ConnectTheKnox

Michelle Lewis, Executive Director of the Loudon County Education Foundation, has been supporting excellence in local education for over 11 years. Watch this episode of ConnectTheKnox to learn how she got involved with LCEF, as well as how LCEF is supporting local educators and students. Michelle and Julia talk through some of their favorite LCEF fundraising events, and Michelle explains how that money is used to help fund programs like Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, grants for local educators, and so much more.

Highlights

00:00 Intro

01:02 Michelle introduces herself and her local roots, and describes her journey to become the Executive Director of the Loudon County Education Foundation

02:37 The history of the Loudon County Education Foundation and the changes she's seen in education over the past 11 years

06:11 Michelle explains how the LCEF works with Imagination Library and why it's so important to Loudon County children

07:35 Ad - Dr. Joe Chiro

08:57 Michelle and Julia discuss how LCEF currently fundraises, as well as some of their biggest annual fundraisers and favorite fundraisers of the past

16:10 Michelle explains how COVID has affected fundraising for LCEF

21:04 Julia asks Michelle how LCEF is anticipating the growth of surrounding areas like Farragut and Knoxville

24:33 Ad - Just Homes Group

25:43 How you can find and support the Loudon County Education Foundation

26:27 Michelle tackles Julia's lightning round of questions about her favorite Knoxville hot spots

Links:

• Loudon County Education Foundation https://lceftn.org/
• Dr. Joe Chiro www.goseedrjoe.com
• Just Homes Group www.justhomesgroup.com
• Meadowview Greenhouse & Garden Center https://www.meadowviewgreenhouse.com/
• Painted Tree Knoxville https://paintedtree.com/locations/knoxville-tennesse

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Transcript:

Julia: Hey everybody and welcome to another episode of Connect the Knox. I'm your hostess with the mostest, Julia Hurley connecting the nation with Knoxville, Tennessee. Today's guest is an all-time personal favorite person of mine, a very close friend and supporter for many years, Michelle Lewis. And Michelle is the Director of the Loudoun County Education Foundation. And Loudoun County touches Knox County, and we actually share a school district, we share a lot of the same traffic patterns, we share a lot of the same shopping and employees.

So, it is extremely important to get to know the Education Foundation in Loudoun County as it does also affect Knox County. So Michelle, thank you for your time. Thank you for being here today. Tell us a little bit about you, how you ended up in this specific area, and just take it from there.

Michelle: All right. Thank you for having me, Julia. As you said, I'm Michelle Lewis. I'm the Executive Director of the Loudoun County Education Foundation. And I have held this position for 11 years as of October the 18th.

So, I'm very proud to be in this position. I feel like I have the opportunity to do a lot of good work for Loudoun County, and as you say, as it affects Knoxville, which I'm actually from and live in Knoxville. So, you asked me how I ended up in Loudoun County and in this position. So, I have always kind of worked in nonprofit. My education, I have a degree from the University of Tennessee in public relations communications.

So, I worked at the Knoxville Museum of Art, I worked with Florence Crittenton, and then eventually I applied for an Executive Director position here in Loudoun County for the Education Foundation. I come from a family of educators, my father taught at Farragut High School where I graduated from, my aunt teaches at UT, my other aunt and uncle both teach in Maryville. So, as I said, it's kind of the family profession. And so, when I saw the opportunity to support education in Loudoun County, it felt like a true calling. And so, I applied for the position and was the lucky candidate, and 11 years later, here I am [laugh].

Julia: Tell us how it started. Like, I'm sure the Loudoun Cou—it hasn't always been here. Tell us how the Education Foundation started and kind of where it's gone in the last 11 years. Like, what have you seen change in education as a whole, in the Foundation, in growth? Tell us about that.

Michelle: When I first started with the Foundation, I had a lot to learn, obviously. The Foundation had been going as an individual organization since 1998. It started as a program of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce began the Education Foundation as an outcry from the community for support from the chamber for education. And even though we became a standalone organization, that was mostly so that we could be a 501(c)(3), the chamber is not a 501(c)(3), so when people contribute to the Foundation, it is tax deductible.

But we're still sort of the stepchild of the chamber, we rent office space with them, and rely a lot on them for office equipment and things like that help keeps our costs down so that we can contribute the most that we possibly can to education. When I started with the Foundation, it actually had sort of a backward business model. The schools were really kind of supporting the Foundation as opposed to the Foundation supporting the schools. The schools were funding programs that the Director of the Foundation was going into the schools and providing for the students. But right around 2010, 2011, which is pretty close to right before I started, the education model overall kind of turned to where it was much more testing and state standards and that sort of thing, so obviously, there's nothing that I can provide to a student that would benefit pulling them out of a classroom with a degreed teacher who's teaching to curriculum.

So, you know, we really took a long, hard look at that and decided that we needed to really adjust how we support the schools. Mostly what we do are classroom grants, and so I worked very hard to raise funds in the community so that teachers have the opportunity to write grants to me for classroom projects. So, we don't support a budgetary needs, we don't support bricks and mortar. So, we're not here to provide the schools with money that they're already receiving through, you know, county budgets and such, but this is to give teachers the opportunity to reach out and get funds for things that they don't have access to through their normal budgets. And of course, teachers are the ones who know what's going to grab a student and make them want to learn, and so when teachers have the opportunity to access funds like that then our kids benefit.

And when we have an educated workforce, an educated community, then everybody benefits. Our slogan, our motto is, "Education is the foundation of a successful community." And we believe that very strongly. So, there's been a lot of changes since I first started with the Foundation. We were probably contributing maybe $25,000 a year, and as I said, a lot of those funds were actually coming straight from the schools.

Since I started with the Foundation, we have contributed over $950,000 to education in Loudoun County. We do that through individual contributions and corporate and business contributions. We do not receive government funding really at all. So, the City of Lenoir contributes to us annually to assist with one of our fundraisers Run LoCo. But that is the only municipality that's contributing to the Foundation. The city of Loudoun donate services and so we get support that way.

But overall, that's how we raise our money. One of the things I think you asked me about earlier was the Imagination Library. And most people think that Dolly Parton pays for all of it. But Dolly is actually the initiator and a partner of the program. So, each county that has an Imagination Library has to have a host organization that accepts the fundraising responsibility for that program. In Loudoun County, we have 1950 kids enrolled right now [crosstalk 00:06:33]—

Julia: Wow.

Michelle: Yeah, we are—that's 73% of our saturation of eligible kids in our county, and we're one of the top counties in Tennessee. So, while Knox County may have more kids enrolled in their program, percentage-wise, you know, it might be less than what we have. But—and I'm not going to say that's true with Knox County because it may not be, but we are one of the top counties in Tennessee. But we have the responsibility of raising $25 per child per year. So, that would be about 48, $49,000 a year for us to raise. But we do have the benefit of the Governor's Early Literacy Program Foundation in Tennessee, and they help with 12.5 dollars for that. So, $12.50 from them, $12.50 for us. So, it's a bottom line of about $25,000 for our budget annually to provide that benefit and resource to the kids in Loudoun County.

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Julia: Yeah, I had Imagination Library growing up, so I know that the effects of that are lifelong; they're long-term effects. I mean, I remember growing up around kids who had no books and those were the only books I got. So, I mean, that was… it's a staple. It's a staple need, I think. For every county and especially counties, you know, butt up against larger counties like Knox County that gets most of the time, attention, and resources for the outlying rural communities to get that program. So, that's fantastic.

What are your biggest fundraisers of the year? And what does that look like… like, basically your fiscal—you don't get a break. You're 365 fundraising. I can only imagine every single person that you talk to you, you're at the grocery store and you overhear, like, 1031 Exchange, you're like, "Donate." So, it's [laugh]—you know, what are your biggest fundraisers?

Michelle: I'm always looking for those opportunities. Covid has changed some of how we do things and what we're doing. We used to do a Dine Out for Education, very similar to what Knoxville has where we ask restaurants to participate, and they contribute 10%. But of course, Covid just really hit restaurants hard and they have not recovered yet, service staff, food costs, all of those things. So, we're trying to be sensitive to that and not hit restaurants when they're down.

So, instead of doing a day where we ask for contributions from restaurants, we changed that to a pancake breakfast. Last year that was supported by Aubrey's, who are a huge community neighbor, and always do so much and support us so very much. So, that was a little different than what we've done in the past. We have been working with Del Conca for several years. They were doing a tile sale for us, but as of last year, they determined that we would now make that an annual event. I'm very excited about that.

That sale will be the first Saturday in May and it'll be annual, so if you're doing a DIY project at home, don't buy tile [laugh] at top prices; come to the Del Conca sale. It's Italian tile, it's made here in Loudoun County, it's beautiful, and they're selling it for 30 cents to 50 cents square foot during our sale. So, I've seen people pull in with, you know, trucks with trailers behind them and load the whole thing up and spend $300. So, you know, you could tile your entire front yard house and backyard for just a small amount of money and support education at the same time. So, that's going to be a new standing event that I'm very excited about. I think we have a lot of potential. You know, as much tile as we can sell, we can make money off.

