These representatives agreed to work toward establishing the Southern Mountain Handicraft Guild. In December 1928, a group gathered in Penland to discuss the state and place of handicrafts in the region, how an organized cooperative might work, and what it could accomplish. Other leaders interested in handicrafts revival efforts recognized the need for an organized cooperative effort to preserve, support, and market handicraft skills and products. Campbell Folk School and, after visiting a cooperative crafts shop in Finland, the first steps toward organizing the SHCG. This trip inspired the founding of the John C. After her husband's death in 1919, Campbell embarked upon a study of the folk schools of Denmark and surrounding countries. Olive Dame Campbell was instrumental in the beginnings of the organization. It is not part of the National Park system, so I did not hike or review it, but you can get more information on the Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail website.The Southern Highland Craft Guild (SHCG) was established in 1930 and has worked steadily since then to document, encourage, support, and exhibit the handicrafts of the people of North Carolina and the Southeast. The MTS is a 1,150-mile trail that stretches from Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the North Carolina Outer Banks. The trail follows the sidewalk and continues on the other side of the Folk Art Center. Scan the woods near the Bus and RV parking section and you’ll see the trailhead. Picnic tables are located around the perimeter of the very large parking area, and you can also pick up the Mountains to Sea Trail from here. Here you will find one-of-a-kind furniture pieces and other home accessories. The other is a fine art gallery known as Allanstand Interiors where the items are for sale, most costing thousands of dollars. The Permanent Collection Gallery is a folk art museum full of historic pieces that are not for sale. It was moved to downtown Asheville and then to the Blue Ridge Parkway in 1980.Īllanstand Craft Shop inside the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway When the SHCG was formed in 1930, Goodrich donated Allanstand to the Guild. It was started by Frances Goodrich, a Presbyterian missionary. Allanstand is the oldest continually operated craft store in the United States, first opening in 1897 in Madison County, North Carolina. Here you will find jewelry, handbags, folk art, glassware, clay and wood carvings, and other crafts, all made by Guild members, most of whom are from the Appalachian Mountains area. The bottom level is a giant arts and crafts store, officially called the Allanstand Craft Shop. The SHCG portion of the building is divided into a number of sections. A list of events is given on the Folk Art Center website. There are also special events planned throughout the year. Keep in mind that hours can always change, so before making travel plans be sure to get the latest schedule on the Folk Art Center website.įrom March until the end of December, Guild members lead live craft demonstrations in the Folk Art Center lobby. For the rest of the year it is open from 9 AM to 6 PM on Mondays through Saturdays, and 9 AM to 5 PM on Sundays. OPERATING HOURSįrom January through March, the Folk Art Center is typically open daily from 9 AM to 5 PM. If they’ve been working long enough, they know as much about the Parkway as anyone. A park concessionaire staffs both, and though not park Rangers, I never ran into a concessionaire who couldn’t answer any question I asked. However, there is also a Blue Ridge Parkway information desk and gift store in the building. The majority of the building is occupied by the Southern Highland Craft Guild (SHCG), and it is shopping for arts and crafts that is the main draw to the facility. The Folk Art Center is one of two craft and folk art stores on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the other being the Parkway Craft Center located at Moses Cone Memorial Park. Southern Highland Craft Guild’s Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway GENERAL INFORMATION
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