Catholic Charities, Diocese of Nashville’s Sewing Training Academy (STA) is hosting A Very Merry SewPOP, a holiday marketplace celebrating new and established Nashville artisans and makers.
SewPOP will take place Dec. 3 and 4 at The Clay Lady Campus at 1416 Lebanon Pike, just two miles from downtown Nashville. The event showcases Nashville makers, which include fiber artists, ceramicists, hat makers, sculptors, fine artists, ethnic clothing makers, jewelry makers, designers, boutique fashion shops and more.
The marketplace will be open to the public on Dec. 4, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m., for those in search of unique holiday gifts. Admission is free. SewPOP’s marketplace is being held in conjunction with The Clay Lady’s Annual Holiday Sale.
STA will host an opening night party on Dec. 3, 5 – 9 p.m. Tickets to the party are $25 each and are available at https://cctenn.org/event/sewpop-2021/.
SewPOP celebrates the finale for students who participated in an intensive, year-long STA program. Rather than being handed a diploma, students sell merchandise they created as part of the “Protype Bootcamp” where they learn how to make, market, and sell an original product.
After touring The Clay Lady Campus and meeting with The Clay Lady Danielle McDaniels, STA Program Director and sewing instructor Trishawna Quincy was inspired to enhance the STA as a space that fosters the growth and connection of Nashville’s sewing community. Danielle and Trishawna are excited to collaborate in creating a new holiday market event at the expansive Clay Lady Campus, and providing an opportunity for consumers to meet undiscovered makers and curated artists.
ABOUT THE SEWING TRAINING ACADEMY
The Sewing Training Academy started in 2015 as the first initiative of the Workforce Development Program of Catholic Charites, Diocese of Nashville. Housed in the Catholic Charities Family Resource Center at C.E. McGruder near the evolving Buchanan Arts District, the school has quietly been fueling the Nashville maker movement by empowering both women and men with sewing and tailoring skills.
The brainchild of Van Tucker, formerly with the Nashville Fashion Alliance, and Quincy, STA has both recreational classes and a one-year “Sewing Intensive Program” to train those in need of job placement or to start a business.
STA students are taught how to sew for the specialized needs of the sewing industry on industrial machines as well as how to maintain those machines, qualifying them to fill positions in Nashville’s rapidly growing fashion and apparel industry. The mission of Sewing Training Academy is to help people better their lives through sewing. It is a program of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Nashville, a faith-based nonprofit providing services to people of every religious, ethnic, cultural, and racial background.