We have our Run LoCo marathon, that's going to be December 3 this year. And that's a marathon, half marathon, and 5k. And that's been going very well. Covid obviously had a big hit on that in 2020; we had to cancel the event. So normally, it takes about three years to build an event like that. We're in our fourth right now, but having had Covid kind of hid in the middle of it, we're still working on that event to build it to its greatest potential.

But it brings people in from Knoxville, it brings people in—actually we have 14 states represented so far this year signed up to run. And yeah, so that really draws people into the entire area. So, when people are coming in from New York, Kansas, North Carolina, I mean all over the place, you know, they're definitely going to go to Knoxville, they're definitely going to go, you know, to different sites around and hopefully spend lots of money in Loudoun County, too [laugh].

Julia: Loudoun County is not an easy run. These roads are up and down like this. I mean, people—it's a Boston qualifier, correct?

Michelle: Yes, it is. Yes it is.

Julia: That's a big deal—

Michelle: Boston qualifier.

Julia: Because we have quite a few people that have relocated that are runners and a lot of leaders in the communities that are runners who are looking to qualify for Boston so they can get into the New York as well. So, that is an opportunity for people I don't think they are aware.

Michelle: Mm-hm. Absolutely.

Julia: I know [crosstalk 00:11:59]—do you all still do the bus, the Fill the Bus?

Michelle: Well, we do something a little different this year because—and there again, when I started with the Foundation, they did Stuff the Bus. We parked the bus on tax-free weekend in Walmart parking lot, which always fell, like, first weekend in August, so of course, it was 190 degrees in the parking lot at Walmart, you know [laugh]? And I lost at least five pounds every day. But little by little, some of the other organizations in town started picking up efforts in stuffing backpacks. And so, what we found is that a lot of churches, the Good Samaritan center, were offering backpacks to kids.

So, most people were already contributing to those efforts. And we never want to duplicate and we also don't want to take away from other nonprofits, so we decided that we would do it a little differently. One of the things that we were hearing is that with our Stuff the Bus, we were getting a lot of repetitive products. So, they were getting, like, at the time, like, a whole big bunch of hand sanitizer, and, you know, maybe not enough magic marker. So, we decided we'd do something a little different and raise money. So, we now have what's called Banking on Education.

Julia: That's right. Sorry, I'm going to interrupt you. I remember I've got—I was like, there's another fundraiser that I really love and I forgot the name of it. Yes.

Michelle: Banking on Education. So, we have local banks, we usually have four banks that contribute a $500 prize eat, and then we sell 100 chances for each $500 prize, each chance is $20. So, you have a 1 in 100 chance of winning $500 for just a $20 contribution. And from that we have contributed a minimum of $4,000 a year to the school systems so that they have a resource. So, when those backpacks are depleted and those kids don't have any supplies, what happens is teachers go to their own pockets and buy those things.

So, now they can go to the family resource center and say, "Hey, Susan Fox," or hey, "Cindy [Perdie 00:13:54], I need, you know, this amount of money," or, "I need this amount of you know, magic markers," or composition books or whatever it is they need. So, we help support with classroom supplies that way. So, we have Banking on Education, Dine Out for Education, Run LoCo for Education, [laugh] we have DIY for Education. And then we also have our celebration of excellence in education. And that's in March.

And that's where we acknowledge 200 students from the Lenoir City and Loudoun County School Systems for being outstanding in their classes. Out of those 200, we choose 20 grade-level winners and then four finalists. And those four are submitted to the International Leadership Network and have an opportunity to compete nationally. And we have had several national winners that have won prizes from the International Network as well. We usually have about 1200 to 1500 people show up to that event to see those children come across this stage and win prizes.

We acknowledge 12 teachers, six from each school system, and then we also have our essay contest, which is sponsored by [Fullon 00:15:08] Insurance that we have three winners for three different grade levels. So, there's nine winners total and we give out $1,050 in prizes for the essay contest winners. All total that night, we give out $3,050 in prize money, but that event we also have sponsors for, and the money that we raise through that event is what we fund our Great Idea Classroom Grants with. So, it all goes back around.

Julia: It's all connected. I think [crosstalk 00:15:40]—

Michelle: It's all connected

Julia: It's all connected with Connect the Knox. It's all connected. It's an entire trickle-down system and every single person plays a part. Even during Covid, we didn't shut our schools all the way down. I mean, we had the option, so there was still a need. And I think a lot of the financing from the school district itself was getting depleted and a lot of parents were getting depleted. And how did the Education Foundation stay solvent? And how did you reach those teachers and parents through those times?

Michelle: Hmmm. Well, that was—you know, it was a difficult time because there wasn't a lot of movement in between. Unfortunately, we weren't able to even do Young Achievers in person that year. It was the first time in over 28 years that that event hadn't been held in person. We were still able to acknowledge our Young Achievers and make awards and mail those out and notify the school so they were able to publish those names and those sorts of things.

So, we were still fundraising, we were still able to award classroom grants, we still did Banking on Education, we still supplied classroom supplies funds, so we tried very hard to keep things going. As I said, we did have to cancel Run LoCo that year as well. So, it you know, those effects weren't necessarily felt right then. We're, you know, we had funds together and people met their commitments for that year, but it's the years have come after that have gotten more difficult for fundraising. I'm sure every nonprofit you talk to will say the same thing.

It's just a hard economic environment right now to raise money in. But, you know, it's important. It's an absolute important job to do and it makes a difference. You know, we've been able to contribute microscopes to Greenback, books to Fort Loudoun Middle. I mean, I could tell you just incredible stories about things that teachers have been able to do with grant funding and how it's encouraged the kids.

But just even one small project. One teacher asked for money for an escape room and it's based on mathematics. And so—

Julia: How fun.

Michelle: Yeah, exactly. And so, the kids know, as they're learning each section, like, if they're working on fractions, they know they're going to have to use fractions to figure out the clues to win the escape room. They are motivated [laugh], you know? They are ready. They know this is going to help him win the game. And so, you know, those sorts of things, like I said, you know, teachers know, you know, what kids are going to want to do. So, being able to fund those sorts of things have just been really important. And to continue—

Julia: I love it.

Michelle: Yeah, yeah.

Julia: I love it. What was the event that you had that we came to where you celebrated the World's Fair and had that bit—

Michelle: [laugh].

Julia: —[crosstalk 00:18:19]. Because I have to tell you right now, that was probably the most fun thing we did almost the whole year. We did, you know, a ton of not-for-profit events; your event was so much fun. What was that event?

Michelle: [laugh]. Okay, so our galas are a little different than most galas. Our galas, first of all, are donor appreciation. So, you received an invitation to that because you were a supporter of the Education Foundation. So, thank you very much.

And that evening, making sure that everybody has a good time is our way of saying thank you. So, our galas, right now for the past couple of years, we've been playing trivia during our galas, and we have some sort of theme. So, this past year was based on the world's fair because it was the 40th anniversary of the World's Fair. The year before we did the Love Boat Gala because we were—all had been in lockdown and everybody needed a cruise. The year before that, we did the Summer of Love Gala because it was the 50th year anniversary of Woodstock, Sesame Street, the landing on the moon. So, everybody came dressed as hippies [laugh]. And yeah, so we have so much fun. And we give away prizes. And I mean the prizes start off from anything from, like, bank swag, like, you know, earbuds that—

Julia: I won a whole tree.

Michelle: Yeah.

Julia: Like a whole, grown tree. And it takes 40 years to grow a tree. I'm like, I won a whole tree. That is such a perfect gift.

Michelle: Absolutely.

Julia: I loved it.

Michelle: Congratulations. I didn't realize you got the tree.

Julia: I got the tree. I got the tree. I actually swapped it with the people in front of me. They really—whatever it was that I actually got, they got—I got $100 gift card to Aubrey's and I'm going to tell you right now, every podcast we have recorded, I will ask somebody, "What's your favorite restaurant?" And they said Aubrey's.

Michelle: Aubrey's. Yeah.

Julia: Every single time. It's like, "Aubrey's." I'm going to have to get the guy on here. I'm going to have to get him on here as a podcast guest. But Aubrey's showing up. But I got a $100 gift certificate to Aubrey's and I giggled because I said, "You know, I eat at Aubrey's so often anyway." The people across me had just moved here and they had not eaten at Aubrey's yet and I was like, "I will trade you for that tree." And she was like, "You want a tree?" I was like, "I want the tree."

Michelle: "I want the tree." [laugh]. That's awesome. And it's not just the tree; it's installation as well. So yeah.

Julia: It's oxygenation, it's beautification. But it's events like that you have so much fun with. And you don't even know who all the donors are until you get to that event at the end of the year. And then it's an opportunity to meet all the businesses in, like, 13 counties that show up, and you're like, I had no idea that you contribute to Loudoun County Education Foundation. That's amazing. And it's people you see all the time and you don't think about it.

And so, you are connecting all of these people through education and for these kids. What do you see as the future? Because you know, Knox County itself is the hub, it's our biggest city, and they are exploding growth-wise. Although in the last census—a decade—Loudoun County was the largest percentage growth. Knox County is still the largest growth County and now you're pushing out of the city limits, butting up to Farragut, Loudoun County, Lenoir City shares some of a school district.

And we kind of have a little bit of the city itself into that. How do you anticipate managing, partnering with the Knox County School District—really more Farragut at this point—and moving forward to what they need and incorporating and keeping safe just Loudoun County Education Foundation?[ because keeping that separate is a big deal.

