What You Don’t Know About Knoxville’s Maker Exchange

If you remember from a previous post, I’m always looking for unique gifts for my mother-in-law. So, when I hear about a shop that has unique, hand-crafted products, I want to check them out. That’s what took me downtown to see what Maker Exchange has to offer.

If you’re like me, you may not have heard of Maker Exchange. I hadn’t before I started writing this blog. It was while I was at the Knoxville Visitor’s Center I discovered a brochure for Maker Exchange which really piqued my interest.

If you’ve never been to the Knoxville Visitors Center, you’re probably not alone. Most people don’t make a habit of going to the visitor center in their own hometown. In fact, when I first went there, I felt rather foolish, but that didn’t stop me from walking out of the place with a pile of brochures about Knoxville and the surrounding areas

This treasure trove of information about Knoxville is located on the corner of Gay Street and Summit Hill. In addition to about any brochure you’d want to find about Knoxville, the Visitor’s Center also has a small gift shop. And you know me, I’m a sucker for a gift shop. I can’t help myself; I just want to see what they have.

The selection of locally sourced products they carry pleasantly surprised me. As I looked around, I found numerous books about Knoxville, local honeys and sauces, games for the grandkids (that I don’t have yet), sweatshirts, and even postcards (does anyone still send those anymore?).

They also have some of the cleanest public restrooms that I have found in downtown Knoxville. That by itself is a great reason to step in and see what they’ve got. Their hours can be found here.

After more time than I’d like to admit, I walked out with a book on the history of Knoxville and a whole armful of brochures

One of those brochures got me interested in Maker Exchange. The brochure explained it as a “place to socialize, grab a drink or bite, and discover Knoxville’s artists and makers.”

So what do they mean by a “maker”? If you’re like me, and you’re not familiar with the “Maker” concept, here’s what I’ve found. The way I understand it, the whole Maker idea came about in Knoxville in 2016 when representatives from Knoxville went to the first ever Etsy Maker Cities Summit.

At that Summit, Knoxville, in addition to other cities, was recognized as the first “Etsy Maker City” in the US. This then led to the Maker City initiative, leading Knoxville to wear the title of “Maker City”.

After reading all of that, I automatically assumed Maker Exchange would be an absolutely awesome place to find that perfect gift for my MIL. I was already preparing to bask in the glory of her wonder and amazement at what I was about to find.

So, on Monday afternoon I headed to Maker Exchange prepared to spend some money. For those of you who don’t know, Maker Exchange is located at the World’s Fair Park. I parked at Fort Kid’s parking lot at 1050 World’s Fair Park and walked there.

When I entered the building, I was a little disconcerted. There was a long hallway to the left behind some glass doors and then some stairs in front of me. There was no one there. My first thought was, “they’re closed”, but then why was the door open?

 Since I didn’t know where I was supposed to go, I went up the stairs. After all, I am supposed to be “exploring Knoxville”. But I felt very uncomfortable, thinking that someone was going to come striding up to me and brusquely tell me that I didn’t belong here.

You have to understand I had envisioned a shop filled with all kinds of locally made treasures. That’s not what I found. In fact, once I got up the stairs, it took me circling the area a couple of times to figure out what was going on.

At the top of the stairs was a room they call “The Curio”. According to their website, it’s used for events, and I guess, workshops. It looked like there was a workshop currently going on with about five people, so I didn’t go in. Although there were some paintings, I was interested in looking at.

“The Curio” is surrounded on the outside by cabinetry holding glass-encased locally made products. You scan the QR Code and order the piece, or you can order online.

Unfortunately, in my opinion, it wasn’t a very large selection. This was not what I thought it was going to be at all.  But I thought, “Maybe there’s more.” Once I passed “The Curio” there was a large open area with a fireplace, tables and chairs, and couches. To the right of that was a restaurant called the Tavern which is open for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner.

I went down the hallway where I found a coffee shop which serves Vienna Coffee. You can order coffee in a hand-crafted mug that you purchase from a selection on the wall.

Opposite the coffee shop was a wall with a small gallery of tiles that you can again purchase via a QR code. I momentarily considered getting some coffee, but I just wasn’t in the mood. This was not at all what I expected.

When I first began this blog, I decided if I visited somewhere that I absolutely hated, I would not write about it. The world is negative enough without me adding to it. And I have no desire to hurt someone’s small business and destroy their dream.

This is not the case here. It’s not that I don’t like Maker Exchange; it’s that it wasn’t what I was looking for. And after looking at the brochure, maybe I should have realized that from the start.

But it may be for you. If you are looking for something unique and hand-crafted, you might find just what you are looking for.

And, if you are downtown and looking for a place to meet a business associate or friend, the coffee shop at Maker Exchange is a great option. It is a tastefully decorated venue where you can grab your coffee and then go sit by the fire or at one of the tables for an unlimited amount of time. In fact, maybe this winter when I’m looking for a break from my home office, I’ll give it another try.

However, if you’re like me and you’re looking for a larger selection of unique hand-crafted items for Christmas gifts, I think you’ll be disappointed. But here’s the best idea…if you don’t want to take the time to go downtown, but you do want to see what Maker Exchange has to offer, you can shop their selections online by clicking here. That way you’re still supporting local businesses without the hassle of going downtown.

What about you? Have you been to Maker Exchange? What are your thoughts? Am I totally wrong? Did I miss something? Please let me know in the comments below.