11:00 – 12:00

Putting the HandMade House Toolkit into Practice. A discussion for architects, builders, artists and others about lessons learned from the HandMade House; scheduling, planning, establishing working relationships with new contacts, good communications, and nuts & bolts like insurance, contracts, using unique materials, and working as a team. Panelists include Tony Ippolito, builder, The Handmade House at The Ramble, Bill deBruin, Director of Product Development, Biltmore Farms Homes, and Gerry Brown, Floating World Wood Design.

Design Model Example. One of the Design Model teams will share their experience of working together to design and create a space for living with craft.

1:00 – 2:00

Collaboration: Many are Better Than One. The collaboration between artists, galleries, builders, and designers – how it happens, who initiates the process, potential opportunities and pitfalls, and examples. Carla Fillipelli, former manager of the furniture department of Grovewood Gallery and practicing artist, Kathryn Long, owner of Ambiance Interiors, Joel Adams, local business owner, and artist Brian Bartel share their experience working on a renovated cottage office, a private home and a downtown condominium building.

Building Markets for Artists. Learn techniques for reaching the public and potential industry partners, and getting your message received through various media resources. Presented by Marc Archambault, Hammerhead Stoneworks.

3:00 – 4:00

On Building with Craft: Frank Harmon, FAIA, architect: A simple pleasure I enjoy each day is drinking tea from a hand-made bowl. I know that a potter made the bowl, and touching its shape I indirectly touch his or her hands. It's also possible to imagine the creek bottom where the clay was dug, and the geology that millions of years ago laid down the earthy sediment that I now hold in my fingers. In this way, however small, I feel a connection to the world. I believe that one of the primary goals of architecture is to make it possible for people to understand the world around them. If we sense that a building is rooted in the earth and warmed by the sun, that fresh air flows through its windows and its materials are friendly to the touch, then we may feel that the building belongs to its place, and so do we.
I am not certain that architecture, whether a house or town, can always have the friendly familiarity of a hand-thrown clay bowl. But I am certain there is virtue in trying.
In my talk, I will consider the values shared by craft and building, and how, together, they may contribute to an architecture of wellbeing.
(1 HSW LU for AIA members)

5:30 – 7:30

Keynote Presentation and Reception - "Pay Attention to the Details" The work of artists compels us to pay attention to the details in our environment.  By surrounding ourselves, as a society, with beautiful and unique things, we learn to pay attention to details -- the details that develop our aesthetic awareness and ultimately influence our values and our judgment. Toni Sikes is the founder and visionary behind The Guild. She started the company in 1985 as a publisher of sourcebooks for design trade professionals to help artists find greater markets for their work. In 1998, she founded the GUILD.com website and catalog as a way of bringing artists' work directly to consumers.

11:00 – 12:00

The Continuity of Craft in Western North Carolina. Western North Carolina has long been a source for craft as a reflection of local culture and history. Before the studio craft movement, people made traditional, functional work from available indigenous materials.  These objects of beauty and self-expression paved the way for today's resurgence of craft activity and production. Presented by Anna Fariello, Director of the Craft Revival Project and Professor at Western Carolina University. 

Craft in Your Home. Learn how to choose, use and display craft in the home including different applications of handcrafted architectural and design elements, and creative uses for various materials and media. Artists Paige Davis and Diana Gillespie join interior designer Traci Kerns and Toni Sikes to share information and answer questions.

1:00 – 2:00

Dispelling the Myth of the Expensive Object. Craft is less expensive than you think. Hear the results from consumer focus groups and a recent cost study, learn techniques for increasing the affordability of integrating craft in your home, and participate in a discussion about the inherent and lasting value of craft with HandMade in America's Associate Director Jenny Moore, artist Barbara Zaretsky, Susan Nilsson of Susan Nilsson Interior Design, and Dana Moore, Programs Director at Penland School of Crafts.

Craft in the Landscape. Learn about unique opportunities to enhance a landscape with craft; how to address the special challenges of placing work outdoors, and how landscape architects and home gardeners can involve artists in the planning and design of outdoor spaces. Stephanie Pankiewicz, landscape architect with LandDesign, moderates this panel including master gardener Nancy Ackermann Cole, and a team from the new Pack Square Park, artists Julia Burr and Hoss Haley, and landscape architect Rodney Porter of La Quatra Bonci.

3:00 – 4:00

The Artisan and the Architect:  The Arts & Crafts Influence on Asheville, 1895-1939. The historical relationship between architects and artists using regional examples. Presented by Bruce Johnson, Founder and Director of the national Arts & Crafts Conference at the Grove Park Inn. (1 LU for AIA members)