Michelle: Yeah. You know, I'm going to admit that those are probably larger questions than my arena. But what I'm very aware of, especially since I live in Knox County and I work in Loudoun County, and so I deal with, you know, daily traffic going both ways. And what I know is that many Loudoun Countians work in Knox County. Having an educated workforce in Loudoun County benefits the surrounding counties because they're drawing from our labor force.

Many Knox Countians work in Loudoun also, but you know, little by little, you see that traffic pattern is starting to even up a little bit, but when I first started working at the Foundation, driving from West Town Mall to, you know, downtown City of Loudoun took me all of 20 minutes. Now, it's taking me an hour to get from Loudoun to Knoxville, and that's because there's so much traffic, you know? And when I first started, I would just be whizzing by and I'd look over in that lane going the other way and they were at a dead [still 00:23:05]. So, you know, it's starting to even out as far as the work exchange, but there's been so many people from Loudoun County that have supported Knoxville through their work efforts, through their labor for so very many years, and vice versa. So, when we have Knox County people working in Loudoun County, they're getting gas here, they're going to lunch here, you know, they're still spending their dollars here. Same thing with us, you know?

But as long as we have that educated workforce, then we still have that foundation for Loudoun to continue to grow, you know, and to protect the assets that we have here and keep those two counties, you know, separate. Because, you know, if Loudoun can't, you know, sustain itself, then it's going to become Knox County [laugh].

Julia: Right. Right.

Michelle: So ultimately, you know, keeping—making sure that we maintain a good education system—and we have an amazing education system here in Loudoun County. We have reward schools, you know, our schools are constantly being acknowledged. Our teachers, we have one of the I think the Teacher of the Year came from Loudoun County this year for, you know, statewide recognition. So, you know, we have quality programs, we have excellent schools here. So, you know, as people move into this area and look at schools, as people move into the area and go, "Do I want to live in Knox County and go to Knox County Schools," where you have schools that are you know, busting at the seams, or do I want to go to Loudoun County where I have a smaller, you know, classroom size, you know, more teacher attention, you know, that sort of thing. It's just all important, all of it.

Julia: Well, it is all connected, obviously. Everything that impacts Knox County impacts Loudoun County and vice versa. And you made a very good point there, something that I don't think a lot of people inside of their own individual counties—and that counts are Blount County, Union County, Anderson County, Monroe County, they don't think, "Hey, my educated workforce contributes to the success of the larger cities," and I think that is something that you brought up and I think that is a fantastic point which is even more relevant to support the Education Foundation. Michelle, just a couple of minutes left. Where can people find you? Where can they help you? Where can they contribute?

Michelle: So, my website is lceftn.org. Loudoun County Education Foundation Tennessee dot org. So, you can go there you can read all about the Education Foundation. We didn't even talk about the leadership program which comes under our umbrella as well. You can find a contribute button there, you can contribute to scholarships, classroom grants, Imagination Library, all of the things that we fund in this community. You know, it really does take a village, you know, to raise these kids, and we're trying to do our part, so any help that we get is greatly appreciated.

Julia: I love that and I'd love contributing to the Education Foundation. It's very near and dear to my heart and I appreciate all that you do. I have just a couple of we call them the fire-round questions—

Michelle: [laugh].

Julia: —of Knox County area.

Michelle: Okay, I'm ready [laugh].

Julia: So, favorite restaurant?

Michelle: My favorite restaurant? Well, Aubrey's, of course. I love the Sitar. The—oh, what's the name of it? The sports bistro. That's one of my new favorites. It's right off of the interstate on Kingston Pike, near where the Highway Patrol office used to be.

Julia: Oh Walk-On's.

Michelle: Yes, yes. Walk-On's Sports Bistro.

Julia: Yes, that's [crosstalk 00:26:21]

Michelle: Yes. Yes.

Julia: Very good. I like Walk—I like Sitar as well. Have you been to that one in Turkey Creek that has the buffet?

Michelle: Yes [laugh].

Julia: Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh, I can eat—I could live there.

Michelle: Yes.

Julia: I could live there and—

Michelle: Bombay.

Julia: —eat naan bread all day long. All day long.

Michelle: Oh, their food is delicious.

Julia: All right. Favorite, like, bar slash brewery slash pub, like, favorite just kind of place to hang?

Michelle: Oh, Julia, I'm old now. I don't hang at breweries or bars [laugh].

Julia: Every restaurant is a bar [laugh].

Michelle: The Sitar has a really good Taj Mahal. It's a really big beer.

Julia: I forgot about that. It's like a 40-ounce—

Michelle: It's a 40—yes.

Julia: —[crosstalk 00:27:04] glass shape. Just so classy [crosstalk 00:27:06].

Michelle: They're delicious. Yeah. And they're again um, I guess last time I actually sat at a bar, it was at Walk-On's. So, I'm going to say Walk-On's [laugh].

Julia: Walk-On's is really entertaining. And I've been there a few times now and I'm very impressed with their food selection and the availability of sports. Ever—just sports everywhere.

Michelle: Everywhere [laugh].

Julia: It's fantastic. It is a very good—it is a good space. All right. Let's see… favorite dessert? Like, in which restaurant has your favorite dessert?

Michelle: Mmm, maybe the Cheesecake Factory. I just had their chocolate cherry cheesecake just the other night [laugh]. It's very good.

Julia: Delicious. Are there any businesses that we forgot to mention and thank? Just, I'd love to give that opportunity for you.

Michelle: Well, Tate & Lyle, now known as Primient, it is a huge supporter of the Foundation. They've been in this community for years and they have contributed, on their own, over $100,000 to the Education Foundation. They designate $15,000 of that every year as a classroom grant, so—for math and science. So, those are the skills that they need in their plant and they're putting their money where their mouth is. Those are the skills that they're growing in our education system.

Julia: So, I sat next to them at the event.

Michelle: Oh, okay.

Julia: And I asked because the gentleman—because I introduced myself to everybody at the table, I said, "Oh okay, who are you here with?" And he said, "Primient." And I was like, "Uh-huh." I was just like, [nods head]. I didn't know they had changed their name at that time, so I was like, this must be really new—I was like, "Uh-huh."

I had no idea, and then ten minutes later, he was like, "Tate & Lyle." I was like, "Oh, ah-ha." So, that is so absolutely fantastic. Last question. If people were to visit to you, out of state, out of the country, or whatever, where's your special spot that you take people to do anything at all that you think nobody else might know about that people visiting Would love to know?

Michelle: Okay, so my in-laws were just in town from England. And so, I had Monday with them that I got to take them to the things that I wanted to do. And the first thing I did was taken to Meadowview Greenhouse and Garden Center.

Julia: Love it.

Michelle: They absolutely loved it.

Julia: Love it.

Michelle: And then on the way back, we went to the Painted Tree, which is—

Julia: Oh yeah.

Michelle: Yeah. Oh man, it is so cool.

Julia: [unintelligible 00:29:17].

Michelle: And yeah. And they were just, I mean, they could spend days and days. And my mother-in-law was like, "Oh darling, why didn't you bring me here first?" [laugh]. And so, that's my mother-in-law for you. And then when my husband gets home, he immediately takes him to Newfound Gap and then over the mountain into North Carolina to see the elk. So, he loves the elk.

Julia: Thank you for sharing those top secrets. I'm going to start recom—I'll make sure to put it in your bio so the businesses get a shout-out. Everybody, this is Connect the Knox. I'm your hostess with the mostest, Julia Hurley, connecting Knoxville with the nation. Our guest today was Loudoun County Education Foundation Executive Director—that is a lot—Michelle Lewis. Michelle, again, thank you so much for taking time out for us today.

Michelle: Thank you.

Julia: lceftn.org. Thank you so much.

Marcus Hall, CEO of Marc Nelson Denim, has been bringing high-quality custom fashion to Knoxville for the past 13 years. Tune into this episode of ConnectTheKnox as he and Julia discuss how his great-grandfather and family ties to Knoxville inspired his journey, his focus on local manufacturing, and the growth he's seen in Knoxville both as a business-owner and as a downtown resident. Highlights:

00:00 Intro

01:01 Marcus introduces himself, tells the story of how his great-grandfather influenced his career, and explains why he moved from L.A. back to Knoxville

04:48 Marcus describes the growth that he's seen in Knoxville over the past 13 years, both in his business and the city overall

07:26 How Marcus developed his talent for designing and tailoring custom clothing

10:32 Why custom clothing is an investment, and how to ensure the pieces you buy will last you a long time

13:13 Marcus shares how he focuses on local manufacturing as well as how his travels have influenced his brand

18:25 Ad - JustHomesGroup.com

21:26 Julia and Marcus chat about the small-town feel of Knoxville as well as the opportunities that come with its tremendous growth

26:27 Marcus answers Julia's lightning round of questions about his favorite Knoxville hot spots

Links:

• Marc Nelson Denim: https://shopmarcnelson.com/
• Marcus's Favorite Knoxville Realtor: Just Homes Group

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• Find my Home Buyers & Home Sellers Guide here: https://linktr.ee/thejuliahurley

Transcript:

Julia: Hey everybody, welcome to Connect the Knox. I'm your host, Julia Hurley connecting the nation to Knoxville. Today's guest, let me just make this introduction; it's going to be a long one, maybe not so long. But I want to say this: this is one of the most talented clothiers I have ever seen. This man has vision, he has style, he's got class, he used to have a ladies' line.

