Raleigh’s Carolina Designer Craftsmen Guild host
it’s 48th annual artisan craft market

by Jessie Ammons
Theresa Kwong jewelry/courtesy Carolina Designer Craftsmen Guild

“Fine craftsmen are caretakers of the skills passed on to them. … North Carolina has a rich tradition of fine handcrafts, people who have honed skills to make pottery thin but strong, to make beautiful weavings, to take cotton and spin it into cloth and make clothes. It’s integral to North Carolina. … To me, it’s unique to Southern heritage to pass things down. … Ask the artists about their work to hear these wonderful stories: There’s so much more than just a piece of art wrapped up into each of these pieces.”

Raleigh’s Carolina Designer Craftsmen Guild hosts its 48th annual artisan craft market Nov. 10 – 12. The juried event features more than 100 makers from across the country,  most of them from North Carolina. Their wares include glass, ceramics, wood, wearable and decorative fibers, metal, leather, basketry, printmaking, furniture, and jewelry. Everything is one-of-a-kind, and the artists themselves work in their booth all weekend, often hosting live demonstrations. Guild president Dahle says the market is like a vacation: “When we go on vacations, what do we do? We go to see local culture, and sometimes we go shopping. We might go to a craft store. This is, in one day, like a trip all the way through North Carolina.”

Opening night party: Friday Nov. 10, 5 – 9 p.m. Market: Saturday Nov. 11 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sunday Nov. 12, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. $7 in advance, $10 at the door, $13 weekend pass; carolinadesignercraftsmen.com