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The Craft Heritage Trails of Western North Carolina, first published in 1996, grew by 150 sites for its second printing in 1998. A third edition of the guide will be released in 2002.

Response cards indicate that 94 percent of trail visitors purchase crafts during their travel on the trails. Of those making purchases, 42 percent spent more than $200.

Seventy-eight percent of the craft businesses report increased sales, some as high as 30 percent. Due to participation in HandMade in America, some craftspeople have expanded their businesses beyond what they would have dared. They have purchased new equipment, added space to studios and galleries and learned how to promote their neighbors and community.

Following the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Street methodology for downtown revitalization, 11 very small communities in the HandMade region have tied into the heritage tourism trails to rejuvenate business and bolster their economies.

HandMade in America is being used as a model in developing a statewide tourism program called North Carolina Heritage, Inc., and is currently working with the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources to develop three new self- guided multi-state tours: The Heritage Music Trails, The Cherokee Heritage Trails, and the Garden and Countryside Trails of the Blue Ridge. These three trails, along with the Craft Heritage Trails, will serve as the basis for the development of a National Heritage Area designation called the Blue Ridge Heritage Initiative.

HandMade in America: www.wnccrafts.org

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