Since the 1980s, North Carolina has experienced intense growth as a number of industries have expanded into the south and relocated thousands of families and workers to the state. Throughout this period of industrial growth, which had primarily taken place in the Piedmont region of the state, Asheville and the majority of western NC lost their economic standing.
Asheville is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains at the confluence of the Swannanoa River and the French Broad River. Asheville is the largest city in western North Carolina and the county seat of Buncombe County. The city now serves as the regional hub for business, the arts, shopping, dining and other community facilities for citizens and visitors.
Much of the land in the western part of NC is unsuitable for economic investment, due to holdings by corporations and utilities, watershed restrictions and conservation efforts. The area is also a center of ecological and biological diversity in North America, supporting more than half of the species of trees, flowering plants and ferns found on the continent. This makes the unique and majestic landscape of western NC both a gift and a challenge when it comes to economic development.
Considering the unique characteristics, environment and heritage of the western region of NC, the industrial growth that has provided great economic stimulus in other parts of the state would not benefit the mountains of western NC in the same way. It became increasingly important that western North Carolina develop an economic approach that preserved the environment and culture of the area, provided jobs to skilled workers and artists, and diversified the area's economic base.
Western NC has, as a result, turned to its heritage of creating beautiful, handmade objects in order to boost its economy. Taking advantage of the traditions that already existed in the area--furniture, pottery, functional crafts, and more-- western NC has been able to establish a booming economy based on handmade crafts which the Civic Practices Network has described as "an invisible factory already existing in the region."
Industries have rapidly changed in North Carolina, especially in the more rural areas of the state. Globalization and the phasing out manufacturing jobs have changed the landscape and economy of the state. Projects like HandMade in America, which create a marketplace for arts, crafts and heritage tourism, are pioneering a new "Creative Economy" in North Carolina.
Interview with Desmond Suarez & Ronno Cooke
An interview with Becky Anderson