I have one of the very last hand-designed skirts from Marc Nelson Denim. I'm going to tell you right now, the man is absolutely talented. Marcus Hall, owner of Marc Nelson Denim, introduce yourself to our crowd because I am so excited to hear your story. And again, I have to say this, one of the most talented design clothiers I have ever seen. So, take it away, Marcus. Tell us a little bit about you and how you ended up in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Marcus: Well, thank you for that amazing introduction, first and foremost. And now you are not a realtor, you are an entertainer, by far.

Julia: [laugh].

Marcus: [laugh]. So, but yes, thank you for having me here. But my story is, my family, originally from Georgia and Ohio and my great-grandparents moved to Tennessee, and so that brought me and my family there. My great-grandfather who Marc Nelson Denim is based out of—or the last name is from, was actually a janitor at the TVA Credit Union, but he wore a suit every day. And he taught me and my brothers no matter who you are—you're a janitor or the mayor—you always want to leave the house looking like someone.

And so, that resonated with me and that's why I pay homage to that's where the Nelson comes from in 'Marc Nelson,' from my great-grandfather.

Julia: That's a good story.

Marcus: So, there you go. Yeah, it's a beautiful story. Yeah. And as a matter of fact, I was living in Los Angeles before we opened the shop downtown Knoxville, where we're currently located, and when I came to see the building, it's literally three blocks from where my great-grandfather lives. So, that all kind of, you know, made me make the decision to move back home to Knoxville. And here we are, almost 13 years later, in business.

Julia: That is a crazy—I had no idea that that was even part of the story here. In my head, I had imagined, like, you were in Milan, Italy, and just some random [unintelligible 00:02:39] fan was wearing a hat and you're like, "I'll check that place out." [laugh]. You actually have a rich heritage here.

Marcus: Yes, absolutely. Yes, my great-grandfather and grandparents. And if you didn't know, there used to be a Levi's plant in East Knoxville over on Cherry Street. And that plant was there for decades and actually supplied jobs to the most of the East Knoxville community. And so, that's how we—the denim even became [unintelligible 00:03:04] for me.

I took tailoring at Austin-East High School so that I could then leave there and go work at that Levi's plant, but they shut down and started producing in Mexico and China. And so, years later I was like, you know what? I appreciated the feeling that I had and the pride that I had that my family members and other East Knoxville community members worked and made a product at that Levi's plant that was sold throughout the world. And I wanted to bring some of that pride back and start manufacturing here in the US and bring, you know, community members and family members on board. And we all made a product that potentially could be as big as the Levi's brand.

Julia: I am so confused and jealous. I absolutely, one thousand percent, never learned a trade in high school. They didn't teach us anything like that that is—

Marcus: Yeah, so you're not, you're not that old yet.

Julia: [laugh]. No, I mean I started—I don't even know how to sew on a button. It's just not something that we were ever taught. And they actually had an entire class for that. Wow!

Marcus: Yes, absolutely. Yeah, yeah. Back in the olden days, they you know, they tau—[laugh] Austin-East used to have a brick mason class. They used to have, obviously, like, a Home Ec, but it also taught you how to cook in restaurant environments. They had an auto mechanics class, they had tons of—yeah, heating and air class, they had tons of vocational classes so that you could—for those who chose not to go to college and wanted to immediately go into the work field could do that. And it was, yeah, it was amazing. Absolutely.

Julia: That is absolutely fascinating. I'm going to do a little more research on that. I think our education system can use a little more of that.

Marcus: You know, and now, in this day and time, that's where—yeah, exactly. Because school is expensive and a lot of kids go on to school and never use that, you know, education to go do anything that they're doing in the future. They end up doing something absolutely different and they spent a ton of money and time in college when they could have immediately went on to, you know, start making money. And now I'm all for a college education. That's an amazing deal, but if you're going to use it and you know what your what's your path is going to be.

Julia: Right. I agree with that one thousand percent. I remember when you first opened the store in downtown Knoxville. And can you paint the picture for us of when you first opened that building and how everything around you has changed? Like, give us the last 13 years of the growth that you've seen in just the downtown Knoxville market.

Marcus: Oh, wow. You know, Knoxville isn't the same place at all. Thirteen years ago, we opened our shop in the basement of the building that we're currently in and there was only one food truck, a Sweet and Savory. And we would have First Fridays there and we would get about 300 people because no one else was doing First Fridays. And so much has changed to the fact that you would—if you came to Knoxville then to visit and then came back today, you would think you were in a totally different town.

I mean, the Old City used to be in a place where we couldn't spark in and get restaurants or any you know, [staple to stay 00:06:11], Market Square. There was only a few things that you could go to for dinery, or you know, just entertainment in general. And now Knoxville is as cool as it's ever been in my lifetime. There's food places to eat and fine dining, like Tim Love's Lonesome Dove, you've got the Boyd's, you've Merchants of Beer, you've got an athletic club that you can go to that stays open 24 hours. And we haven't even talked about Gay Street and Market Square now is a thriving area that I'm proud to invite my friends and just in general visitors to come along and stay the weekend. And there's so much to do now other than to go to Dallas or go on to the Smoky Mountains. You could actually have a full weekend of entertainment in downtown Knoxville. So, I'm so proud. Not to mention that our Vols are kicking butt right now. They're [crosstalk 00:07:04]—

Julia: Oh, my goodness. I was actually going to segue right into that. I'm so glad you did it because I want everyone that's watching this to know that you are the number one clothier for the Vols football team.

Marcus: There you go.

Julia: Most of the staff—

Marcus: —Coach Heupel—yes. You got it.

Julia: —the coaches, Pretty much everybody wear Marc Nelson—Marc Nelson Denim. I was trying to put that on one word—Marc Nelson Denim. Yeah, and it's some of the—so I just so happened to be at your shop, meeting with Derrick Furlow, who was just on—our podcast with him was released yesterday, and you had some of the top senior football players there for fittings. And I'm telling—the quality, these kids are—we're all—I mean, they know what good quality clothing are, but when they were putting on these clothes. I mean, it was just a consistent, like, "Wow," "Wow," "Wow." I mean, it was just a continuous, "This is so soft." "This is so nice." "This fits so well."

And you hadn't even made any changes to it yet. You are very talented to be able to even eyeball what somebody's fit needs to be and cut needs to be. Tell us, how long have you been doing this? And how did you work your way into such a specialty, a rarity in today's market and clothing, honestly?

Marcus: So again, my mother taught me to sew at twelve. I took tailoring, so it's something that I've had in my blood and been a part of most of my life. But from a professional status, again, I've been in business 12 years. And we started with denim and especially denim because we'd have a ton of athletes who have small waist, big butts, and they couldn't find a jean that [crosstalk 00:08:38]—

Julia: Dang those squats.

Marcus: [laugh]. Yes, right? And they couldn't find a jean that fit them. And so, I was like, "Oh, wow." And so, we found stretch denim that obviously helped in that, but they still needed some tailoring.

And we just evolved from there to, you know, suiting and now we're a lifestyle brand. And one of our biggest deals is it's not just that, it's the service part of the deal. Like we don't want to—we take pride in what we do. Because when you wear our clothing, you represent our brand. And we still are a small brand.

But that being said, the service part of our deal is that we want you to not only look good but feel good. And then we believe that when you look good, you feel good. That being said, with fast fashion nowadays and this online service, I don't believe that you get the full service out of the deal. So, we keep a full-time tailor at our shop which is needed because again, you've got—most people don't fit a base 32, or 34, or whatever, you know what I mean? There's you know, either they're short, or they're too tall, or they're—again, you've got big waist and no but, or you've got no waist and a big butt.

So, it's important that you get a customer—or a clothier that can provide the alterations and a little tweaks that make that clothing item feel the way it's supposed to fit.

Julia: I just love your store. I wish that more people understood the quality of their clothing. I don't think that people, especially my generation, and I know—I know—the younger generation has not a clue how to really and truly take care of custom clothing. It's not something we're taught. It's not something you can read on tags somewhere.

It's either dry clean only, or throw it away, you know? And once I started getting into custom clothing, honestly, that skirt that you made for me, I have—I should have brought it in here to show the world that skirt looks like it was brand new from 13 years ago. I mean, I'd take such good care of that piece of clothing. And so, I think that that's something that you also pass on through the conversations, and every person that gets something at your store is also being taught something they've never known before. And it's so rare to have that customization aspect of it and to also feel like you're still at home in downtown Knoxville.

Marcus: No, no, I agree. Again, quality is—when you go to a clothier and you get custom clothing, it should be something that is an investment, you know what I mean? Like, it's not something that you're going to wear one time, and then like you said, throw it away or put it in the back of your closet. And so, we sit down with our clients and we talk about fabrics and what do you do for a living so that the fabric in the cut of your clothing and the meets up or matches up with what you're doing for a living. We talk about, in the last few years, how has your weight changed.

