Was surprised at the quality of the art, quilts and woodworking in the folk art center. But that…read morequality comes at a price. Everything was a bit expensive as well. But we enjoyed the wide variety of items!

The Folk Art Center is one of the stops on the Blue Ridge Parkway. A lot of the Parkway is still…read moreclosed and this is the last stop at the moment as there are barriers preventing you from going north. The Folk Art Center is free to visit. Sometimes when I visit, you can see people working on their crafts. They were during my most recent visit. The building is accessible for everyone. The first floor has restrooms, the Southern Highlands Craft Guild shop and a Blue Ridge Parkway shop and an information desk. The second floor showcases the art. I love seeing all the different types of art from the quilts to woodworking to basket weaving. I enjoyed the stained glass and a canvas that was woven. It was quite unique. I enjoy the rotating exhibits as it is different each visit. Outside there are some trails if you want to explore nature.

Coming from the home of Woolworth it was great to tour a store still existing exhibiting local…read moreartist and stilling running an original lunch counter. Great use of space and glad they have been able to save this treasure of the original 5 and dime.

This location is a fantastic artisan boutique shopping Emporium encompassed with historical…read morenostalgia. Plenty of tourists stop for the lunch offerings when counter/table service is available.

While not as fancy or visually aesthetic as some of the other shops around, Clayspace Co-Op reminds…read morepatrons a messy shop means giant strides. This tiny shop, located in The Wedge building, houses five ceramic artists. All wood-fire their beautiful yet each truly unique, wares in the 27 foot long wood burning kiln. Clayspace Co-Op started as a two man production, two local student artists needed a space to work and together complied resources to open up the gallery and work space in 2003. Since then, the shop has expanded to six local professional ceramic artists who work and show in the cooperative space. The co-working space is in the back of the gallery and didn't seem accessible to general public, but the ceramics themselves, which adorn every surface and self, are individually handcrafted which is seen through the colors and rough edges. So, if you're in the market for: bowls, mugs, vases, urns, pitchers, plates or any type of jar wit a lid, and you're willing to pay for handcrafted items, this shop is not to be missed.

This place was fun to explore as it is set up as vendor booths inside. There's plenty of local art…read moreor goodies that are handmade inside as well as other misc decor like items.

Love places like this. Lots of small arty creators under one roof. Every little shop had something…read moreamazing. I personally found a beautiful handmade leather journal and my mom bought some jewelry. Glad we made a stop

When I first came to Asheville years ago this place was immediately a favorite to come and visit,…read moreand was so heartened when they were impacted by the hurricane Helen in 2024. We recently did a day trip to the area this summer and I was happy to see they are back open. One could easily spend several hours here to make sure you don't miss anything among the many booths. There's art of practically every medium, vintage finds, all the tchotchkes you don't need but definitely want, but best of all it supports the local art community. If your inner child loves to explore and spend your adult money, Marquee is a must visit stop when in Asheville.

