In 2019 CEDIK and the College of Design at the University of Kentucky launched the Winchester Design Studio. Located in a Main Street storefront in the heart of downtown Winchester, Kentucky, the Studio served as a proof of concept for how the design and economic development resources of the University could be embedded in a community to support their needs. Working with a wide network of local partner organizations, the Studio supported them by being both a physical space for them and by connecting them to resources across the Commonwealth. These resources included business programs from the Bluegrass Small Business Development Center, Clark County Cooperative Extension programming and academic design studios through the College of Design. 

One of the innovative aspects of the storefront studio is the positioning of design and planning as fundamental to downtown revitalization. There have been a series of academic design studios, including architecture, historic preservation and urban design, that have focused specifically on Winchester. With the downtown storefront as a highly visual front door to these efforts, the Studio sought to provide a place where innovative/productive activities occur and useful information was shared to enhance the sense of place and economic opportunities. With a two year commitment to Winchester, this Studio acted as a proof of concept to determine the adaptability of the Studio to relocate to another community in response to their specific needs.

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Six Questions with CEDIK Podcast In the early stages of the pandemic, the Winchester Studio team witnessed many businesses and community leaders develop innovative solutions to meet their community’s needs. Their desire to highlight these leaders inspired Six Questions With CEDIK, a short podcast interviewing people from various backgrounds. These accounts provided a vision of hope and innovation within Winchester, despite the pandemic challenges. The ten episodes included the Mayor of Winchester, local business owner Laura Freeman, and several non-profits. Each guest discussed challenges they faced and their innovative solutions for overcoming them. Listen on Spotify