Cherokee County NC Blog

(Clyde NC)

(Baltimore, MD) HandMade in America and Haywood Community College partner with the Arts Business Institute (ABI) to present an art business boot camp March 3-5, 2006 in Clyde, North Carolina. Returning for a fourth consecutive year, Haywood ABI brings fresh faculty and a new perspective this year.

Nancy Markoe will lead the weekend with an inspiring keynote address, sharing her lessons learned as a successful art potter and American craft gallery owner. Says Markoe, “Like most artists, I never intended to own a gallery. I was focused on the day-to-day of making. Now that I have walked a mile in gallery owner shoes, I know things I never knew as an artist traveling the show circuit. I hope to help Haywood attendees open their eyes to a new connection between making great work and passionately selling to collectors.”

Other weekend workshop faculty include glass artist and author, Milon Townsend; web expert, Mark Zelis; American Craft Council exhibitor, Luann Udell; and Carol Summers, planner of the HandMade in America Guidebooks series.

Haywood ABI registration cost of $150 includes morning and afternoon meals, workshop materials, a full notebook of handouts and source material, and discounts for sponsoring supplier programs and services. Limited scholarships are available. Those who register early will be paired with a mentor for a free, one-on-one business counseling session.

Established in 1994, HandMade in America works in partnership with more than 20 local, regional and state organizations to support the creation of traditional and contemporary crafts in the region, to protect natural resources and to promote community development. To learn more about HandMade in America, call 828.252.0121, email bettyhurst@handmadeinamerica.org, or go online to www.handmadeinamerica.org.

Haywood Community College is located on the college campus in Clyde, NC, just a few miles west of Asheville and right at the edge of the Smoky Mountains. It was begun in recognition of the strong heritage of craft in the region. The college wants to create a place where students can learn the basics of their craft media as well as how to transform that craft into a business. To learn more about Haywood Community College, call 828.627.2821 or go online to www.haywood.edu/index.php.

Arts Business Institute (ABI) is an independent non-profit organization serving the educational needs of individual artists through traveling workshops across the U.S. and Canada. To learn more about ABI workshops or to register, call 1.800.224.5106, email alishavincent@comcast.net, or go online to www.artsbusinessinstitute.org.