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 Masterer Crafter Fair August 15

Have you ever wondered what employees do with their time off? You can find out how some Mast Store employees spend their time this Saturday, August 15, at the MASTer Crafter Fair. Held at the Little Red Schoolhouse behind the Original Store in Valle Crucis, the MASTer Crafter Fair runs from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and will showcase the talents of 12 Mast Store employees, whose works include handwoven and sewn items, jewelry, paintings, pottery, fly-fishing accessories, handmade furniture and more. A bake sale will take place during the event, and a portion of all proceeds will be donated to a Mast Store family member who is facing expenses of a major illness. 

Participants hail from each location in the High Country and from the Mast Store in Waynesville.

Cheryl works in customer service for MastStoreOnline. She has created all types of handcrafts since she was a small child. In a world where so many items are made by machine and have a cookie-cutter look, she enjoys creating beautiful yet functional items for everyday use. Texture and color bring out the artist in her as can be seen in the variety of unique handbags she has created.  

Brenda works at the Mast Store Home Office in the pricing department and has been with the company for two years. She is a full-time potter with 19 years of experience and is also a member of Hands Craft Gallery in Boone. Brenda creates functional and decorative stoneware pottery using the natural world for her inspiration. Her beautifully created pieces are intended for regular use.

Sara G. works part-time in the accounting department at the Mast General Store Home Office. She has been hand crafting beaded jewelry for the last 10 years, and is inspired by color, travel and time spent in nature. Sterling silver, gemstones, glass, silk and up-cycled vintage jewelry components are her favorite materials.   

Marguerite is an 11-year employee of the Mast Store and works in the pricing department. Her love for sewing began at a young age when she started making clothes for her dolls. She learned the fundamentals of dressmaking from a seamstress her mother knew and found it to be great fun to pick out patterns and fabric and turn them into outfits for herself or others. Marguerite loves working with color and texture to produce pieced items. Her love for dolls has never waned, and she particularly enjoys outfitting dolls that reflect international cultures. 

Sara G. spends her work time at the Mast Store Candy Barrel in Downtown Blowing Rock. In her time away from the candy counter, Sara enjoys painting stylized landscapes in mixed media including acrylics, oils, pen and ink and a few surprises.

Kelly works in the accounting department and when she’s away from work is an artist. Her works include acrylics on all different sizes of canvases with depictions of flowers and other scenes from the natural world painted mostly in black and white.

Stop by on Saturday to view the works of these artists and more. By purchasing their handiwork, you are lending a helping hand to another in our community.

For more information, call Mary Wood at the Original Mast Store at 828-963-6511.