Or are you planning on losing weight or gaining weight or whatever the case may be because athletes tend to do that, but also dads do, too. I mean, you know, if you're a new dad [laugh]—

Julia: Dad bod.

Marcus: You may put on a pound, right? You're going to have a dad bod in a few years. So, we may need to, you know, add for some let-out space. But more importantly, again, yeah, if you invest in a quality piece, it should hold up and it should be something that not only you wear for years, but if you have children, you can pass that garment down. Because I've worn tons of my grandfather's clothes. I remember the first tuxedo that I owned was my grandfather's, you know what I mean? It smelled like mothballs but it was still—[laugh]—

Julia: I bet it was—I bet in today's… what am I—what is—that tuxedo was probably the hottest—

Marcus: Trendy.

Julia: —[crosstalk 00:12:36]. If you put it on today—

Marcus: Yeah, you got it. What's trendy today—

Julia: —[crosstalk 00:12:38], like I have to have that.

Marcus: That 60-year-old tuxedo is really cool right now, except for the mothball smell. But no, a hundred percent. So, when you invest in quality clothing, it will. It should last. And we'd love to talk to our clients about how you keep that up.

And again, it doesn't take a lot. If you bought something of quality, it should withstand the test of time and short of you, you know, mud wrestling in it or you know whatever the case may be. And honestly, Julia, it's not good to dry cl—over dry clean your clothing because it breaks the product down and that creates you know tearage or, you know, the spaces where you may have things that threads come out or whatever. So, you don't want to—because wool or good fabrics are natural and, like, you know if a sheep or whatever, they don't go to the dry cleaners they just, you know, [laugh] they air out. A good shampoo will do just fine, with some soap and water. But no, sincerely, a great product will last forever if you take good care of it. And you should be able to pass it down and keep it forever. So, there you have it.

Julia: So, we all know that real estate is location, location, location. Our team at Just Homes Group Realty Executives have the true expertise, pairing buyers and sellers with the right opportunities. Whether you're looking to buy or sell a home right here in Knoxville, Lenoir City, Clinton, or Farragut, we have the expertise throughout every Knoxville surrounding area. Call Just Homes Group Realty Executives today.

Julia: Well, I feel like that you are the epitome of what a Clothier should be, especially somebody that's local, but national. Tell us about your travels. What have you learned outside of Knoxville and how has that helped you bring that into Knoxville and pass that along?

Marcus: Wow. So yeah, well, travels have been New York, California. And again, we try to produce and manufacture most of our garments in the United States, which has been hard to do. I started off in Los Angeles where we launched our first line, and the a hundred percent of our line was created in Los Angeles. But it was always my passion to come back to Knoxville and use local talent.

And when I—so, we started manufacturing in downtown Knoxville, but we also used a company out of Bristol, Tennessee, LC King, who's been there for over a hundred years. And that was a great experience when we only did denim. But if you're going to use wash techniques and use chemicals like the stone washing and the potassium that you use in lightning clothes and all these different washes, there's only a few places in the United States that you can do that in. And again, Los Angeles tends to be the place. A great story was the fashion editor for The New York Times, was actually in Bristol and saw my line, and she really did a huge write-up of my line and in The New York Times, and that was the biggest weekend of our e-commerce that we've ever had.

And was able to—fortunate enough to go up to New York and meet with stores like Bergdorf and Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstroms, and we—I was a little country boy, this was two years into creating the line, maybe three, and we met with Bergdorf and the meeting was going so well, and then this other guy sat down and he looked at our line and says, "This is really country." Uh—[laugh].

Julia: Oh, [laugh]. Thanks to New York. Love you, too.

Marcus: Right? And we were trying to sell it, and as a grown man, that was one of the very few times I was like, "I think I'm about to cry." Like, I was—it was like he really hurt my feelings. It was—and he's like, "Listen, what are you doing with this and that?" And you know, so he shot us down. And that was Friday's meeting.

Julia: I think at that point, I probably would have snapped back and said, "Well, thank you so much. Dolly Parton said so, too."

Marcus: [laugh]. I left there with my tail tucked between my—I was like, distraught, like, I've made think I'm thinking about not doing this anymore. But I had two more meetings. I had one Monday and—two on Monday and I had to stay in New York the following weekend, and—this is a cool story—I was in Soho, New York, just randomly. And like, "Man, I need a drink." You know what I mean?

Julia: [laugh]. After that conversation.

Marcus: I was like, "Oh God, I need a drink. Like, that was harsh." And so, I went to this random bar and I sit down at the bar and ordered a drink. And the bartender looked at me and he goes, "Man, aren't you that denim guy?" And I'm in New York City, by the way. And this is—like, nobody knows me. And I'm like, looking around for cameras. And I'm thinking, like, somebody's punking me right now, you know what I mean?

Like, I'm in New York. Nobody knows who the hell I am. I'm in New York. And he goes, "Man, I read your story in The New York Times and I love what you do and I saw your website. Keep doing what you're doing."

And it went from, like—right? Isn't that crazy? Like, that's amazing. Like, and that was like—and so I knew God was like, he—

Julia: Oh, yeah he was.

Marcus: —sent an angel out to be, like, "Hey, like, don't let that one experience change you." So, I went out and bought a Hugo Boss suit that I could not afford that day because I'm like, I'm going to be so on point Monday that they are not going to be able to tell me no. Like, I'm regrouping. And so, put it—kind of restructured everything. And Monday morning, I'm never on time for things, and I was early for this meeting and took a cab and I was sweating because I was in the suit and it was really [laugh] hot outside. And so—

Julia: New York is brutal [laugh].

Marcus: —it's like—and so I show up and I looking at the—you know, give my spiel to this guy who shows up in a t-shirt and painted jeans and painted holey tennis shoes, like, I'm like I did all this and I was like and he goes, "I love this. I love that. Da-da-da. Change the button on that. I'll take this, this, this, and this."

And in 20 minutes, I had an order for, you know, all this stuff. And I'm like it was just the total opposite. So, from a rollercoaster ride of that experience. And just you know, again, New York and that was my experience in New York. But it worked out, you know, and it learned me to, you know, we all have our opinions of what art or fashion should look like, and I think being in the south is an amazing.

And that's what brought me back home is that we have a great culture. And if you think about denim and you think about farming, and but—you know, so we just started a hashtag #southernluxury, you know what I mean? Because we make luxury items and—

Julia: Oh, I love that.

Marcus: Yeah, yeah. And it's amazing. We have a store in Florida, currently, that we also and you know denim and now people don't wear suits anymore, you know? They wear blue jeans, a custom shirt, a blazer, a cool pair of cowboy boots or a loafer or whate—or sneakers, you know what I mean? And so, the world has changed so much. But what is consistent is denim is still here, baby. So, there you go [laugh].

Julia: I just, I think you should write that man that told you that a letter thirteen—exactly thirteen years later and be, like, "From your country friend in Tennessee #southernluxury. These jeans are for you." [laugh].

Marcus: I'm still here. Yes. So, um but coming back to Knox—yes, "I'm still—hashtag #imstillhere."

Julia: I'm still here [laugh].

Marcus: But coming back to Knoxville has been truly a blessing, it is, and to see the growth of Knoxville and the fact that I can contribute to making Knoxville a cooler place. Again, our building is situated in downtown Knoxville where you know and I know that we're building a major baseball stadium now and more—

Julia: Oh, that's so cool.

Marcus: You got it. It is. And there's more residential spaces in downtown Knoxville. So, I can't imagine where we are in the next five years or so in Knoxville because it's just—yeah, again, you don't even recognize it. So, I'm so stoked and excited about it.

Julia: I left my condo in Knoxville and I think I sold it for, like, $160,000 which at the time was unheard of.

Marcus: Wow. Yes now—

Julia: One-sixty, everybody was like, "I can't believe you got that much for your condo." That same condo is worth $500,000 today.

Marcus: It's crazy, right?

Julia: A $500,000 condo. 800 square feet. 800 square feet [laugh]. It's like, come on.

Marcus: Yes, yes. How long ago was when you sold the condo?

Julia: We moved out of downtown Knoxville in 2014. 2015, I think. 2015.

Marcus: So, yeah. So, less than ten years, eight or nine years ago, right? Yeah. So, there you go. It's amazing, though. But again, I'm proud of Knoxville. And to see that the height of our growth and where, like you said, property value right now, it's crazy. It's crazy.

Julia: Yeah. Do you own that building?

Marcus: I do.

Julia: Thank God. Good for you. Could not imagine what the lease would be on something in that space right now. Because I remember when that whole area—when you put that building down there, I was like, "Oh, that's—" [laugh]—

Marcus: [laugh].

Julia: [crosstalk 00:22:04] when your opening and I walked across the railroad tracks with my dog, and I was like. I don't know if I need to be [unintelligible 00:22:12].

Marcus: Like, "I'm not coming over here." Like this is, like—yeah, I agree. It was a puke ugly yellow-green building and we've transfo—it was—and we've transformed it.

Julia: It hurt [crosstalk 00:22:22]—

Marcus: —[laugh] we painted the building black, and it does. Now, it's stu—we've actually won an award for landscaping, and whatever the case. Yeah, so it is. Yeah, so I was pioneering. I was the pioneer of downtown. I'm the reason Knoxville is so cool.

