200 Ways to Celebrate AMERICAN CRAFT WEEK in October

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- American Craft Week, October 1-10, is a coast-to-coast celebration featuring more than 200 events where the public will meet artisans for whom crafting is a business.

The festivities promise artful and fun answers to the question, "What is still made in America?" Watch a glassblower or cabinetmaker at work. Tour pottery studios or fine craft galleries. Art strolls, exhibitions, open houses, craft demonstrations, trunk shows and festivals are scheduled in more than 40 states. The celebration will culminate with a national symposium, "Crafting a Nation," at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.

"Now, more than ever, people are recognizing the enduring value of handmade craft," says Diane Sulg, co-chair of American Craft Week. "Consider also the economic benefits of employing Americans to create and sell these beautiful, cherished items, and we can all support and celebrate American craft."

A state-by-state list of American Craft Week events and participating galleries can be found online at www.AmericanCraftWeek.com. These include:

• On Oct. 1, Mountain Made gallery in Asheville, N.C., will feature eighth-generation master potter Charlie Brown from Western North Carolina.
• On Oct. 2 and 3, artisans at Thos. Moser cabinetmaker showrooms in San Francisco, New York and five other cities will demonstrate "The Making of an American Classic: the Thos. Moser Continuous Arm Chair"  and "Joinery 101: the Art of Wood Joinery."
• At the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, craft industry leaders, scholars and enthusiasts will gather October 8-9 for "Crafting a Nation," a national discussion about the roles of age-old craft in making a modern living, rebuilding America's Main Streets and revitalizing the economy. The symposium is free and open to the public.

American Craft Week is a project of the Craft Retailers and Artists for Tomorrow (CRAFT) and Craft in America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of craft and the celebration of its impact on our nation's cultural heritage.

Major sponsors of American Craft Week include the American Craft Council, AmericanStyle magazine, Americans for the Arts, ArtfulHome.com, Silver Dollar City, Ornament magazine, New York International Gift Fair, Society of North American Goldsmiths/Metalsmith magazine, National Association of Independent Artists, Sugarloaf Mountain Works and WholesaleCrafts.com. Additional sponsors are: Artisan Point of Sale Software for Windows, The Furniture Society, Glass Eye Studios, Packaging Specialties, Paradise City Arts Festival, NextDayFlyers.com, World Crafts Council, the Craft and Folk Art Museum, Craft Organization Development Association and CERF+.

"Crafting a Nation" is presented by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, CRAFT and Craft in America. Sponsors include Americans for the Arts, Cynthia Lovelace Sears, Frank Buxton, Cathleen Collins, Mary Ann Hruska, Chris Rifkin, Stolaroff Foundation and Barbara Tober.  

SOURCE Craft Retailers and Artists for Tomorrow