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National Arts and Crafts Conference and Shows

Arts and Crafts Conference Shows at Omni Grove Park Inn

Courtesy of the National Arts & Crafts Conference. Photography by Ray Stubblebine

Grove Park Inn Hosts 30th Arts and Crafts Conference Shows February 17–19

For the past 30 years Bruce Johnson of Fairview has organized and directed the National Arts and Crafts Conference and Shows, which will be returning to the Omni Grove Park Inn Friday through Sunday, February 17–19. The three-day event will feature seminar speakers, demonstrations, house tours, walking tours, small group discussions, workshops, book signings, a silent auction and afternoon selling shows.

“The shows each afternoon are the highlight of the weekend,” Johnson says. “We bring in more than one hundred of the country’s finest artisans and antiques dealers, all of whom are exhibiting works made in or influenced by the Arts and Crafts style, popular from 1895–1940.”

Open to the public, the shows take place on Friday from 1–6 p.m., Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students, and tickets are good for all three days. Outdoor parking at the Grove Park Inn is free that weekend; indoor garage parking is free for the first three hours.

“The influence of the Arts and Crafts movement can be seen in nearly every Asheville neighborhood, as modest bungalows began replacing towering Victorian houses that often required servants to manage,” Johnson says. “Some of the best examples can be seen in West Asheville, throughout Kenilworth and around North Asheville. And many of those bungalow owners come to the Arts and Crafts show looking for new or vintage lighting, rugs, furniture, art pottery, textiles—and inspiration—to furnish them.”

Additional information on the shows and the weekend seminars can be found at arts-craftsconference.com or by calling Johnson’s office at 828.628.1915.

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