Mission
To cultivate an engaging and inclusive community of learners and teachers through fun, affordable and accessible learning and art experiences for adults.
History
Jennifer Holder and Shawanda Mason first met in 2012, when Holder was working as a property manager and showed Mason an apartment. A Dayton, Tennessee, native, Holder moved to Chattanooga after having lived in New York and New Zealand. Mason had moved from Atlanta because her then-boyfriend, now her husband, was working for a Chattanooga nonprofit.
Holder says she and Mason took a class together — Holder signed up with LAUNCH Chattanooga, Mason with Co.Lab — and they started talking about a joint venture. It would be a place where adults could choose from an eclectic assortment of classes.
“We felt like there was already a lot for kids,” Mason says, “but it’s like when you get to a certain age, you’re meant to go to work. You stop learning. Making friends as adults is difficult and learning is a connector. Learning can build community.” Their idea came to life as The Chattery, where they hosted the first class in 2014.
The friends say they “kept their day jobs” until 2019, until they finally reached the point at which they could pay themselves. “We proved to the community that this was needed,” Holder says, “and that helped the community invest in us.”
Scope
Mason says The Chattery focused on adults “from the jump — essentially anything anyone wants to learn. Professional development. How to build your own terrarium. Health and wellness. American Sign Language. We got a suggestion for basket weaving, and another on how to select, cut and smoke cigars. And origami — I didn’t think adults would care or want to (learn that), but I was proven wrong.”
The Chattery started out offering four to six classes “in a good month,” Holder says, and is up to about 50 to 60 classes per month now. She adds that The Chattery is considering doing more classes for older adults (60-and-up).
She and Mason say The Chattery hit the $250,000 mark for gross revenues a couple of years ago and estimate that their nonprofit has put nearly twice that into “Chattanooga’s creative economy.”
Drawing Board
After five years of hosting classes wherever they could find space, Mason and Holder opened The Chattery’s first permanent location at 1800 Rossville Avenue in 2019. But about a year ago, a fire damaged the building, prompting them to temporarily relocate downtown. They say repairs at Rossville Avenue are well underway, and The Chattery is on track to return to its original home later this year.
“My thought (after the fire) was, ‘Well, that was fun,'” Holder says. “But (Mason and I) met, talked, made a plan and executed. We just did what we do best — make a plan and keep going.” Mason says she and Holder hope to host markets in the building next year and launch a business accelerator there as well, “to help makers get better prepared” to go to market.
By The Numbers
30K+: “Lifelong learners” served in the past 11 years
2800+: Classes and events hosted
350+: Individuals who have taught classes
65: Percentage of instructors who are entrepreneurs