SATURDAY, MARCH 28 | 9 AM-1:30 pm
PRESENTED BY ART ROUND TENNESSEE
ART + BUSINESS SYMPOSIUM
A professional development opportunity for visual artists and makers looking to begin or advance their creative careers.
About the symposium
Join Art Round Tennessee for a half-day of learning, connection, and practical insight designed for artists & makers at every stage.
At the Art & Business Symposium, you'll grow your business know-how, connect with fellow creatives, and hear from experienced professionals on topics like accounting, marketing, entrepreneurship, well-being, and more. This event will leave you feeling inspired and equipped for your next big steps!
LOCATION
Tennessee Tech University Wesley Foundation
271 E 9th St | Cookeville, TN 38501
GET YOUR TICKET Today
2026 SYMPOSIUM SPEAKERS
Nicole Howell, CPA
Owner, Small Business Accounting
Nicole Howell is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who loves small businesses, small business owners, and numbers. She has been a CPA since 1999 with a desire to equip small business owners with tools, insights, and ideas to make wise decisions. She started Small Business Accounting in 2020, which is now located in downtown Sparta, TN. Nicole and her staff specialize in tax, tax planning, bookkeeping, payroll, cash flow management…well, you get the idea! She loves speaking with clients in a language they understand, helping them navigate small business ownership while encouraging them to pursue their dream business. Nicole is a wife, mother and grandmother who loves hiking, roller skating, kayaking, and baking.
If you receive a 1099, sell a creation, or dream of seeing a store front branded with your logo, you want to hear what Nicole has to say. How do you start? Do you create an LLC? Do you get a Tax ID? Who do you need to register with to be compliant? How do you plan for taxes? How do you keep up with income and expenses? When should you pay sales tax on purchases? When should you collect sales tax? When should you expect to receive a 1099? When should you send one? So many questions… Does it have to be that hard? Get some insight on how to answer these questions and maybe a few more.
Jodi Pitts
CEO & Founder, Magnolia Marketing
Jodi is a native of Cookeville, TN, who has enthusiastically devoted her career to advancing businesses across Middle Tennessee’s Upper Cumberland region. She has entrepreneurial roots, growing up with parents who were serial entrepreneurs. At an early age, Jodi learned the value that small businesses provide in rural regions.
Today, Jodi is the owner of a flourishing small business, Magnolia Marketing & Consulting, which operates across Tennessee. She is also the Program Director for the Business Resource Collective with Tennessee Technological University and Special Programs Coordinator at the Tennessee Small Business Development Center. She has a long history of community development going back to her role as Director of Education & Community Engagement at Central Tennessee PBS.
Jodi maintains a give-back mentality through serving on numerous non-profit boards and committees, whose missions range from downtown revitalization & main street programs, to international education, humanitarian and missionary work. In her free time, Jodi enjoys traveling, chasing waterfalls, visiting the beach, and boating with her husband, two kids, and dogs.
Luke Ramey
Photographer & Entrepreneurship Coordinator, The Biz Foundry
Luke Ramey is the Entrepreneurship Coordinator at The Biz Foundry, where he works with founders and small business owners across Tennessee’s Upper Cumberland region.
Through The Biz Foundry, Luke leads Start Up: Business Bootcamp, facilitates the Entrepreneur Lunch Club, and coaches early stage entrepreneurs as they move from concept to sustainable business. His approach emphasizes clarity of customer, disciplined business modeling, and steady execution over hype.
In classrooms and during one-on-one sessions, he has guided hundreds of entrepreneurs through the practical realities of starting and growing a business.
Luke is also a professional photographer whose work centers on stage performance and dance. He is known for capturing movement at its most expressive, documenting young performers, competitive dancers, and live productions with an eye for timing and emotion.
His images aim to preserve fleeting moments of discipline and artistry, offering performers a lasting record of work that is often measured in just fractions of seconds on stage.
Abigail Nesbitt, LPC-MHSP
Artist & Therapist, Grove Healing Collective
Abby believes growth is a personal, intentional journey that lasts a lifetime and can impact generations. With an emphasis on courage and curiosity, she helps clients as they navigate life’s twists and turns, offering guidance, insight, and steady support along the way.
Abby holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Health Sciences with a minor in Psychology from Tennessee Technological University. She also has a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Trevecca Nazarene University. She works with teens and adults, specializing in anxiety, depression, trauma, high-masking autism, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Using a directive, collaborative approach - “she has the map while you steer” - Abby integrates evidence-based modalities into her sessions, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), internal family systems (IFS), brainspotting (BSP), and exposure and response prevention (ERP). Outside of her work, Abby enjoys hiking, traveling, reading, playing games with family, trying new foods, and embracing all things hygge to stay grounded and balanced.
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
Emma Crabtree
Owner, Glass Tangerine & Art Round Tennessee Board Member
Emma Crabtree is the founder and creative force behind Glass Tangerine, a flower market and plant shop rooted in art, nature, and community.
After the COVID pandemic prompted her to step away from her career as a mental health therapist, Emma followed a long-held desire to build something that blended her deep foundation in the arts with her love of plants and flowers.
She holds an undergraduate degree in Art Education with a concentration in Fiber Arts from Tennessee Tech University, as well as a Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling. Glass Tangerine was born at the intersection of those worlds, a space where creativity, growth, and human connection are central. Through floral design, farming, and experiential events, Emma seeks to create a space that feels grounded, art forward, and deeply alive!
Abby Weeden
Owner, Edison Hills New & Old & Art Round Tennessee Board Member
Abby Weeden is an artist and photographer based in Cookeville, TN, with a lifelong passion for creating and exploring the world through color, light and shadow, and patterns.
Abby's artistic journey began in childhood and was supported and nurtured by the art program at Cookeville High School and then the Appalachian Center for Craft at Tennessee Tech where Abby earned a BFA in design in 2016.
Abby's work has evolved into a multifaceted practice encompassing photography, polymer clay jewelry, quilting, oil pastels, and pattern design among other mediums that come into play.
Abby also owns Edison Hills New & Old, a curated vintage shop in downtown Cookeville that offers a creative classroom for crafts and workshops.
Thank you to our 2026 Art & Business Symposium Supporters & Speakers:
Cookeville Arts Council
Emma Crabtree
Matt Knieling
Nicole Mathis Howell
Meg's Bread
Abigail Nesbitt, LPC-MHSP
Jodi Pitts
Luke Ramey
The Silver Fern
TTU Wesley Foundation
Abby Weeden
