Tour artist studios on historic Grovewood grounds

There will be 3 opportunities July 16, August 20 and again on October 8 to tour Grovewood Studios, a group of 9 workshops occupied by 12 artists who work across mediums, located on the historic Grovewood grounds adjacent to The Omni Grove Park Inn. Tours are free and self-guided and will take place from 11am 4pm on all 3 dates.

Grovewood Studios and Grovewood Gallery have a rich craft history. Both are housed in the
former weaving and woodworking complex of Biltmore Industries, built during 1917 1924
by The Grove Park Inn’s architect, Fred Loring Seely. Remnants from this Arts & Crafts enterprise can still be found throughout Grovewood, and the buildings bear the marks of the craftspeople who worked there a lifetime ago. In its heyday, Biltmore Industries had a total of 40 looms in steady operation, producing some of the highest quality homespun fabric in the country worn by U.S. Presidents, First Ladies, movie stars, and sports figures.

Local entrepreneur Harry Blomberg purchased the property in the 1950s, providing the
leadership and resources necessary to keep the fabric business going for several more years. It was his family who established the artist studios and Grovewood Gallery in 1992, carrying on Biltmore Industries’ tradition of supporting local craftspeople. Today, Grovewood’s resident artists create jewelry, pottery, sculpture, and more, in the same workshops where the famed Biltmore Handwoven Homespun was once created.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for the public to connect with local makers,” says Ashley Van Matre, Marketing Manager at Grovewood Gallery. “Visitors will get a behindthescenes
look into the creative workspaces of our resident artists, learn a little about their process, and hopefully gain some insight into the skill and commitment required to make something by hand.”
 
Grovewood Studios is home to the following artists: 

Chris Abell (flutemaker)
Rick Eckerd (glass artist)
Tom Reardon & Kathleen Doyle (master metalsmiths)
Melissa Engler (fine wood artist)
Daniel Essig (book artist)
Russell Gale (furniture maker)
Lisa Gluckin (ceramic artist)
Graeme Priddle (fine wood artist) 
Helen Purdum (ceramic artist)
Carl Powell (glass artist)
Brent Skidmore (furniture maker and sculptor)

Many of Grovewood’s studio artists spend time away at shows and working on commissions. If you really want to see a particular artist, please call the gallery before you visit to make sure their studio is open, or check the events section of Grovewood’s website at www.grovewood.com/events for a list of participating artists.

Private appointments for studio visits are welcome throughout the year, and can be scheduled through Grovewood Gallery or by contacting the artists directly.

Asheville Habitat's Neighborhood Revitalization Program receives boost from three funders

Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity has received $4,000 from the TD Charitable Foundation, $5,000 from Thrivent Builds Repairs, and $10,000 from Wells Fargo Foundation to support its Neighborhood Revitalization program (aka Home Repair).

In 2010, Asheville Area Habitat expanded its housing services beyond new construction to include the repair and preservation of existing homes in the community, acknowledging that not everyone needs a new home; some just need help fixing the one they already own. Since that time, the nonprofit has completed 150 repair projects, serving more than 200 adults and 50 children in need of safe, affordable housing.

A thank you note from repair client Jan G. reads, “Please pass along my gratitude to all in the Habitat repair program in assisting me to keep my house in safe and good shape. This is a fabulous program for Buncombe County. I appreciate your kind and attentive listening to my needs and helping to make good decisions for the home repair. The excellent work was done in a timely and efficient manner.”

Grants like the abovementioned enable Habitat to serve more low-income homeowners like Jan who need home repairs but are unable to afford them on the open market. “We are truly grateful for the support of these funders. By supporting our home repair program, more homeowners are empowered to live longer and better in a home they already own. Plus, the repair program helps retain affordable housing stock – an increasingly rare commodity in our community,” notes Kit Rains, fund development director for Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity.

