Sydney Welch, a published author, 2020 graduate of Arcadia University, and her alma mater’s Philanthropic Giving Officer since 2024, has been nominated for Design Philly’s Artist Collaborator of the Year.
Design Philly was created as a nonprofit to highlight and uplift the city’s design culture. Welch was tapped for co-founding Maker’s Table, a collaborative dinner series for local entrepreneurs, in February 2024.
Maker’s Table hosts roughly eight invite-only events throughout the year, each of which include artisans, artists, creatives, and “anyone who’s making something,” Welch said.
“Everyone contributes something that represents their creativity. The idea is to is collaborate across artistic mediums by experiencing other creatives in real time as opposed to a business card,” she said. “If you’re a writer, you might write a poem. If you’re a florist, you can donate floral arrangements, a chef could make a dinner course, musicians can perform or curate the evening’s music.”
So far, over 300 guests have attended the dinner series. Welch said she met Alex Moncayo, Maker’s Table co-founder, at a dinner party four years ago. Moncayo had worked for Create Dinners, a women’s dinner series in New York City, and was craving something similar in Philadelphia.
After learning that Welch had authored “The Art of Collaboration: An In-Depth Exploration of Collaborative Practices for Creative Minds“, she decided the two should team up.
The previously single-laned concept has since expanded to event production.
“A year and a half ago, Maker’s Table began receiving requests to produce events and design experiences for brands and businesses,” Welch said. “We’ve evolved into this creative agency, and when we get a contract, we prioritize people from the Table. We’ve hired over 50 attendees to work on client projects.”
Welch said a recent survey of 50 past attendees brought forth some encouraging statistics:
- 68% of attendees received a paid work opportunity after attending a Maker’s Table dinner.
- 72% of attendees met someone they went on to professionally collaborate with.
- 96% of attendees discovered a new brand that they now love.
- 100% of attendees said the series has enhanced their creative practice.
Maker’s Table is Welch’s second business. Following three years as a special education case manager at Mastery Charter Schools, she founded Retolde, a consultancy for artists and creators, drawing from her own experiences and the insights shared in her book. She no longer runs the company.
Since publishing “The Art of Collaboration”, Welch said the Maker’s Table side hustle has come full circle.
“I didn’t have a lot of personal experience collaborating at the time. I was looking at my book as a researcher and interviewing amazing professionals who I found along the way,” she said. “I admired all of them in some way. Now, seven years later, it’s cool to be a person that I could have interviewed for my book.”
To vote for Welch, you can click here. For more on Maker’s Table, you can visit their website. Voting ends September 11.
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Photos: Paolo Jay Agbay