With over 40,000 copies of the first two editions sold, The Craft Heritage Trails of Western North Carolina stand as the definitive guide to art and craft in the mountains of North Carolin. It is the only guide you will need to find open-studios, galleries, craft-related bed & breakfasts, inns and restaurants as well as historic sites throughout the mountains of Western North Carolina. The book is arranged in eight blue highway tours, each one looping back to or near its starting point and most within easy connection to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and covers over a thousand miles of back roads and scenic byways from Murphy to Sparta. One tour, Circle the Mountain, literally encircles Mount Mitchell, the highest peak in the East, visiting the campus and studios of Penland School, one of the most revered craft schools in the nation and a place that has, in turn, given birth to a number of craft communities in Western North Carolina.

The guidebook fits in the glove compartment and, in total, describes over 500 stops across 250 pages of lushly illustrated craft.

"The fascinating thing about writing this work," says Jay Fields who authored most of all three editions, "is how amazing each artist's individual story is and how that story gets into his or her work. This book is really a testament to passionate lives, well-lived. It's also about community, a sharing of ideas and a constant search for new forms of expression."

For any visitor, this excerpt from the introduction to String of Pearls aptly invokes the experience ahead: "A drive through the mountains. A jostling of memories. A sweet journey into slowed-down, art-filled places that welcome your company. Take your time. Fill your heart. Enjoy the trip."

Pick up your $19.95 copy at bookstores or by calling: HandMade in America
phone 800-331-4154
fax 828-252-0388
info@handmadeinamerica.org

Bookstores and retail outlets interested in selling the book may contact the main distributor, Common Ground, at 828-274-5575 or www.comground.com.