Like Habitat’s homeownership model, there are qualifications and cost re-capture for the home repair program. By offering 0% interest on a deeply subsidized short-term loan, utilizing volunteers, and receiving financial support such as these grants, Habitat is able to offer low-income homeowners repairs at a cost they can afford. Services include the repair or replacement of porches, steps, windows, roofs, heating/cooling systems and much more. Habitat also does work to improve accessibility such as adding ramps, wider doorways, and grab bars.  To learn more, please visit ashevillehabitat.org.

Asheville Affiliates holds inaugural "Hold Your Horses" fundraiser - June 16

 

Tickets are now on sale for Hold Your Horses, a event benefiting Heart of Horse Sense of Marshall, NC, featuring local food, craft beer and wine, live music, and raffle items that range from restaurant gift certificates and Biltmore passes to handcrafted treasures.

Presented by the Asheville Affiliates, Hold Your Horses will take place at The Boathouse, a pavilion on the French Broad River at 318 Riverside Dr., Asheville, in the River Arts District. The event is June 16, 6 – 9 p.m.

Some of the therapy horses from Heart of Horse Sense will be at the event for guests to see “up close and personal”, along with veterans whose work with them on a regular basis.

Asheville’s beloved The Wynns, featuring Amanda Platt of The Honeycutters and Michael Libramento of Grace Potter and The Nocturnals, will play a mixture of great music that will get the crowd moving and singing along.

Hold Your Horses is open to the public. Tickets are $25 in advance if purchased online or $30 at the door, and cover all food, beverages, and entertainment. Due to limited parking, carpooling is strongly encouraged.

Current sponsors and contributors for this event include: Allegra/MMS, Bclip Productions, Biltmore Estate, Catawba Brewing Company, Chelsea Lane Photography, Classic Event Rental, The Boathouse, Diamond Brand, FASTSIGNS, The LAB, The Grand Bohemian Hotel Asheville, Massive Booth, Skyland Distributing, Star 104.3, Waste Pro and many others.

Heart of Horse Sense was founded to support quality, professional equine services for Veterans, their families and At-Risk Youth. Its vision is that every veteran and at-risk youth get access to the therapeutic opportunities horses offer. Heart of Horse Sense horses support growth and healing, and through services offered in an ethical and safe manner, by well-trained and qualified professionals (both horses and humans). Too often programs with good intentions don't have the ability or the experience to offer the services our veterans and youth deserve.

For more information on how to support Heart of Horse Sense, contact Shannon Knapp, Executive Director, at (828) 649-7064 or email her at heartofhorsesense@gmail.com, visit our website at www.heartofhorsesense.com, or follow on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/heartofhorsesense. 

The presenting sponsor, the Asheville Affiliates, was founded in 1999 as a social networking group for professionals to benefit area nonprofits. The organization has grown into a community network of more than 3,000 members. In the past 17 years, The Asheville Affiliates have raised over $500,000 for 65 non-profits. Membership is free and all Affiliates fundraising events are open to the public.

More information on Asheville Affiliates is available at http://www.ashevilleaffiliates.com.

Immedion welcomes CJ Daudert as senior site operations engineer

Immedion LLC, a premiere provider of data center services including Cloud, colocation and managed services, announced today the hiring of CJ Daudert. As Senior Site Operations Engineer for Immedion’s Asheville location, Daudert will be responsible for day-to-day customer provisioning and support in addition to the overall operation of the Asheville data center.

CJ joins Immedion with over twenty years IT experience, including over twelve years with the United States Navy. Prior to joining Immedion, he served as the Systems Engineer for Epsilon, Inc., where he maintained all Windows Server platforms, performed diagnostics and troubleshooting, and provided extensive support to customers.  In addition to being a decorated combat veteran, Daudert is certified in HP System Administration, Sun Solaris System Administration, Oracle Database Administration and Oracle Database Performance and Tuning. He is currently working toward the completion of a Security + certification.

“Immedion is dedicated to delivering a high level of customer service and technical expertise to our customers,” said Immedion’s Chief Operations Officer Rob Moser. “We achieve this by hiring employees like CJ with extensive industry experience and a variety of technical certifications. We are excited to welcome CJ to the team.”