A Year-Round Guide to Franklin and Nantahala

Our State’s Made in NC Awards celebrate the talent and creativity of North Carolinians. Check out all of this year’s winners! Winner Handcrafted by Keegan — North Wilkesboro Sculpted Cherry

Rosemary and Goat Cheese Strata

Our State’s Made in NC Awards celebrate the talent and creativity of North Carolinians. Check out all of this year’s winners! Winner Handcrafted by Keegan — North Wilkesboro Sculpted Cherry

Our State’s Made in NC Awards celebrate the talent and creativity of North Carolinians. Check out all of this year’s winners!


Winner

Handcrafted by Keegan — North Wilkesboro
Sculpted Cherry Barstool

Keegan Watson fondly remembers walking the rows of his family’s Christmas tree farm with his father. “He’d always point out the different kinds of trees and explain the attributes of the wood,” he says. “It gave me a deep appreciation for their beauty at a young age.” Motivated by the memories, Watson turned his interest in wood into a career in furniture manufacturing. One day after a shift in 2018, a coworker invited him to see his lathe, and Watson fell in love with the art of wood turning. “Within a week, I went out and bought my own machine and was instantly hooked,” he says. Using wood from trees that have been removed from urban settings or from local lumberyards that practice sustainable forestry, Watson produces functional and artistic furniture and home decor. For his sculpted cherry barstool, he used old-growth cherry saved from shuttered furniture factories in western North Carolina.

handcraftedbykeegan.com
 


Honorable Mentions

Crowders Creek Woodcraft — Gastonia
Walnut, Ash, & Cherry Fly-Fishing Net

Walnut, ashe, and cherry fly-fishing net

Photography courtesy of Crowders Creek Woodcraft

Wading into a mountain brook with a rod in his hand and a cool wind whispering through the trees, Brian Hedgepath feels the freedom that only an angler knows when fishing for trout in the Smokies. It’s a pastime he’s enjoyed since he was a boy taking fishing trips with his dad near Brevard and Boone. Around the same time, Hedgepath also fell in love with woodworking — another father-son tradition. “I still have my first net,” he says. “But after a few years and fishing trips later, I thought it would be fun to start making my own.” With the grip and comfort of the angler in mind, he combined walnut, ash, and cherry wood from a local sawmill for the frame. He created a lightweight, sturdy net for easy catch and release, whether you’re fishing from a kayak or, like Hedgepath, stalking trout in a mountain stream.

etsy.com/shop/crowderscreekdesign


Down East Preservation — Edenton
Custom Pecan Coffee Table

Pecan Coffee Table from Down East Preservation in Edenton

Photography courtesy of Down East Preservation

When Dawson Tyler purchased a 20th-century building that once housed a grocery store in Chowan County, he was on a mission to preserve history in eastern North Carolina. “My dad was always drawn to this part of the state — its beauty, history, and abundance of old homes,” he says. “Growing up visiting the area, I inherited the same passion.” In 2015, Tyler founded Down East Preservation, a construction company that restores and repurposes historic buildings and homes in Edenton. Since then, the company has grown to include an in-house woodshop specializing in custom pieces for restoration projects, new builds, and more. Every piece is expertly crafted by artisans who have spent decades perfecting their trade. Their latest work includes the custom pecan coffee table, built using wood from a fallen pecan tree once located near a historic farmhouse in Northampton County. The homeowner asked Tyler’s team to turn the wood into a piece of furniture to pass down to his grandchildren. The result? A coffee table and a treasured family heirloom to be enjoyed for generations.

downeastpreservation.com

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This story was published on Jan 29, 2024

Tamiya Anderson

Tamiya Anderson is a Concord-based writer and former Our State intern who is proud to call The Tar Heel State home.