and dollars at risk and to execute plans that move game-changing projects — and our region — forward.”

Read the full article here.

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Swerve, the new hub for creative industries launches its 2016 schedule for Triad creative enterprises.  The next Swerve Meetup will take place on January 21^st at Flywheel, 525 Vine St., in Winston-Salem.  Speakers, Diane Reinhold & David Horth, of the Center for Creative Leadership, will present “Crafting Your Pitch.”  Presenting your fertile and even earth shattering ideas, in a manner that will grab other people’s attention, is an art that will make all the difference for innovation and success. Lunch is included, and the program features interactive time to learn how to apply the principles, and network with colleagues.

The Swerve website is now live and contains a directory of creative companies in the Triad, a job platform for creative industries, and a blog tailored to ideas worth spreading in the creative and business community.  For more information on Swerve and its monthly meetups, and also to register for the Jan 21 event, visit SwerveTriad.com.

Swerve meets monthly on the third Thursday from 11:30am-1:00pm, and lunch is included. The event is free to members, and a nominal fee is charged to the public. Future topics geared for creative industries include: “Getting Investor Ready,” “Sharing Your Pitch,” “Mentorship for Success”, and “Protecting Your Work”.  The focus is on cultivating and expanding your business and meeting new people. For a complete listing, go to www.centerforcreativeeconomy.com/swerve-events.

Swerve is the new hub for creative enterprises in North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad, hosted by the Center for Creative Economy. It brings creative professionals together at lively, informative monthly meetups, and through a growing online community. Swerve participants tap into a local network of collaborators, mentors, and new business contacts. The project seeks to invest in retaining, attracting and growing our creative businesses and impacting the local economy.

The Center for Creative Economy is a non-profit organization that serves as a catalyst for innovation and an advocate for creative industries and entrepreneurs, promoting connectivity and job growth. The center brings people, ideas, and resources together to benefit a burgeoning creative sector that includes design, architecture, software, publishing, advertising, art, crafts, fashion, film, performing arts, TV, radio, interactive digital media, gaming, and technology, among others. Other programs include Triad Design Leadershop, a series focused on design based innovation. 

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UpStart Live! Feb. 5th – 7th, 2016

UpStart Live is an event like no other. It is collaborative approach to taking a startup through conception to market in just 48 hours. This event will focus on a creative industry, The Olio, Winston-Salem’s own glassblowing studio, and will create a sustainable revenue model for a new product line.

As a community project, there are opportunities for the community to participate! There will be a panel of area experts in lean startups, finance, marketing, business development and design. Registration is now open for teams for audience participation, either as an observer ready to learn or as a seasoned entrepreneur ready to contribute. Join the fun of launching a new product for a local creative company!

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CCE’s colleague in the National Creative Economy Coalition, Christine Harris, will offer a unique online class in the Creative Economy through the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. It will be available for credit and non-credit. 

Creative Economy is one of UMass Art Extension Service’s most unique arts management courses. AES recently spoke with instructor Christine Harris on the critical importance of understanding the Creative Economy to arts management professionals. Christine is a key national figure in creative economy work, with over 30 years of experience working with creative enterprises and community development.

Information has been provided on the UMassAmherst website to help with the registration process.

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The Importance and Impact of Creative Enterprises in Forsyth County

 Margaret Collins presented at the recent Tech Council Briefing hosted by the Winston-Salem Chamber on December 2nd. Collins provided an overview of the Creative Economy in NC and the Triad, sharing definitions, numbers and statistics. She cited Fast Company magazine’s June 2015 story, U.S. Creative Jobs are Driving Economies. “It’s the designers, actors, and artists that make cities interesting. The rest of us just take advantage,” and noted that, “cities actively recruiting creative industries include Austin, Portland, Philadelphia, Nashville, New York, & Santa Fe.” Collins encouraged the Winston-Salem community to step up and get engaged with the full spectrum of creative industries to help stimulate our local economy.

Margaret also moderated a distinguished panel, which included Chad Cheek from Elephant In The Room, Corey Madden of the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, and Peter Marsh from Workplace Strategies and Flywheel. Together, they shared what creative industries need to thrive, the challenges they face, and how our creative economy compares to other cities. Encouraging the community to support these industries was an important thread throughout the conversation.

Madden from the Kenan Institute explained that the UNC School of the Arts is very interested in connecting with the creative industries in the Triad. Chancellor Lindsey Bierman is focused on how the performing arts fit into the larger arts and entertainment industries, and is realistic about where creatives are now working. Pixar was created by individuals who came from the American theater and helped developed the process, story, and teams, for animation. Museums work with visual and experience design. The performing arts are experiencing disruption and UNCSA is educating students for the new careers developing in creative industries.

How can Winston-Salem support our creative industries? Peter Marsh shared that the community needs to develop an entrepreneurial mindset that supports risk taking and failure. Our leaders need to take a chance on startups, projects coming out of universities, and talented local resources. We can no longer depend on legacy wealth but must develop new resources and talent.

Chad Cheek discussed how he attracts national talent to Winston-Salem. He looks for creatives that can “design for looking great in the world, not just in Winston Salem.” The global marketplace forces a client’s projects to exist in the world, not just locally. So the firm’s design talent must stand up to that scrutiny. They have risen to this challenge, with great results for the business. In addition several live downtown, and enjoy an urban lifestyle in the heart of Winston-Salem.

All panelists commented on the importance of establishing Winston Salem as a creativity hub. It’s more affordable than Portland, NY, or Austin. It is gritty, and not a complete canvas. Creatives can make an impact here.

An essential step for growing creative industries in Winston is for all businesses to work with the local creative talent. Both Workplace Strategies, and Elephant In The Room have developed projects for local businesses, which grew nationally with their clients when the services were needed elsewhere. Their work increased exponentially as the local client’s business grew. This is a great model, which has proven successful. The panelists encouraged all businesses to hire local creatives for projects and opportunities. There is enormous talent available in our community.

In fact, the 2014 national Print Regional Design Awards ranks Winston-Salem creative firms #1 in the southeast region for the sheer number of awards they receive! Winston leads Atlanta, Charleston, and Raleigh.

Winston-Salem’ creative industries are talented and growing. Hire the local team. They will accelerate your business!

Have YOU hired a local business lately? Please share your experiences!

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CCE was recently featured in the Winston-Salem Journal, as well as the Triad Business Journal! Both articles go into detail about Swerve, a new hub for creative businesses in the Triad.

“Creative entrepreneurs live locally, hire locally and jobs their businesses create are not easily shipped overseas,” said Margaret Collins, executive director of the Center for the Creative Economy. “Swerve is here to support the success of the Triad’s economic creative engine.”

Check out both articles listed below:

NonProfit All About Growth – Winston-Salem Journal

‘Swerve’ initiative to help link members of the creative economy – Triad Business Journal