Blue Ridge Country Nov/Dec 2024 - 56

PHOTOS BY CHELSEA LANE PHOTOGRAPHY
PHOTOS BY CHELSEA LANE PHOTOGRAPHY
ABOVE: The Allanstand
" Realizing that the market for large
things like coverlets and curtains would
be limited and that we must secure quick
sales, we began to weave short lengths
also, for table runners, pillow tops, trunk
covers and the
like
uses, " Goodrich
writes. " Soon, there were other looms going
as the desire to learn this craft spread
among us. "
THE QUEST FOR CRAFT
In the coming years, Goodrich traveled
through rugged Buncombe and Madison
counties in search of weaving drafts-
long strips of paper covered with lines
or numbers that would direct weavers on
how to set up their looms. Leaning into
her art background, Goodrich would
paint watercolors of the respective coverlet
pattern so weavers would also know
what the final product might look like.
According to Wiseman, Goodrich was
always accompanied by someone on her
travels, " but often it was another woman,
and neither took weapons. " Considering
Goodrich was an outsider and just
barely five feet tall, this took an incredible
amount of grit. It also took mutual
respect, says Fariello.
" One thing that is often overlooked is
just how much women from the outside,
like Goodrich, respected local women's
ability to make beautiful objects, " she
explains.
Wiseman seconds this view, adding
that Goodrich likely developed trusting
relationships with locals by accepting
them as they were.
" [S]he didn't try to change them to
her religious beliefs or make them feel
56 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
Craft Shop, with its roots
from Goodrich in the
1890s, is the oldest craft
shop in America and is
now housed in the Folk
Art Center.
RIGHT: The Folk Art
Center is in Asheville,
North Carolina, just off
the Blue Ridge Parkway
and presents the work
of Southern Appalachian
artists.
PHOTOS BY CHELSEA LANE PHOTOGRAPHY
'less than' because they didn't have her
wealth or education, " says Wiseman.
In fact, Goodrich was known as " The
Bishop " in the Laurel community of
Madison County. She relocated to this
area in the late 1890s and promptly turned
an old drover's rest stop into Allanstand
Cottage Industries, a weaving cooperative.
Eleven years later, she opened a sales
showroom in downtown Asheville where
she peddled traditional crafts. There were
woven coverlets, of course, but also rugs,
brooms, dolls and more.
THE ENDURING VISION
In 1930, Goodrich would come together
with movers and shakers like Olive
Dame Campbell (an American folklorist
and founder of the John C. Campbell
Folk School) and Mary Martin Sloop
(founder of Crossnore School) to establish
the Southern Highland Craft Guild-
a collective charged with the mission of
" cultivating the crafts and makers of the
Southern Highlands for the purpose of
shared resources, education, marketing
and conservation. "
Devoted to the cause, Goodrich bequeathed
Allanstand to the guild. The
shop provided the guild's only source of
income for the next 18 years.
" Her gift of Allanstand ... gave the
young organization a firm foundation, "
says Wiseman, noting that the Allanstand
Craft Shop is now located inside the Folk
Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Recognized as the oldest craft shop in
America, the store represents more than
400 artists working in jewelry, textiles,
pottery, glass and other mediums.
But Goodrich's legacy goes well beyond
Allanstand. According to Fariello,
this mountain matriarch helped instill a
regional respect for craft that persists even
today, some 80 years after her passing.
" There's a huge appreciation of culture
in Appalachia, from pottery to weaving, "
says Fariello. " This is one of few remaining
places in the country where you
can make a living with your hands. "
Allanstand Craft Shop is located on the main
level of the Folk Art Center (Milepost 382, Blue
Ridge Parkway, Asheville, N.C.). To learn more,
visit southernhighlandguild.org.
http://www.southernhighlandguild.org http://www.BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
Blue Ridge Country Nov/Dec 2024

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