Crafts

by . Used for the Allanstand Cottage Industries publicity, this photograph shows the types of wares that were sold in the shop in the 1920s. Baskets of all shapes and sizes are displayed on the floor in [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Stevenson, George, Jr., Canipe, Jeremy T. Apprenticeship, the system of binding a child to a master to learn a craft, trade, or occupation, has taken two forms in North Carolina. Compulsory apprenticeship was used from the last quarter of [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Weaver, Ardath Goldstein. North Carolina is known for a rich cultural heritage rooted in the arts. The arts communicate the essence of the state’s community and culture. They also contribute to a diversified and innovative [...] (from NCpedia.)

by Freeman, Margery. Balinese weathervane and windchime posted on poleA Balinese weathervane and windchime is posted high in the air on a bamboo pole. A front propeller catches the wind and turns attached flaps of bamboo [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Cross, Dennis W. Basket making has likely been a part of North Carolina's history as long as human beings have inhabited the region. Although the fragility of basket materials means that few related artifacts still [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Holland, Ron. Biltmore Industries by Ron Holland, 2006 See also: Biltmore Forest School; Biltmore House; Asheville The origins of Biltmore Estate Industries can be traced to Eleanor Vance and [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Troxler, George W. Jacques (Born James Littlejohn Busbee) Busbee, artist and reviver of Jugtown Pottery, was born in Raleigh, the son of Charles Manly and Lydia Littlejohn Busbee. Busbee prepared for a career as an [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Batson, Whaley W. Jesse Clodfelter (Gladfelder), cabinetmaker, was the first child of Maria Magdalena Walk and John George Gladfelter Jr. The spelling of the family was changed later, and they were from the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Amspacher, Karen Willis. Coastal Life "Homegrown Skills: Creating a Way of Life at the Coast" by Karen Willis Amspacher Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian. Fall 2009. Tar Heel Junior [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Carr, Dawson V. Wild waterfowl provided an abundant source of food for settlers of the North Carolina coastal regions, and early residents often made decoys to lure the birds within range of their guns. Not until [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Batson, Whaley W. Peter Eddleman (Adleman, Ettleman), cabinetmaker, was born probably in Rowan County of German parentage. His father, Bastian Eddleman, moved to Bucks County, Pa., from Germany in 1750; with his wife, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Homrighaus, Ruth E. Fraktur is a form of folk art imported by Pennsylvania German immigrants to North Carolina in the eighteenth century. Fraktur's central feature is elaborate lettering based on the German gothic [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. John Geddy, silversmith and patriot, was born in Williamsburg, Va., the son of James and Anne Geddy. His brother, James, was a prominent silversmith whose restored shop on Duke of Gloucester Street [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. Kenneth George may be only 30 years old, but he has 10 generations of pottery making behind him. He and his grandmother operate the famous Cole's Pottery in Sanford. The first Cole potter moved to [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Pitman, Louise L. Frances Louisa Goodrich, artist, teacher, and craftsman, was born in Binghamton, N.Y., the daughter of the Reverend William Henry and Mary Prichard Goodrich. She spent her early years and was [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Baker, Bruce E. The John C. Campbell Folk School is located in Brasstown, near the town of Murphy in western North Carolina (Cherokee County). Named for social worker and writer John C. Campbell, the school was [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Troxler, George W. In nineteenth- and early twentieth-century North Carolina, "jugtown" referred to a number of rural, pottery-producing communities. Jugtowns were known to have existed in Buncombe, Catawba, and Moore [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Freeman, Margery. Man applies inlay designs to a wood plaque at handicraft workshop in Hoi An A man squatting on the floor applies inlay designs to a wood plaque at a handicraft workshop in Hoi An. The employees at [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Freeman, Margery. Man carving wood plaque for sale at handicraft workshop in Hoi An A man in a white shirt, grey pants, and a red cap crouches on a mat as he carves a wood plaque at a handicraft workshop in Hoi An. [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Powell, William S. Lucy Calista Morgan, founder of the Penland School of Handicrafts, was born in the Cartoogechaye community of Macon County, the daughter of Alfred and Fannie Eugenia Siler Morgan. She received her [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Baker, Bruce E. Mountain Heritage Center by Bruce E. Baker, 2006; Revised by SLNC Government and Heritage Library, August 2024 See also: Western Carolina University The Mountain Heritage Center, [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Peacock, Mary R. B. John C. Palmer, silversmith, daguerreotyper, and churchman, was the son of John B. and Sarah Rich Palmer. The Palmers had moved from New Jersey to Rowan County, where they were involved in a number [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bumgarner, Sheila. The Penland School of Crafts is one of the oldest and most prestigious handicraft schools in America. Located in the western mountains of Mitchell County, the school was established in the late 1920s [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cross, Dennis W. Pine needle art is an outgrowth of an ancient material culture tradition in North Carolina. For several millennia, the Native Americans living in the region that became North Carolina fashioned [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Poteat, Ida Isabella By William S. Powell, 1994 15 Dec. 1858–1 Feb. 1940 Ida Isabella Poteat, artist, teacher, craftsman, and patron of art, was born at Forest Home near Yanceyville in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Simpson-Vos, Mark, Egner, David M. North Carolina's internationally renowned pottery tradition reaches back centuries-to the time native inhabitants formed local clay into functional pots and ceremonial vessels. Archaeologists have [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Jenkins, Rachel. The first potters in North Carolina were Native Americans, who used the coil-building method to make pottery. They shaped clay into long snakes, made the snakes into circles, and stacked them to form [...] (from NCpedia.)

