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1220 Exhibits was founded in 1972 by Jerry Carden and John Cherry, two award-winning advertisers and creators of the international advertising phenomenon, Ernest P. Worrell. Realizing that many of their advertising clients needed exhibit components, but underwhelmed by the lack of creativity in the industry, Carden and Cherry decided to open their own shop… and 1220 Exhibits was born.
September 5th, 1220 Productions was founded by Jerry Carden & John Cherry. Successful ad agency owners, Jerry and & John needed a creative shop to fabricate exhibit components but were underwhelmed by what they were finding. Being entrepreneurs, they decided to create their own shop in the back of their agency building at 1220 McGavock Street in downtown Nashville. Thus the name 1220.
1220 fabricated a booth for its first tradeshow client: Northern Telecom’s 30’ x 50’ booth featured a two-story structure with functioning telephones.
1220 relocated to its current location on Vulcan Drive. It’s 5th location as it continued to grow.
1220 fabricated its first event space for Miller Brewing Company at various locations in Florida during Spring Break, featuring 40’ x 60’ tents.
1220 embarked on its first permanent installation project: The University of Tennessee Football Hall of Fame in Knoxville. This sports heritage exhibit is recognized as starting the “arms race” in collegiate athletics.
1220 fabricated and built out the exhibits for the State Bicentennial Train that traversed all 95 counties of Tennessee
1220 opened the first of two satellite offices in Florida. Although short-lived, both offices were instrumental in the growth and exposure of the 1220 brand.
1220 installs the Lamar Hunt Superbowl Gallery at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. This begins a long, continuing relationship with the Hall.
1220 sees the value of bringing artists in-house and creates its own scenic team. The Chattahoochee Nature Center spawned the creation of the Scenic Department. Specific species of “animals” were created from found objects to reinforce the message of limited resources and the importance of recycling.
Audiovisual and Interactive technicians were brought in-house to create the AVI Department to keep up with the growing demand of 1220’s clients.
1220 signed its largest to date museum project contract to build the Museum of Mississippi History.
1220 debuts its largest project to date, the National Museum of African American Music., in our hometown of Nashville.
Carden and Cherry were seeking an exhibit fabrication firm to produce a three-dimensional marketing piece for one of their clients. When their search was unsuccessful, they turned to their own talented staff for a solution and opened a small shop across the street from their offices at 1220 McGavock Street. The project was an unqualified success and launched an ongoing collaboration with the talented team of designers and craftsmen thereafter referred to as “the bunch over at 1220.” Although no longer at this location, 1220 retains the name to remind clients that when working with us, there is strength in numbers.
