farragutpress

Business

Stitched with success

August 26, 2026 by Jake Nichols

In the summer of 2025, Kelsey Nelson walked into an empty store in Franklin Square in west Knoxville.

She held three Sterilite containers full of canvases and a dream that stretched well beyond her new 2,500-square-foot space.

At the time, the entire notion still seemed wild to Nelson, who started an online needlepoint store during the spring of 2025 while she taught Language Arts at Alcoa Middle School.

Two months later, she was ready to quit her job and take the leap in a brick-and-mortar.

“I walked into this space with 2,000 square feet, and I’m like, ‘What am I going to put in here?’” she said. “I looked at the space, and the rent was five times more than my mortgage payment. The entire time, I was like, ‘This is crazy.’”

Yet in the next breath: “I think we should do it.”

More than a year later, Nelson’s gamble on Canvas Queen Needlepoint has more than paid off.

On Saturday, Aug. 15,

the store celebrated its one-year anniversary, and the online brand has skyrocketed in popularity.

While 20 employees hustle to handle daily foot traffic, Canvas Queen boasts more than 65,000 followers on

TikTok with almost 15,000 on Instagram.

“I probably should have planned for this to be bigger than I expected it,” Nelson said with a laugh. “But honestly, I think even me getting this space was me expecting to blow it out of the water. You don’t get a 2,500-square-foot space without betting on yourself. You have to believe some kind of magic will happen, or you wouldn’t be doing this.“

PureMagic parent company now local

August 26, 2026 by Jake Nichols

Earlier this summer, the MOJO Family of Brands moved its headquarters from Dallas, Texas, to Alcoa. MOJO is the parent company of PureMagic Car Wash, the sponsor for this season’s farragutpress How the West was Won contest.

“Our corporate headquarters were originally in Dallas, Texas, but we don’t have any car washes in Dallas, so we closed that up and moved it to Alcoa,” said Kevin McBride, the Director of Operations for the MOJO Family of Brands.

The MOJO brand owns and operates more than 150 car wash facilities across the United States.

“We wanted it to center where all our locations are,” McBride said of the new location, “and it just so happened to be Knoxville.”

The building was repainted in a combination of the PureMagic logo, which features blue, and the MOJO company color of neon green.

Local businesses make Dog Daze debut

August 26, 2026 by Jake Nichols

At the 10th annual Dog Daze event, plenty of dogs made their presence felt.

But the same thing could be said for multiple Farragut businesses, such as SweatHouz — a private infrared sauna and cold plunge studio — and The Blushing Lemon, which featured a food truck with snow cones, lemonade and other assorted items. They also do a mobile bartending for events, too.

“I would say definitely great exposure,” SweatHouz studio manager Miranda Murphy said. “We got to see a different part of the community than we do at regular health events, kind of get to target everyday people who are looking to change their routine or maybe add something else once a month. So it was super great meeting different types of people.”

“It was great,” added Zoe Neihart from The Blushing Lemon. “We always like interacting with the community and we live local to Farragut. So seeing people was fun, and this is the first time I have ever watched the dog show. So it was great watching them and seeing what this is all about.

Three decades of keeping it safe

August 26, 2026 by Tammy Cheek

Farragut West Knox Chamber of Commerce members and other supporters gathered Thursday afternoon, Aug. 20, to help Southern Safety Supply celebrate its 30th anniversary with snow cones and giving back.

Supporters donated cans of peanut butter for Second Harvest Food Bank while enjoying the festivities.

“I’m trying to give back to the community because it really helped me,” Southern Safety Supply owner Sara Sizemore said.

The company sells personal protective gear, such as gloves, vests and other items used by utilities, contractors, manufacturers and public agencies.

“It’s been quite a change,” Sizemore said about the business.

“I started with a desk for $50 and an ISBN line. We put my products in a storage unit,” she recalled. “I thought I was the cat’s meow.”