by Freeman, Margery. Profile of a rural Vietnamese woman in a palm leaf sunhatA rural Vietnamese women wears a traditional style, broad-brimmed palm leaf sunhat. The hat is shaped like a wide cone, and it it held on by a [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Bell-Kite, Diana. The history of quiltmaking in North Carolina spans four centuries and has been shaped by Tar Heels of nearly every ethnic group and social class. At its simplest, quilting involves stitching or tying [...] (from North Carolina Museum of History.)

by Bell-Kite, Diana. Quilting Part I: 18th Century to Antebellum Era By Diana Bell-Kite, North Carolina Museum of History, 2015 See also: Quilting: Introduction; Quilting: Civil War & Postwar Era; Quilting: [...] (from North Carolina Museum of History.)

by . Quilting Part II: The Civil War Era By Diana Bell-Kite, North Carolina Museum of History, 2015 See also: Quilting: Introduction; Quilting: 18th Century to Antebellum Era; Quilting: 1880s to [...] (from North Carolina Museum of History.)

by Bell-Kite, Diana. Quilting Part III: 1880s to 1920s By Diana Bell-Kite, North Carolina Museum of History, 2015 See also: Quilting: Introduction; Quilting: 18th Century to Antebellum Era; Quilting: Civil War [...] (from North Carolina Museum of History.)

by Bell-Kite, Diana. Quilting Part IV: The Great Depression By Diana Bell-Kite, North Carolina Museum of History, 2015 See also: Quilting: Introduction; Quilting: 18th Century to Antebellum Era; Quilting: Civil War [...] (from North Carolina Museum of History.)

by Bell-Kite, Diana. Quilting Part V: 20th Century and 1970s Revival By Diana Bell-Kite, North Carolina Museum of History, 2015 See also:Quilting: Introduction; Quilting: 18th Century to Antebellum Era; Quilting: [...] (from North Carolina Museum of History.)

by Bell-Kite, Diana. In the 21st century, quilting remains extremely popular among North Carolinians, though most practice the craft as a hobby rather than as a necessity. With the availability of cheap imported [...] (from North Carolina Museum of History.)

by Lewis, Johanna Miller. Quilts, in textile terminology, consist of two layers of fabric, frequently with some form of batting or stuffing sandwiched between them, held together by ties or stitched designs. In early North [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Foss, Mandy. Roadside Attractions "You Can’t Miss It: Roadside Fun" by Mandy Foss Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian. Fall 2008. Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, NC Museum [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Kress, Kelly. The Sawtooth Center for Visual Art, an arts education facility located in downtown Winston-Salem in a renovated 1910 textile mill with a distinctive jagged roofline, serves the Triad community [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Lewis, Michael H. Silversmithing by Michael H. Lewis, 2006 Silversmithing is usually considered one of the luxury trades, involving the manufacture of silver utensils of a wide variety. These include [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cross, Dennis W. 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 [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Lewis, Johanna Miller. Weaving, the process of producing textiles on a loom, in North Carolina dates back to the colonial period of the state's history. From that time into the early nineteenth century, weaving functioned [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by . Weaving on an old wooden loomWeaving on an old wooden loom A woman is seated and working at an old loom in a cabin in this photograph from the 1930s. A spinning wheel stands on the hearth of the [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Bizzarri, Elia. A whimmy-diddle, also known as the Gee-Haw Whimmy-Diddle ("gee" and "haw" are the commands shouted to oxen on a farm), is a toy made out of a stick of mountain laurel that was traditionally made by [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Freeman, Margery. Woman doing embroidery at handicraft workshop in Hoi AnWoman doing embroidery at handicraft workshop in Hoi AnA woman embroiders a decorative block alphabet on white cloth at a handicraft workshop in [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Freeman, Margery. Woman stands in fenced yard winnowing rice on woven tray at Mai ChauWoman stands in fenced yard winnowing rice on woven tray at Mai Chau A highland woman at Mai Chau stands behind a stick fence in a [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Freeman, Margery. Woman wearing headscarf and shoulder basket walks in Mai Chau rice fieldWoman wearing headscarf and shoulder basket walks in Mai Chau rice field A highland woman wearing a headscarf and shouldering [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Weidman, Rich. Woodcarving evolved into a true art form among North Carolinians, with works ranging from intricate caricatures and animals popular with the Cherokee and Mountain people to decoys carved by duck [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)