Heading North

Well, I’m off to Townsend Tennessee tomorrow morning for the Nawger Knob Festival.  I’m really looking forward to getting out of Atlanta for a few days and back into the slow pace of the Smoky Mountains.  I spent all afternoon loading the trailer with my booth and products.  This is my first out of State show and I have much more stuff loaded than I normally take to local shows because I won’t have the luxury of running back to the shop for something I forgot.

I grew up in Alcoa, about 45 minutes from Townsend, so I will be staying at my parents’ house while I’m up there.  This trip allows me to do a show and also visit with the “old folks” for a few days.  It should be a lot of fun!

My 30 Seconds of Fame

My interview for TryHandmade.com was published.  Check it out.  There’s nothing better than a free plug for the home team.

Back From The Mountains

We had a wonderful time in the Smoky Mountains last weekend.  Being back in the mountains is relaxing and provides a wealth of enjoyment for both of us.  This trip was focused on sightseeing and hiking in the woods, which we did a lot of both.  We visited areas of the national park that I had not seen in 30 years.  We always stay in a condo a couple blocks off the main downtown area because it’s a convenient walk to all the restaurants.  There are a lot of good food choices downtown.

The downside to Gatlinburg is the cheap “tourist” stores.  They are nice looking and have that authentic mountain town decor about them that begs tourists to walk into them, but that’s where the problem lies.  Almost all of the souvenirs are made in China or some other Asian country.  I don’t understand why anyone would visit this town and buy stuffed bears or “handmade quilts” made in China.  The stores are full of this stuff.  The only true local handcrafted store downtown is the Arrowmont Art and Craft store which features high quality art and crafts from all over the Appalachian Mountains area.  It’s refreshing to walk through this store and see American handcrafted products.

The real place to go for authentic, local made crafts is the Arts and Crafts Community about three miles from downtown.  This area is on Glades Road and consists of an eight mile loop that is full of artists who make everything from candles, ceramics and leather goods, to woodworking, jelly and furniture. I can spend hours out there browsing through stores and talking to artists.

A trip to Gatlinburg is not complete without a visit to the Smoky Mountains National Park which is just on the other side of town.  We hiked up to Clingman’s Dome one day which is an observation tower high upon a mountain on the Appalachian Trail.  On the way up we made a short stop at Newfound Gap and saw a small black bear wandering around on the side of the mountain.  The next day brought an excursion to Cades Cove and a short hike to the fire tower at Little Rock.  Our trip is never complete without stopping in Townsend at Apple Valley Farms for lunch.  This is a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant with great casual food.  My wife finally broke down and bought handmade fudge at the craft store next door for the trip home.

All in all, the weather and temperature was perfect for this weekend excursion.  We may have to go again before the end of the year.

A nice visitor offered to take our picture while at Clingman’s Dome.

Squeezed for Time

Well, another week gone with very little accomplished in the shop.  My #3 kid graduated from high school last Friday.  Since we had 15 relatives coming in from out of state, I spent most of last week getting the house cleaned, the yard mowed, flowers planted, and enough food bought to feed an army.  The last group left on Tuesday. This week was spent staining and clear coating doors for the basement remodel I am trying to wrap up.  Today, daughter #2 graduated from AirTran flight attendant training, so my wife and I spent the afternoon down below Hartsville airport going through these festivities.

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Tomorrow, my wife and I are leaving for Gatlinburg Tennessee to celebrate our 28th anniversary.  We go to Gatlinburg every year because we love the mountains.  I lived in this area for 34 years, so it’s like a homecoming every year.  I also love visiting the Glades Road Arts and Crafts area in Gatlinburg.  This is an area of artists and craftsmen that live and work in an area dedicated to arts and crafts.  We spent four hours out there last year browsing through the shops and talking to crafters.  It always rejuvenates me to network with these dedicated individuals.

One of my new products for this year is bookmarks and I have been making quite a few different styles lately.  I hope to get pictures taken next week to post.  Thank goodness it’s the weekend!

Keeping Busy

I miss working in the shop.  All last week was off site work where I have been working on a basement remodel.  The bar and various bookcases are finished, the drop ceiling and carpet is done, and Friday I went with the homeowner to pick up about $4000 worth of electronics which included a 65” flat screen TV and 800 watt sound system.  Saturday, we watched the golf tournament in HD with some of his friends in the new basement.  Now, my customer wants more custom bookcases, which is great, but whew!

Sunday was spent helping my son replace some parts on his truck.  It’s been about 35 years since I have had to clean grease out from under my fingernails.  This exercise reminded why I have my truck serviced at a shop.  I just don’t get the enjoyment out of working on my vehicle that I use to get 35 years ago.  Part of the problem is that I can’t bend like I use to.

Today reminded me again why I don’t like working in condos. I had two custom closet installations in Marietta.  Actually, there are three closets, but I only got two done today before I ran out of time.  Condos always involve a lot of stairs which translates into carrying tools and material up and down all day.  It’s great exercise, but by the end of the day, I am just worn out.  I have to go back tomorrow and finish the third one, but it is on the garage level so it will be less intense.

On top of all this, online craft sales have picked up, so I am packing cutting boards late at night and dropping them off at the UPS store on my way to morning projects.  It’s interesting that I have a lot of different board styles, wood combinations, and sizes.  But everyone seems to be buying the same style board.  I just had an order tonight for the last one in stock, plus I am out of 6/4 maple so I have got to get over to Kennesaw and pick up more lumber sometime this week and make another run of them, hopefully before I get another order.  I hate making customers wait for a week while I make up a board.

Hopefully, I’ll get some time back in the shop in a few days.