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Mike Ayers of Mountain Mike’s Whetsone Woodworks in Maggie Valley once carved 38 bears in an hour, a record that has not yet been bested.
Jo Kilmer of Spirit Tall Gallery near Murphy teaches visitors how to build furniture from found forest wood and rhododendron.
Carmen Hayes of Brasstown creates artful baskets from pine needles.
Mostly only local residents knew these artisans and hundreds like them, housed in off-the-path mountain towns. The Blue Ridge Heritage National Area birthed an idea four years ago that would inform tourists of all the hidden crafts, craft traditions, studios and shops found off the Blue Ridge Parkway and within the Appalachian hills.
On March 3, they announced the opening of the Blue Ridge Craft Trails. The four-year-long project celebrates 310 curated artists studios and art organizations across 25 western North Carolina counties and the Qualla Boundary, home to the eastern band of the Cherokee Indians.
“We cover an area the size of the state of Maryland,” Executive Director Angie Handler announced at the press conference.
Wit Tuttell, vice president of economic development partnership and executive director of VisitNC, said, “The Smokey Mountain Parks brought in 14 million visitors last year,” with the The Blue Ridge Parkway seeing 15.9 million.
Tuttell said one of the goals of the Blue Ridge Craft Trail project was “to find a unique way to bring visitors, dollars and visibility by inviting these parkway travelers to get off the beaten trail,” adding, “Road trips are the hottest trend in travel.”
Program coordinator Brandon Johnston said the trail from one end to the other would take four to five hours to cover. Their easy-to-navigate website, BlueRidgeCraftTrails.com, offers multiple ways to search for the artists participating on the trail.
Because the trail covers such a wide-ranging area, Johnston said they broke it down into four regions, Far West (where Cherokee County falls), Central Mountains, Foothills and High Country. The website allows the interested to search by region, small town or by the particular craft they want to see.
Anna Farlello with BRNHA cautioned that “visitation by appointment is necessary,” as many of the artist travel with their craft. The Blue Ridge Craft Trails – full of traditional crafts like basketry, blacksmithing, glass, instruments and even printmaking – are officially open and ready for exploration.