Unique Gifts from the Ancient Arts and Crafts of the Appalachian Mountains

When you seem to be getting overdosed on Smart Phones, Xboxes, Wide-Screen TV's, and Wii's, consider something unique, original, handcrafted from the ancient arts and crafts of the Appalachian Mountains. Here are some of my favorites from various categories.

Trashformations - Rolf Holmquist takes the "throw-aways", the discarded of our society and transforms them into something beautiful and useful. Here are birdhouse Christmas tree ornaments and large garden birdhouses made from the recycled wood from old NC tobacco barns and found objects. This acclaimed artist has works in the top galleries in WNC.


Handmade Lapidary - there is beautiful jewelry, and there is jewelry that tugs at your heart for its symbolism. Matt Willig's designs are both.

Hand-thrown Pottery - loving and using the beauty of the handcrafted everyday - Sarah House is one of the best of the best.


Hand-blown Glass Ornaments or Objects - I don't even know how to begin here to pick out the artisans - some of the best in the nation are within a few miles of The Cove at Celo Mountain: Rob Levin, William and Katherine Bernstein, Kenny Pieper and others.


There is Billie Ruth Sudduth, a NC Living Treasure, whose Basket Weaving incorporated the Fibonacci numbers and Nature Sequence long before Dan Brown made it famous in his books.

There are Iron Forgers so gifted we have festivals where they have hands-on demonstrations to teach people from around the country. Zack Noble is one of the those gifted artisans.



Quilting is one of our heritage crafts. Contact our Mountain Piecemakers Quilt Quild to put you in touch with quilters or sellers of heirloom quilts.
While I have only touched the tip of the iceberg with this local genius, I will leave you with the best stocking stuffer of all, our beautiful 2011 Calendar of the Quilt Trails of Western North Carolina. These are in very limited supply, so order now.
Begin your own mountain memories, learn a heritage craft, reconnect with what is important in life - The Cabins at Celo, the land in The Cove at Celo Mountain - streams, creeks, trout ponds, waterfalls, long-range and short-range mountain views. Rivers and mountains and all that implies The mountains are beckoning.