![]() He embodied the finest the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild had to offer and his picture graced National Geographic, Holiday Magazine and a host of other publications of national and world-wide circulation. Birdie’s distinguished appearance, his dignified and courtly manner to all he encountered, his delightful old world speech patterns and his laughing eyes made him a memorable person to all who encountered him and became acquainted with his skills. ![]() Greatly expanded mass communications and the ever increasing ease of travel that began in the late 1940s and early 50s, exposed them to an ever growing audience through their membership in the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild and, by the mid-1950s, Birdie and his family had become a mainstay at the Guild’s annual Craftsman’s Fair held in Asheville. Local advocate of WNC history, Jerry Israel, contributed to the book: May we All Remember Well, by Robert Brunk, and wrote the following of Birdie Mace: “Birdie Mace and his immediate family’s chairmaking successes were due to hard work and superior skills. (now Allanstand Craft Shop is in the Folk Art Center of the Southern Highland Craft Guild) For my “connection” she was the founder of Allanstand Cottage Industries (1897), a retail outlet for mountain handcrafts located first in Madison County, NC, then Allanstand moved to downtown Asheville in 1908. Frances has an intriguing story, and you can learn more about her on the Craft Revival website. She originally came to work with the Presbyterian Mission as an educator, but she was inspired to take on much more. One of my very favorite historic figures is Frances Louisa Goodrich, of Ohio, who came this region of Western NC in the mid 1890’s. Campbell Folk School, Eleanor Vance and Charlotte Yale who began The Boys Club to teach young boys in Biltmore Village the skill of wood carving and furniture making.then The Boys Club grew into Biltmore Estate Industries. These women workers included Lucy Morgan who founded Penland School of Craft, Olive Dame Campbell who carried on her husband’s work and started the John C. Work which included helping to refine the skills many of these residents already had in their family traditions: weaving, pottery, basket-making, quilting, carving, and furniture making. If you live in the area, you may have heard some of the craft history background that laid the foundation for today’s craft culture including many women who were in the region in the early 1900’s working hard to educate children and support mountain families. And, while the greater Asheville area seems to be busting at the seams with tourism, new businesses and things to do – it’s still a comfortable, friendly easy city to visit! ![]() ![]() A tour participant will meet an artist and they find they have many threads of places or people in common. This ‘connection’ happens many times on my tours. It’s lovely how small the art community can truly be. This connection made for an instant easy relationship leading to invitations for her to visit Asheville and to let us show her this area – and to introduce her to Penland artists. The first thing this glass artist said to us was “I want to come to Penland School of Craft!” She knew of many of the glass and sculpture artists we know. ![]() Our Norwegian host knew a local artist working in glass and arranged for a meeting. We had a great mix of seeing art, the outdoors, architecture, small towns and large cities – and good food! I’d been once before with family, but this trip was with a long-time good friend from the arts community. As is the case with each year’s featured maker, Noggle was selected by the Fair Committee of the Guild.I just returned from a vacation to visit good friends in Norway. Today, Noggle is the featured maker at the 71st annual Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands, which runs Friday-Sunday, Oct. Captivated by the process, he purchased a cheap lathe and set of tools that day. In 2001, happenstance led him to a demonstration inside a wood shop. But in 1980, following the death of his grandmother, Noggle returned to Morganton, where he purchased the family property and eventually transformed part of the space into his studio.Īnother 21 years passed, however, before the craftsman discovered the art of wood turning. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Long before woodworker Steve Noggle took the first spin on his lathe, the former timber cruiser spent his days in the Pacific Northwest working alongside the U.S. ![]()
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