Jim Robinson from Rookwood Pottery Company to Headline Makers Market, April 11

Middlesborough, Kentucky, April 1, 2014 - Jim Robinson, a glaze expert with the Rookwood Pottery Company out of Cincinnati, Ohio, will headline the Makers Market. Mr. Robinson will be visiting downtown Middlesborough on Friday, April 11, from 10am-4pm to share his knowledge and experience working with this iconic pottery company. The Makers Market is located at 2008 Cumberland Ave in downtown Middlesborough.

Robinson is responsible for the painstaking work recreating glazes dating as far back as 1887 and which are distinctive to Rookwood. Highly glossy alkaline bases, subtle mattes that crystalize on cooling, and a wide range of glazes and surfaces are being developed.

Discover Downtown Middlesboro President Jay Shoffner said, “What better way to launch the Makers Market and a discussion about reinventing Downtown Middlesborough through the arts than through highlighting the work of a business seeking to restore their own rich artistic tradition? The Makers Market in Middlesborough and Rookwood Pottery Company have much in common.”

The Makers Market provides an opportunity for local artists, craftspeople, musicians, and food producers to demonstrate their skills and showcase their products. Speakers who are experts in small town arts economies will also be invited to present at Makers Market events to share expertise around developing downtown in areas of arts and culture.

The project addresses the long-term goal of developing the local economy through the creation of small cultural businesses that can revitalize the downtown area. In total, 26 performances, lectures, and demonstrations will take place during the project period from April to June 2014. For more information, please visit www.downtownmiddlesboro.org or follow us on Twitter at @MakersMarketKY.

This project is funded by an Appalachian Regional Commission Flex-E-Grant through the Kentucky Department for Local Government and administered by the Brushy Fork Institute of Berea College. Flex-E-Grant funds are made available to distressed ARC counties in Kentucky for projects that are designed to build capacity in these communities.