Story and photos by ANGELA MINOR About this Story Across the mountains and valleys in our seven Blue Ridge states are artisans and crafters preserving and promoting the heritage of handmade goods. To find and connect with some of them, we cast a wide net of outreach to numerous professional guilds and associations through the region. We quickly learned that the choice of only one crafter per state would be a tough one indeed. So we reached out with more specific inquiries at the next level, requesting a specific list of criteria. To parse the dozens and dozens of names, we requested recommendations for artists with a rich history, high skill level, and an artist's passion for their work. That became the master list from which we built a diverse population of representative crafters who were willing to share their stories with us. Then the real work began-interviews and photographs up and down the mountains. While we wish there was space to include everyone, these seven individuals represent their particular craft as well as their state. Each artisan hopes to inspire someone in the readership to begin a new journey of creation, or at least spark your imagination. They also look forward to hearing directly from anyone who enjoys reading their profile. -AM NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 39