The Appalachian Live Crafters’ and Artisans’ Mall will be a in a class by itself as it will offer a unique experience not found elsewhere in a permanent setting.
Appalachian Live Crafters’ and Artisans’ Mall
General Information
The Appalachian Live Crafters’ and Artisans’ Mall will be one of the largest malls in the United States specifically dedicated to artists and crafters that offers retail store space with live crafting and art demonstrations. It will be dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the diverse heritage of the Appalachian crafters and artisans.
The Appalachian Live Crafters’ and Artisans’ Mall will offer free public live demonstrations of crafting and art creation inside the mall in the main concourse area. It will also offer programs such as classes, workshops, and educational presentations that will take place in the International Cultural Center Educational Center. Get more information on the International Cultural Center Educational Center here. Activities will be as an announcement post when they are scheduled.
It will also operate a membership-based organization called the Appalachian Crafters’ and Artisans’ Association which will offer tiered membership levels to crafters/artisans with membership levels also open to the public for support. It will have a stand alone website featuring a listing of active shops, scheduled events and activities, and a membership signup page for the Appalachian Crafters’ and Artisans’ Association. See our Appalachian Crafters’ and Artisans’ Association post for more information and to become a member here.
It will also host an annual public family friendly ticketed event called the Artisan and Crafter Exposition which will take place in the International Cultural Center Exposition Center. See our Artisan and Crafter Exposition post for more information here. Get more information on the Exhibition Center here.
Link to provide support:
Appalachian Live Crafters’ and Artisans’ Mall
Detailed Information
The 44, 560 square feet Appalachian Live Crafters’ and Artisans’ Mall will be a family friendly experience and will be open seven days a week only closing on major holidays. It will be located in the International Cultural Center and have a separate public entrance. Learn more about the International Cultural Center here.
It will feature twenty-four retail shops totaling 9,600 square feet of Appalachian crafts and art that will represent members of the Appalachian Crafters’ and Artisans’ Association and a 7,900 square feet free museum area dedicated to Appalachian culture and history. The museum area will house a collection of Appalachian materials, tools, and historical items. It will also include dedicated educational fundraising shops totaling 2,900 square feet: a commission crafts and art shop (commission-free for Appalachian Crafters’ and Artisans’ Association members), a bookstore, and The Philosophers’ Cove Cafe. See our combined post on the craft and art store, the bookstore, and The Philosopher’s Cove Cafe for more information here.
The 65 feet wide concourse area running the entire length of the 400 foot mall will allow for large crowds and will contain: access to all the retail stores, the free museum area, the Immersive Cultural Experience lobby, the public restrooms, and the offices for the mall director, mall manager, and the security office for the International Cultural Center. It will also contain the demonstration area, a presentation area with a small elevated stage, a unique photobooth, a “photo stand-in” area, 200 feet of benches, ATMs, vending machines, water drinking fountains, and a coin toss water fountain. Public restrooms will consist of 2 main ones plus one that is designed for public individual/family use and they all will have baby changing stations.
It will have internal connections to the Immersive Cultural Experience through the permanent open lobby area dedicated to the Immersive Cultural Experience. Learn more about the Immersive Cultural Experience and the lobby area here. It will also have internal connections via the Appalachian culture and history museum area directly to the International Cultural Center Educational Center, the Workshop room in the Educational Center, and the shared lobby area of the conference and exhibition centers. Learn more about the International Cultural Center Educational Center here. Learn more about the conference and exhibition centers here. It will also contain public restrooms with baby changing stations and private areas including a supply/custodial room, the director’s office, the manager’s office, a security/electronic utility room, and a storage room. The director and manager offices will be available to the public when they are on-site.
The staffed safety office will be open to the public and provide security for the entire International Cultural Center complex. All retail locations will have panic alarms that directly alert on-site security. Attached outside will be a small building for a security golf cart with trailer that will be used for property and traffic issues.
It will have dedicated webpages for each member shop, the art and craft store, the bookstore, and The Philosopher’s Cove Cafe. Qualifying crafter/artisan members will also have their own dedicated webpage. Monies raised from activities will go to support the operational expenses of the mall with surpluses supporting the International Cultural Center. A preset percentage will be dedicated to create youth job skill training opportunities related to arts and crafting and to benefit local nonprofit adult job training program partnerships.
It will feature two public display areas located in the middle of the concourse.
The first area will be for the Appalachian Crafters’ and Artisans’ Association members to demonstrate live crafting/art and will be located in the concourse. It will have safety features including see-through walls/panels on all sides about 5 feet tall, a locking entryway, emergency and fire equipment. The live crafting/art demonstration area will be in operation during open mall hours seven days a week. Wednesday – Sunday will be reserved for the live crafting/art demonstrations by members with Monday and Tuesday utilized for special preplanned, promoted events and/or displays hosted by members.
The second area will also be located on the other end of the concourse. It will have daily live unamplified music like cello, piano, harp, wind instruments, and/or acoustic guitar and other forms of entertainment like storytelling, book reading or special exhibits.
It will be provided guidance and support from the Appalachian Live Crafters’ and Artisans’ Mall Standing Advisory Board and the Appalachian Live Crafter’s and Artisans’ Association. See our Appalachian Live Crafter’s Mall Standing Advisory Board President Selected Announcement to meet the individual in that position here. See our Appalachian Live Crafter’s and Artisans’ Association post for more information and to become a member here.
The top administration position will be the Director of the Appalachian Live Crafters’ and Artisans’ Mall who will report directly the Institute for Natural Philosophy administrative President and board. They will work closely with the President of the Appalachian Live Crafter’s and Artisans’ Association, the director of the International Cultural Center Educational Center, and the Institute for Natural Philosophy Directors of Cultural Preservation, Operations, Public Relations, and Finances. The director will automatically also hold the position of Co-chair of the Artisan and Crafter Exposition Committee. The Institute for Natural Philosophy will be the owner and legally operate it under a doing business as registration. See our Oversight and Hierarchy post for more information and to get involved here. The director will oversee the mall, bookstore, cafe, and arts and crafts store managers. Workers may be paid, volunteers, or part of a work/study program.