Julia: I love it. I love it. You were though. You were the brave person that went to that side of downtown Knoxville, and we were all like, "I hope he's okay." We were all like, "What? Let's hope this works out."

Marcus: [laugh]. I don't know. You were like my guy at Burgdorf.

Julia: Exactly. Yeah, but we—yeah, you really should write that guy letter and take a picture of your Florida store and your Knoxville store and some awards and send him a free pair of jeans. And [unintelligible 00:23:11]—these are for you, country.

Marcus: No, no, no. No free. No [laugh]—

Julia: It's one leg. You have to pay for the other leg.

Marcus: Oh, there you go [laugh].

Julia: Negotiate.

Marcus: "Here's one leg for free." If you want the other leg. Yeah, that'll be $200.

Julia: It'll be $200 for the other half? [laugh]. I love it. I love it. So Knoxville: big small town. I feel like this is an almost overlooked space. So, I've traveled all over the country. I was in, I think it was 36 states in 2019. I was coaching other businesses on how to open and do all their stuff, basically a business consultant at that point, and I would always tell people I'm from Knoxville, Tennessee.

"Where's that?" And I would say, "Dolly Parton." And they're like, "I know Dolly Parton." I'm like, "Awesome." And that was all they knew. They Memphis because of Elvis, and they knew Dolly Parton because of Dolly Parton. That is all they knew.

And I will talk about Oak Ridge National Lab and I would talk about our teaching hospital and I would talk about our massive campus, and we're one of the largest colleges in the country. I would talk about our failing football team which is now the best football team in the country. And they had no idea. They all thought we were just country bumpkins with no shoes, and they were always very impressed that I could speak properly with my little drawl?

Marcus: Do you have shoes on right now? Do you have shoes on right now?

Julia: I got on Ons. I got on the Ons [laugh]. But I think that that conversation over time has changed. And Knoxville is more welcoming but still the same small town. I still see the same people everywhere I go, which makes me feel so good about it, but there's new people every time you turn around. I think Knoxville is an opportunity.

Marcus: Agreed. I recall moving out to Los Angeles for the first time, and coming from Knoxville, A, the traffic is you can't even imagine, and I mean, in LA, it's just so—I mean, I literally had a nervous breakdown in my car one day, and I was like, "Oh God, I'm going back home." But I also remember going to, like you said, a bar or a restaurant and going to the same place multiple times and never being able to have a conversation with anyone. You know what I mean? Like, I felt like, I'm in a city where there's millions of people, but I felt very alone.

And in Knoxville, there's no way you can go and not have a [laugh] conversation with someone. It's like you—everyone is—you never meet a stranger in Knoxville. We all have a common bond and [audio break 00:25:51] each other like family. And so—and being in the downtown and that resonates with me. And I recall, and we have mentioned that, getting in trouble, and getting in trouble for gambling, and having to go to prison for 14 months and coming back home and thinking, "Man, what am I going to do?"

And when I got home, I was shocked at how support and the kindness of the community that, kind of, brought me back to my feet and says, "Hey, it's all good. We're going to support you anyway." And you know, several years later, and so. But I'm from Knoxville and so I think one of the draws if you ever to come to Knoxville is, A, although the cost of living has gotten higher, we're still very affordable a city. I was in LA two days ago, and gasoline is, like, $6 a gallon. And I'm like—

Julia: No, thank you.

Marcus: Yeah, right? It's like, what in the world is going on? And so, you pay to be inconvenienced in cities like that. It's a dirty city and like I said, you're in traffic for hours. And I think the draw to Knoxville is it is a super clean city, it's safe, the cost of living is fair. And although it's rising, rent is rising, but it's still better than most places in the United States.

You never meet a stranger. There's so many outlets whether it's the Chamber of Commerce, you know what I mean, or Knox Business Center. I mean, there's so many outlets for new businesses and/or new companies. You got ORNL, or the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which, you know, it's huge.

Julia: Huge. Jobs everywhere. People just opened a pilot corporation this year. Boyd Sports. Boyd Entertainment.

Marcus: Clayton, you got it. [unintelligible 00:27:34] Boyd.

Julia: Dollywood. [laugh].

Marcus: And yes, you got the University of Tennessee. And there's so much room for growth that yeah, I think Knoxville is a gem. And you know and quietly I don't want Knoxville to become Nashville.

Julia: There's no way that our infrastructure—

Marcus: Infrastructure. Right there you go. That's real. But yeah, I do. I love the fact that—and it's good. I live downtown, I work downtown. I don't have to leave downtown Knoxville. I can literally walk, ride a bike. You know, then there's South Knoxville, which is amazing.

Julia: Blowing up. Love it. I remember I was selling houses in Island Home back in 2014 for, like, $30,000 and couldn't convince people to buy them. I was calling people all over the country saying, "Hey, you need to get into Knoxville. I can get you a house in Island Home for 30 grand." "Oh, that's really expensive. I don't—Knoxville?" And now they're begging me for property. And I'm like, "There's nothing down here, man."

Marcus: You know with Covid, there was a lot of negative, but people realized that being in a big city like New York and Los Angeles and paying this astronomical amount of rent and not knowing, you know—without the entertainment factor there you know what I mean? Like, if you go to Broadway play or you know, shopping on, you know, in Soho—

Julia: You got to pay $10,000 a month for a maintenance fee on an apartment you can't leave.

Marcus: You can't leave, right? What's the draw? And so, and being able to have a backyard, you know what I mean? And then, like, wow, you can—you know what you were getting in New York and LA for half a million dollars was 800 square-foot of something, now you can get land, and you know? So yeah, I agree.

I think Knoxville is an amazing place, again. And we are nestled at the foot out of the Smoky Mountains which is beautiful, and having traveled all over the United States, again, it's so green and we have four seasons and unlike most places, you know, Florida or whatever, there is no earthquakes and, you know, you don't have to worry about tornadoes, hurricanes, all this stuff.

Julia: Perfect [laugh].

Marcus: Yeah, we are. Knoxville is a perfect place to live. Yep, you got it.

Julia: All right. I have less than 30 seconds left. Favorite restaurant?

Marcus: Favorite restaurant is Chivo for casual, and Lonesome Dove for if I want to go to a night out. You got it.

Julia: I love Lonesome Dove. I really get back down there and—

Marcus: Fridays they have that burger special that is cra—it's like 12 bucks for a burger that is the best burger in Knoxville, hands down.

Julia: Oh, I like that.

Marcus: Yeah, Fridays. Yes.

Julia: Favorite bar?

Marcus: Favorite bar? Chivo for—[unintelligible 00:30:04] yeah, it is. Chivo is my favorite bar. It is. Yes. I like Wagon Wheel when I'm, like—

Julia: That's the second Wagon Wheel. Mark Jernigan is getting some shout-outs this week.

Marcus: Yeah Mark Jernigan's place is amazing. But yeah. But I go to Chivo, like, almost every day.

Julia: Marcus Hall, Marc Nelson Denim. Thank you for the opportunity.

Marcus: You got it, babe. Thank you. Oh, favorite realtor?

Julia: Oh, Julia.

Marcus: Right [laugh].

Julia: [laugh].

Marcus: All right. Bye. Have a good day.

With so many people moving to Knoxville, there's no doubt that a woman-owned business like Eugenia Almeida's A New Hue paint and plaster company is in high demand. Join me as we discuss why she chose to make Knoxville her home, her journey as an entrepreneur, and her mission to help future artists of Knoxville.

Highlights:

00:00 Intro

01:16 Eugenia introduces herself and explains how she came to Knoxville and became a business-owner

04:40 Why Eugenia decided Knoxville would be the perfect place to settle down and follow her passions

07:39 - Ad - Dr. Joe Chiro

08:20 Eugenia lists some of the residential and commercial clients she has worked with

10:31 Having come from Argentina, Eugenia describes how Knoxville encompasses a perfect blend of culture and comfort

12:50 Eugenia explains how the A New Hue studio is open to the public and expanding

14:47 The next steps for Eugenia and her goal to collaborate with up-and-coming artists

19:41 Eugenia answers the lightning round of questions about all her favorite local spots

22:41 How parents of Knoxville can involve their children in the arts

Links Referenced:

A New Hue: https://anewhue.net/

Transcript:

Eugenia: Exactly. You know, I want to try it all, right? This is so magnificent. I'm freezing here but at the same time the time—

Julia: [laugh].

Eugenia: —the sun is shining. Life is good. Life is good.

Julia: Hi everybody and welcome to this episode of Connect the Knox. I'm your host, Julia Hurley, connecting Knoxville with the nation. Today's guest is a rockstar interior designer. I'm telling you all folks right now, if you can get your hands on an appointment with this woman, everything that you have ever thought was stylish, she will make it better. Miss Eugenia Almeida, owner of A New Hue, as in the color, H-U-E, A New Hue, and you can find that on Facebook and online. Eugenia, please introduce yourself and tell us every amazing thing about you because I can't even. I wish I had photos that I could post in the video of things that I've seen you design. I can't even imagine your story. So, tell us about you and how you ended up in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Eugenia: Julia, thank you so much. My name is Eugenia Almeida. I am originally from Argentina, South America. I came to this country 38 years ago with my husband and my kids. And my husband was at the University, Iowa State University, so for many years, I did many different jobs.

