Background:

Grovewood Gallery is located in the historic Biltmore Industries Homespun Shops, adjacent to the world-famous Grove Park Inn Resort. George and Edith Vanderbilt started the Industries, which has produced weavings and woodworkings since 1901. Edith Vanderbilt sold Biltmore Industries in 1917 to Fred Seely, manager of the Grove Park Inn, who moved it to its present location and constructed the seven buildings that are now a local historic site.

In the 1950s, Harry Blomberg -- father of the current owners, Barbara Blomberg and Marilyn Patton -- purchased the Industries and kept the weaving going until 1981. After his death, Barbara, Marilyn and her husband, Buddy, wanted to continue the tradition of craftsmanship, so they created Grovewood Gallery and Grovewood Studios. The original space, which exhibited the work of regional craftspeople, opened in May 1992, and was about 4,000 square feet. Over the last few years, the gallery has added 2,000 square feet of display area for handcrafted furniture, a 756-square-foot garden art space, and 225 square feet for clothing and fine jewelry. Plus, the gallery utilizes about an acre of its outdoor property for large garden sculpture.

Kinds of crafts sold:

jewelry, traditional and contemporary furniture, outdoor garden art and furniture, functional and nonfunctional pottery, blown, fused and stained glass, toys, turned wood, wood and ceramic boxes, kitchen utensils, quilts, woven and silk wall hangings, rugs, lamps, fountains, clothing, dolls, iron and sculpture

Currently looking for:

outdoor garden art, furniture, toys

Prime customers:

"Many of our customers are visiting the Grove Park Inn, but we have seen an increase of local customers in recent years," says General Manager Vanessa Osborne.

Signature crafts:

"We are known for having a large variety of crafts," says Osborne. "We currently have the largest selection of furniture in this area and have been working to create a sculpture garden. Because of our natural setting, wooden items have been strong as well. Our top sales each month are in jewelry, furniture and garden art."

Exhibitions:

The gallery holds five exhibits a year with a mixture of group and individual shows. Artists are invited to participate in the exhibits. Artists can contact the gallery about participating in special exhibits.

Artists are found through:

wholesale shows (Buyers Markets of American Craft, American Craft Council shows), word of mouth, publications such as The Crafts Report, Niche, American Style, American Craft

Pricing:

$2.50-$500 and up

GALLERY OWNERS:

Would you like your gallery to be considered for inclusion in Gallery Profiles? If you are looking to attract new artists and new work, and you have professional slides or transparencies of your gallery, send your background information and images to: The Crafts Report attention: Gallery Profile 300 Water St. Wilmington, DE 19801.

Purchase/consignment:

both; the consignment split is 60/40

Best-selling price points:

$2.50-$50

Gallery size:

about 7,500 square feet with 2,000 devoted to furniture

Number of artists currently represented:

about 450

Non-craft items sold:

The publication "The Craft Heritage Trails of Western North Carolina," American Style magazine

Services offered to customers:

gift-wrapping, gift registry, layaway, artist information, special orders, newsletter,postcards announcing exhibits, local delivery, shipping and trucking

Gallery location:

The gallery is located in Asheville, a tourist destination set in the Appalachian mountains near the Blue Ridge Parkway National Park.

To submit work to the gallery:

Mail information with a SASE to the gallery (attention Sherry Masters) or call to set up an appointment. Images of the work, prices, a résumé and/or artist's statement, references of other galleries and/or information about sales are helpful. Typically the gallery staff contacts only artists whose work they would like to feature.

Why selling crafts:

"Grovewood Gallery is a family-owned business," says Osborne. "Barbara, Marilyn and Buddy do not consider themselves craft collectors, they just surround themselves with things they love from artists they like. We live in a world full of items designed and built by machines and spend hours looking at computers and television. If there is nothing around us created by the human hand, we lose sight of our own humanity."

Kirsten Coughlin is editorial assistant of The Crafts Report.

JANUARY 2000: TABLE OF CONTENTS