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Craft Trail

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Craft Attractions


Visitors to the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area can explore the region's traditional and contemporary crafts at a variety of craft heritage locations.  The locations listed below were all designated "Cultural Treasures" by the Governor's Year of the Mountains Commission.
 
Craft Schools
 
Two of the nation's most venerable craft schools are located in the mountains of North Carolina.  The John C. Campbell Folk School, near Brasstown, offers weeklong and weekend classes year-round in traditional arts and crafts.  The Penland School of Crafts, near Spruce Pine, is a national center for education in contemporary and traditional craft and offers one-week and two-week classes in the summer and eight-week sessions in the spring and fall.  Both schools also feature a craft shop/gallery on site.
 
Craft Cooperatives
 
The Southern Highland Craft Guild is one of the nation's premier craft organizations, representing over 900 craftspeople in nine southeastern states.  The Guild operates three retail shops in Western North Carolina, including the Blue Ridge Parkway's Folk Art Center near Asheville and the Parkway Craft Center at the Moses Cone Manor near Blowing Rock.  Guild shops feature hundreds of handmade crafts from throughout the region, and during warm weather, guild members demonstrate their crafts.

Exquisite handmade Cherokee crafts can be found at the Qualla Arts and Crafts Co-op gallery and shop in Cherokee, which represents more than 300 artists.  Baskets, pottery, woodcarving, bead work, jewelry, masks, dolls and other items of Cherokee traditional art are for sale, and photos of the artists at work are displayed in the exhibit room.  The Co-op conducts workshops, as well as demonstrations.
 
Other Craft Attractions