But when we came to Knoxville and my youngest daughter started school, I decided to do something that was going to fill my heart. So, we are a plaster company, we do plaster sand for finishes, we work with the boxes, and concrete, and all the materials that you can imagine. And the beauty about our company right now is 80% woman, female, and 70% Hispanic. So, we are a company full of artists that love what they do. And we travel all the time, we travel all over United States.

At this moment, I am in Charlotte, and a week ago I was in Texas in Woodland. So, we travel a lot for work. We are humble, but we have so much pride in the product that we give. And when we said we have a hundred percent client satisfaction because our priority is the people that we work with. For many years, we didn't have cards or anything, not Instagram, Facebook, because it was a word of mouth.

And I really believe that is super important for a company to have that, to always have their eyes on the client, on what the client wants, what you can provide. You never promise things that you cannot achieve. Be honest. We are a hard-working group of people. I have 15 full-time employees. We have a beautiful studio in Knoxville that I hope you come for a cup of coffee.

Julia: Oh, you count on that. Count on that. Yes.

Eugenia: And get your fingers dirty with some plaster and color. And we've been blessed. We've been blessed with super fantastic jobs that we can create and innovate and bring new things into the plate. Because I am Hispanic, I have a different view of colors, so it took some time for people to have faith in me, you know? I was like, "Oh, we need to paint this store red." And they were like, "I don't think so with red." No, it's like, "It will look phenomenal."

But now it's something incredible. We are blessed. We are a blessed group of people who do what we love. And we do it with honesty and hard work and always God with us, honestly. I cannot have a conversation without mention him because he is the one that took us through so many different things.

Julia: So, tell us, everybody out here in the world, from Argentina to Knoxville, Tennessee, to all over the country with clients, how did you settle on staying in Knoxville? What makes Knoxville the place for you?

Eugenia: The most important thing in my life is my family. I have five kids and I came to this country because my husband was going to do his Master's and PhD in Iowa State University. So, I was like the bag, you know? We are carrying her with us.", oh, she's going to make it."

I came to this country with no English. I learned French in my country. My parents thought that it was a great idea to send me to a Catholic school that was French. So, when I came here, I didn't have any, any English. So, from Iowa State, when my husband finished with his PhD, he have a position at the University of Tennessee.

So, we move here, my kids went to school. My youngest one started school and I decided this is the time that I'm going to do something that it will fill my life. Before I did so many odd jobs and I did everything that I need to do, you know, to help, but at the point that I was able to say, "Okay, I'm jumping. I'm going to jump and I'm going to do it and it's going to work." And I think that is what we need to feel when we start something and put every cell of our bodies on what we do.

Julia: I think that that's probably the best advice I've heard from people in general. And that is a across the board conversation with every person that we've interviewed, every person I've met who's successful, you're either in it or you're not. And it's one thousand percent, every part of you has got to be in it to win it.

Eugenia: And it's harder, you know? When you start it's really hard because you get, oh my gosh, where is the money going to come from? I don't have any clients. I cannot show what I do. I worked from my basement for years until I was able to rent a studio, and now we own our studio close to downtown.

So, they are hard times, but I really believe that we need to do it in faith and hard work. If you don't put the sweat and the prayers together, when you do it, I think it's harder, you know. So it, we were extremely blessed. There were years that they were hard, really hard. But right now, our company is, I think we are one of the best companies in the country because we have such manpower that we can come and do 15,000 square feet in ten days.

Julia: Wow.

Eugenia: Of plaster, Venetian plasters, concrete, carved concrete. Because we are a group. We are a group that we love each other. We know what the other person needs all the time, but our main focus is our client, our clientele, the people that said, "Okay, I have faith in this company. Let's do it." And I don't think I have one client, never, that cannot—can say that he wasn't satisfied. We don't leave the place until the client says, "Oh, I love it." If you say that you like it, I'm sorry. It's not enough. You need to love it [laugh].

Julia: That is so perfect. I love to hear that. Can you share—if you cannot that's okay—can you share some of your client list with us? Is there anybody that we would know?

Eugenia: Residential, I work with many, many different people. I worked for developers downtown in Knoxville. When I started, I worked with David [Duchart], I worked with Jeffery Nash, I worked with, oh, so many, so many developers downtown. I can name many residential clients but I didn't ask them, so I'm sure they will be happy to do it. And in commercial we were with Patricia Nash. She's a phenomenal artist. I love working with her. She's my personal friend as her family is.

I work with Altar'd State, the clothing company that is in Maryville. We do all the stores for them over the country. And wonderful people, wonderful people. We work for many, many—we done some stores for Cotton On, and we just finished the first Saks Fifth Avenue that we done in Atlanta with some—

Julia: That's amazing.

Eugenia: [laugh] we did some columns with Venetian plaster for them. And but I'm going to tell you, absolutely everything that we do, somebody refers to. Somebody said, "Oh, I know the person." We done a concrete [unintelligible 00:10:02] under cabins, and the person could call us said, "You know, they told me that for this crazy idea, the only human that can achieve this or the only company is A New Hue." And we done it.

We are going to do another big project with [trees 00:10:18] in Oklahoma, in January. We are going to be doing a huge hotel downtown with the Fall architects and designers. We do big places, but we do some residential. That is what I really love, you know? I like that connection between my client. I mean, I love the coffee, I love talking to them and knowing how can we help. We have servers. We are really servers.

Julia: I love this. I love this so much. So, one of the questions that I ask every person on the podcast is, as you've traveled and experienced all the world and all the food and all the culture, how do you feel like Knoxville is still culture-forward, but home? How does Knoxville encompass that for you?

Eugenia: And you're asking that question to the perfect person because my roots are in Argentina, South America, but Knoxville is the city that make me feel home. I've been here 30 years, 30-something years in Knoxville, and Knoxville, and the people from Knoxville, the city, the culture, the artists, I felt home. I feel a hundred percent calm. In Knoxville, you can get any food you want from any country you want because we are so diverse. You have artists who are magnificent in the city, you know?

You have artisans that they are proud, we're proud of what we do. I'm a part of The Maker City that I love with all my heart. They invited me a couple of years ago to be a part of that. And it's so many things that make Knoxville my home. On top of that, I have all my grandkids—three of my grandkids here, too in Ithaca, New York.

But I think Knoxville and after living for five years in Ames, Iowa, every day when I woke up and I leave my house, I live in a top of a hill and I see the mountains as a background and I see the green. I said, "Thank you God. What a beautiful place to be." On top of that, I develop friendships who are family. And that make it even more home. I go to Europe, I go to South America, I go to Central America, and when I come back, Knoxville is my home.

Julia: I love that. And everybody that we talk with says the same thing. It's the biggest small town.

Eugenia: Exactly.

Julia: Exactly. You see the same people that you see everywhere you go with new twists and turns, but it's so familiar.

Eugenia: It's familiar, it's inclusive. I always felt a part—even you know when I arrived. I always felt a part of the city. And the weather is beautiful [laugh].

Julia: Yeah [laugh]. Sometimes you get four seasons in one day [laugh]. So, all right. Is your studio open for tours or is that a closed studio? Tell me about the studio.

Eugenia: My studio is open, on a schedule. We have visit, but we have somebody at the studio every day from nine to five. We are expanding the studio right now because when we bought the property, they have a couple of houses on the side that my plan is to have it for people who wants to learn and wants to come and take classes—I teach a lot—and for artists that don't have a place yet to fit in. So, we got these two houses and we're renovating right now. Probably by February, we'll have them working. And it's a great idea.

All that area, I mean in Tennessee Avenue, in the Lonsdale, it's improving by the day, it's getting beautiful, it's getting full of people who wants to do things, you know? So, it's going to be a really—I have a vision. I can see that that is going to be a small art district in the city where people can come and participate, or if you don't have a place that you can do your samples or your paintings, "Hey, Eugenia, can I use this?" Come and use it.

Julia: I love that. So, where can people find the studio?

Eugenia: At the studio? Actually, you can find it in Google. If you put 'A New Hue,' they will guide you to the studio, but the address is 1009 Tennessee Avenue. Now, we have 007 and 111. So, I'm thinking what is the studio [laugh]? 1009 Tennessee Avenue. And people loves it. People who comes really like it, so I hope you come for a cup of coffee soon.

Julia: Oh, I will come for sure. That sounds amazing. So, let me see. You pretty much traveled the world, you design all over the world, you design huge, huge retail stores, you do individual residential. What's the dream? What's the next step? What's the big next thing?

Eugenia: To start, I want to tell you, we do the design of the plasters and the walls. We work with designers who tell us what their idea is. These are the colors, this is what we want to see, we want to see a thick texture, a very soft texture. So, we usually work under them. We do the samples, they approve it, we do the walls.

What is my next step? Because even when I'm trying not to do it, I'm getting older, I think I'm going to start working on huge canvases—

Julia: Oh yeah.

Eugenia: Collaborating with people who do different kinds of art. And I see helping new artists because it was hard, you know? And if you have somebody who can give you a hand and said, "Okay, let's do it together. Let me show you how you can do it." You don't have a place that is big enough for you to be, come to the studio, come to the studio.