I would leave 0 stars if I could!!!!!!!!…read more My family and I walked in to the Marquee probably around 4:20PM on a rainy day. The power was flickering but we were happy to be out of the rain. We perused the aisles, carefully examining items both antique and handmade. We enjoyed many of the items, but found many of them to be on the pricey side. This is understandable as many are handmade so I didn't think much of it. That is until I stumbled upon this cow skull marked $16. I was so excited as that is a nice fair price and it's been on my thrift list for a while. I walked up to the counter and the employees were checking folks out but there were two, so I asked the one that was not visibly busy, "Excuse me! Do you mind if I just leave this here?" Knowing she was busy, I was just expecting a quick response. But as I stood there I thought I heard her say "yep" without even looking up. I had to ask to confirm I heard her right. I thought it was a bit odd but again I totally understood that she was busy so really thought nothing of it. We perused for a bit longer until the owners announced the store was closing shortly and to come up if you'd like to make any purchases. I did, explaining how excited I was and how happy I was with the price. The two women behind the counter immediately took notice and one of them said, "that must be a mistake." Again, I thought this was a bit odd, but not a big deal. I stood and waited while the owner called one seller, then another, then another. They assured me that the price "HAD to be a mistake," and I continued to wait, hearing her audibly huffing and sighing while others were also waiting to pay until eventually I just said, "I'll happily pay $20 for it!!" But was quickly refused. At this point, I really felt like the employees were not only being curt/direct, but directly disrespectful. I was appalled when after standing there for what had to be another 5 minutes or so, I finally said, in effect, "I don't understand why if the price is marked you wouldn't be able to honor it. It is the skull of an animal, a waste product, after all. There are many ranchers that regularly discard them..." to which one of the women behind the counter genuinely said "Let me ask you something. If you were me, and you were selling these items, would you not want me to do my due diligence and check?" I responded that in all honesty, if I was a business owner and made a pricing mistake... (which again, was never actually confirmed by the seller or even implied, it was a completely baseless accusation from the front desk employees) ... a mistake that was pointed out by a customer, I would almost certainly honor that price. She seemed disgusted. It felt like the employees were accusing me of trying to steal or switch the tag or something, which would've been literally impossible as the tag was marked "cow skull." Finally at this point I walked out. On the way out the door, I was talking to my folks about how shocked I felt by what had just happened (they saw the whole thing and felt the same way) and a very kind employee named Alex noticed what I was saying and that I was almost crying and held the door open for us before taking us aside and apologizing on behalf of the store and asking us several times to please come back and see them. I said we would not, but that I really appreciated his kindness. That gesture from Alex is the only redeeming factor from my visit to the store, and both myself and my parents were absolutely shocked and appalled. If they wanted to confirm prices or even refuse to sell for that price, that would be totally understandable. But the implication of wrongdoing I felt along with just general disdain made me genuinely feel as though I had done something wrong just for trying to purchase an item. I really am dumbfounded. Regardless, thank you once again to Alex for being the saving grace of this trip. I have anxiety and your kindness genuinely helped me to not cry as I was leaving and help enjoy the rest of my day. That being said, if you value kindness and human decency and you don't have a several hundred dollar budget, don't ever go here. Thank you for taking the time to read this review and please know I typed it myself with no AI. I am an artist myself and really feel passionately about being kind to others and treating them as you would like to be treated. Go support a fun local business that loves its customers instead!!!!!!!!!!! Peace and love

Nice shop! Welcoming, and filled with quality, interesting, and vibrant work. I will visit again.read more

Westside Artist Co-Op is a great addition to West Asheville. Downtown is filled with art galleries…read moreand spaces for artists so it's nice to see some local art on the west side. This is a large space filled with tons of locally made artwork. There is everything from jewelry, scarves, paintings, photography and most any other art/crafts you can imagine. This is a great space to decorate your home, to buy gifts, or just to look around for creative inspiration. When I visited, two of the artists were there to greet me and tell me about the gallery. They were very friendly and helpful yet allowed me to stroll through the space alone. I appreciated my experience here and hope to be back soon!

Nice gallery in Marshall. Comfortable place to browse and see works of some very talented…read moreartisans. Good prices on interesting pieces. Photographer had great local images in a variety of media. Textiles and artsy pieces of all kinds that you just don't see everywhere made Flow especially fun. Great designs. Nicely displayed. Friendly folks. Will tell friends not to miss when in the area above Asheville.

We took a week vacation to the Charlotte area and this was hands down our favorite experience. We…read moredid a 30 minute hot class with Colin and had a great time. He was very helpful with the class and taught us a lot about glass blowing. We were also able to browse the selection of glass work in the gallery before the class and enjoyed this. The cost is definitely worth the class. We would do again for sure!

The North Carolina Glass Center has opened a second location. This one is in Black Mountain. It was…read morenear where I stopped for brunch so I had to check it out as I love glass work. The Glass Center is inviting and you will be greeted when you arrive. I was able to browse the art work and watch a piece being made. I learned about the NC Glass Center's mission of shared glass studio where all glass artists can access it by renting time. The Glass Center offers classes too so everyone can try creating with glass. The gallery is open if you'd rather have a ready made piece of art. I plan on returning for a class once I decide what to make.