2017 marks the 100th anniversary of Biltmore Industries’ home at
Grovewood Village in Asheville! A centennial celebration will take place
Saturday, June 17 from 12 - 5pm, which will include a special exhibition of
fiber art by 7 regional weavers, artist demonstrations, guided history tours, a
cake cutting ceremony, and a historical presentation by Bruce Johnson (2pm) -
Director of the National Arts & Crafts Conference at The Grove Park Inn
since 1988.
When Biltmore’s first
lady, Edith Vanderbilt, approached Fred Seely, visionary of The Grove Park Inn
and the son-in-law of Edwin W. Grove, about buying Biltmore Estate Industries
in 1917, she asked that he “continue its educational features and develop the
arts.”
With Seely’s assurance
and agreement to erect six English cottages adjacent to the hotel to house the
Industries’ wood carvers and weavers, Mrs. Vanderbilt knew the current eight
looms of her Biltmore Estate Industries in Biltmore Village would have a new home
and place to grow and thrive. The enterprise became Biltmore Industries.
The diligent work and
dedication begun in 1901 by Eleanor Vance and Charlotte Yale, two progressive
missionaries who came to Appalachia to encourage self-sufficiency in the mountains,
had been supported by the Vanderbilts, who provided funds for a learning trip
to Scotland and later looms and woodcarving tools. But the eight looms in
Biltmore Village were no longer sufficient.
Seely was a known and
respected leader and entrepreneur. His new cottages were soon a flurry of
activity with a total of 40 looms in operation by 1920 and ultimately Biltmore Handwoven Homespun became known
as the finest handmade woolen cloth in the world, worn by Grace and Calvin
Coolidge, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Herbert Hoover, Helen Keller, John D.
Rockefeller, Eleanor Roosevelt, to name a few.
The weaving business
thrived until Seely’s death in 1942, when his son took over management. But the
demand for handwoven woolen homespun diminished with the onset of modern
industrialization. Asheville businessman Harry Blomberg purchased Biltmore
Industries in 1953 and provided the resources and leadership that kept the
looms in operation until 1981. When Blomberg died in 1991, ownership of
Biltmore Industries was transferred to Blomberg’s daughters – Barbara Blomberg
and Marilyn Patton, along with his son-in-law, Buddy Patton.
Today, this privately
owned Asheville treasure includes Grovewood Gallery, which opened in 1992, a
museum and visitors center tracing the history of Biltmore Industries, working
artist studios and an antique car museum. The Golden Fleece restaurant,
featuring traditional hearth cooking from Greece, opened in Grovewood Village
in 2016.
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