I see myself there. I see myself—but the problem is all my people said, "Eugenia, don't go in the scaffold. Don't go in the scaffold." I'm going to go on top of the scaffold until they have to take me down. And probably that will be my last time in the scaffold, but for now—

Julia: [laugh].

Eugenia: —[crosstalk 00:17:28] and more carefully. But I love what I do. I love that life gave me so much, coming from another country with three small kids, I have another two here. I have so much. And I really am a walking testimony that when you work hard and you're honest—you are honest; if you're dishonest, you will never make it in life—but if you're honest and work hard, you'll make it.

This is a country of possibilities. This is a country who give chances. Don't take chances from people. Do it. Show them that you can do it and they will give you the space to show that you can. That is my belief, as an immigrant, as a woman, as a mother of five, as a grandmother of five, as an artist, as an artisan, as a woman, [unintelligible 00:18:29] I need to start giving. I always give back, even when I didn't have anything. But this is my time to give back, to help the new generation that is starting. "Listen, we can do it this way. I know nobody teach you to do it but I promise it will work."

Julia: Side note, I'm currently in the process of writing my very first book in the book is about exactly that. Like, here's all the things that I've learned to do through mistakes and I'm not only going to tell you what they are, I'm going to share with you how to also do it a different way. And I feel like that's been missing for so many people. They like to talk about, "Well, you know, you could do it a different way but—" or they say, "Well, this is wrong," or whatever, but they never help you understand how to do it right or different.

Eugenia: Exactly. We need to give—we need to all hands. I think in this life we have this hands to hold people, to hold people when they are hurting, to hold people to go the next step. Because I had people who inspire me all my life. My parents are my inspiration. My sisters are my inspiration. And I miss them dearly every day, but I have all these other people who said, "Eugenia, yes, let's do it. You can do this." And I was like, "Thank you. Thank you."

And now it's not that we don't have to prove ourselves anymore. We need to keep proving ourselves and doing better and better. Because we are creating things that I never thought we will be creating. You see? I'm creating plasters who are three inches thick and carving them. So, we need to help the people and when we see that they are going through that stage, say, "Hey, I don't hold the truth on everything, but I know how we can do it faster, or better, or shinier."

Julia: I love that. I love that. I love that give-back spirit. I think it's very Knoxville-indicative. I feel like Knoxville brings that out in people even if it's already there, they bring it out in a different way. Because everybody here wants you to be successful.

Eugenia: Yes.

Julia: I really feel like that. I feel like Knoxville itself is just like this big hug and it's just waiting for people to come in and say, "Okay, what can we do for you today?" And that's how Knoxville makes me feel.

Eugenia: Yes.

Julia: All right, so I've got a few interesting questions for you.

Eugenia: Okay.

Julia: Okay. What is your favorite Knoxville restaurant?

Eugenia: Can I do OliBea.

Julia: I like OliBea's breakfast. It's so good.

Eugenia: We'd eat OliBea. All the finishes on the walls are from us.

Julia: What is your favorite, like, ethnic food restaurant?

Eugenia: Casa Don Gallo.

Julia: Yes. So, one of my favorites is the Ethiopian restaurant on Sutherland.

Eugenia: I've been there. I love it. I've been there. I love it. I love it. I love all the foods from every country and every culture. And I'm open to try absolutely everything on food, and drinks, on anything. I want to—when I leave this world, I want to experience all that I could.

Julia: I think that Knoxville has such a diverse ability to do that.

Eugenia: Exactly. You know, I want to try it all, right? This is so magnificent. I'm freezing here, but at the same time the time—

Julia: [laugh].

Eugenia: —the sun is shining. Life is good. Life is good.

Julia: Life is fantastic. All right. Favorite bar in Knoxville?

Eugenia: Favorite bar? Actually, I'm going to tell you I love my margaritas. It's a restaurant, Chez Guevara. I cannot find another Margarita like that. So, when I go to drink, I go with my husband to Chez Guevara and we are old enough that if we drink too much our kids pick us up.

Julia: That is a—you're the first one to list that but I was actually there last Wednesday. I love that place.

Eugenia: You need to have those Margaritas [laugh].

Julia: [laugh] okay. Let's see. Um, favorite clothing store?

Eugenia: Altar'd State [laugh].

Julia: Oh, yes, obviously. Obviously. Um, favorite grocery store?

Eugenia: The Whole Foods.

Julia: Yes. We only have the one Whole Foods. I'm waiting for more. You know, I'm waiting for more. I'm like, "Okay, can we get one in Farragut [laugh]?"

Eugenia: It's going to come. It's going to come.

Julia: It will. If Knoxville is growing—

Eugenia: Yes. Oh, yes. And it's building and so much work here to do, so much work is offer. So, even us, we are going to recruit more artists to work with us because we have more work for next year. So, everybody's hiring. We are going to keep growing. It's no way that this country doesn't keep growing.

Julia: Well, since you mentioned that, I know that the Knoxville Museum of Art does so many things that people don't know about, classes, just like beginner lessons for parents and for kids. They do a lot of things that people don't know are very hands-on artist projects that if they don't—if parents outside of the downtown market do not have the ability to understand art or don't have an art class at their schools, tell us a little bit about what they can do in Knoxville to connect with you, to connect with the art scene, to get their kids involved in understanding art.

Eugenia: We are working with a couple of organizations. I'm working with [unintelligible] and we are trying to bring more kids to have—you know, I want to start with a Saturday play date. And after the kids have Covid, it stopped absolutely everything that we were planning. We were planning this three years ago. So, now what I done is I went to a school and I work with the kids as a volunteer doing summer work.

But we are going to be reaching out to families and I want to reach out to my community, to the Hispanic community because some of the parents, you know, cannot communicate very good in English, it's hard for them to understand what they can do. I've been talking with Austin-East School, too. We did a huge mural for them there a year and a half ago. So, the idea is to start working with elementary school, middle school. We will start with elementary and see how this goes. But I will keep you posted with all this news.

Julia: Yeah, please do. You know Mark Nelson…

Eugenia: Yes, I know—

Julia: Mark Nelson [crosstalk 00:25:47], he went to Austin-East and while he was there is when he took all kinds of classes on design and sewing, things my generation has no access to and I think this next generation after me, the Gen Z generation has no idea about art or working with your hands. It's just not something they talk about or teach. And I think that what you're doing is amazing. Please let us know so we can get that information out.

Eugenia: I will keep you posted. Julie, I will keep you posted.

Julia: Yes. And I'll come visit you in a couple—after Thanksgiving, after the holiday, I'm going to come visit your studio.

Eugenia: Perfect.

Julia: Perfect. All right. We are out of time and you're freezing. Thank you for taking time for me today. Thank you so much for sharing your blessing with the world.

Eugenia: Thank you. Thank you for inviting me and I want to meet you in person. I know Patricia put us in contact because I saw the comments that oh because you went to Ancient Lore Village.

Julia: Yeah, yes. Oh, my I have—I'm interviewing. I'm interviewing their marketing—like, the lady that runs the whole thing. Marissa. Melissa.

Eugenia: She's phenomenal. She's phenomenal. You're going to love it. That was a fantastic project. You see proof like this that comes from an idea, from a dream that you were able, you saw the walls, and absolutely everything, that they—the core.

Julia: Stunning. I took pictures of the bird, the little bird. It's this big. I took a picture of it. I was like I cannot believe that one person did all this amazing.

Eugenia: It's incredible, but it was my crew. I always said when we finish a project like this, this is 15,000 square feet what we're doing here, it was not me. It's not me. I cannot do it. It's all my people. It's all this talent and talented people who loves art and love me.

Julia: You're easy to love.

Eugenia: I'm crazy.

Julia: You're easy to love [laugh].

Eugenia: You so much.

Julia: Thank you, Miss Eugenia. Have an amazing day.

Eugenia: You too, my dear.

Julia: Bye.

Eugenia: Bye-bye.

Some of the best Knoxville football talk comes from Fan Run Radio and LO is one of the hosts.

_LowRain_ on instagram and twitter, LO is a local PT and avid Vols supporter.

Join her on Overtime radio with Jake Miller weeknights from 6-8PM, https://fanrunradio.com/overtime-d-team-6-8pm/.

LO is one of the top followed females in the Knoxville radio and sports talk arena and is setting the stage for young women to follow their passions and contribute to the sports world while maintaining some privacy and a career outside of the fun.

ConnectTheKnox with Julia Hurley, is all about connecting people inside of Knoxville with the world around them and to the nation. Follow TheJuliaHurley on https://www.instagram.com/TheJuliaHurley

You can find ConnectTheKnox on Spotify, Itunes, Youtube, and IheartRadio.

If you have a deep connection to Knoxville and want to share your connection, contact us on our website. www.ConnectTheKnox.com

Derrick Furlow, Jr, former VOL football player dives into his new company, Sports Life Business and what his plans are to help atheletes access mental health, financial success and NIL deals that are best.

To connect with Derrick visit his website https://www.sportslifebusiness.com/ for more information and a FREE copy of his book, and for more information on how to help NIL athletes (and all athletes) get the help and success they deserve.

Julia Hurley interviews national insurance owner and Citrus Bowl Scout, Bart Howell, who has made Knoxville hi home for life.