Tom Bailey is leading the second-oldest craft organization in America toward its 100th birthday with big dreams for its future in multiple locations.
Courtesy of Tom Bailey
You are a native of Asheville, North Carolina, and began working at the Southern Highland Craft Guild in 1987. Tell us about your journey to executive director. Share, also, your family’s love of the region and where you recommend visitors go.
I grew up in south Asheville and spent five years at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, majoring in business and accounting. In 1987 I began working for the Southern Highland Craft Guild as comptroller, and in 2010 I was promoted to executive director.
My wife, Pam, and I love Asheville! We always recommend the guild’s Folk Art Center and our other two Asheville shops on Tunnel Road and in Biltmore Village to visitors and friends. Our town has become a major draw for handmade craft.
Southern Highland Craft Guild represents hundreds of artisans, and one of its craft shops is the oldest in the nation. What matters the most about handmade crafts in a highly digital environment, and how do you attract a new generation of “makers”?
The guild offers fine handmade crafts to visitors who want something that is not mass produced. They want to see and touch what they purchase, and sometimes they want to get to know the maker.
Our history makes us unique. The shop inside the Folk Art Center, Allanstand Craft Shop, is literally the oldest craft shop in the United States! Its origins date back to 1895.
Our Craft Fairs of the Southern Highlands, held every July and October in the Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, began in 1948. We represent more than 800 craftspeople, and we host education events, two annual fairs and operate four craft shops. We have now presented a new area of younger “Emerging Artists” at one of our craft fairs that was an exciting and successful “first.” We hope they will join our guild and infuse a younger membership into our organization.
You say the guild is about so much more than its original founding in 1930. Tell us about its evolution through the years.
Southern Highland Craft Guild was formed in 1930 as a marketing outlet for mountain craftspeople and has been shaping the region’s economy since.
Conversations with the National Park Service began in the 1940s and led to the opening of our shop in the Moses Cone Mansion on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, in 1951. In 1955, the guild opened its shop on Tunnel Road.
During the early 1970s, the guild again began conversations with the National Park Service to open a large craft facility on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This led to the building of the Folk Art Center in Asheville, opening in 1980. This project received major national political support from the Second Lady, Joan Mondale, who loved the guild!
Today, the Folk Art Center welcomes nearly 250,000 annual visitors. In 2013, the guild opened its shop in Biltmore Village.
What do you love the most about your work?
I love getting to know our members and learning their journey in what they make. Their passions and talents are remarkable! In a world of mass-produced products, it is refreshing to meet true makers of fine craft.
Finally, what’s next for the Southern Highland Craft Guild?
We are in the early stages of planning our 100-year anniversary celebration in 2030. We also have a nearly 6,000-piece permanent collection, library and significant archival materials. Our big dream is to build a museum to showcase these!
The story above first appeared in our November / December 2024 issue. For more like it subscribe today or log in with your active BRC+ Membership. Thank you for your support!