ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, May 26, 1996 TAG: 9605240021
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL
In Kentucky, The Kentucky Craft Marketing Program was started in the early 1980s by then-first lady Phyllis George Brown as a means for local craftspeople to market their wares to a broader audience.
"This program really got started when there was no such animal as craft marketing," said Nancy Rowe, a marketing specialist for the program, which is administered by the Kentucky Arts Council, part of the state Department of Education, Arts and Humanities.
The program, which has a budget of $375,000, for the last decade has concentrated on marketing to buyers from outside Kentucky.
Now the focus is shifting toward promoting sales of Kentucky products within the state.
The state's strategic plan for economic development even includes a suggestion that the sale of Kentucky-made products be emphasized at state facilities. To that end, the state legislature last year passed a measure mandating that all state parks begin carrying Kentucky-made products, including food, music and crafts.
The state also publishes a list of its juried craftspeople. |n n| Last week, West Virginia opened its Tamarack center, a $16 million, 59,000-square-foot craft center near Beckley. The center, which operates seven days a week, showcases crafts from more than 900 West Virginia artisans.
Crafters do not sell their own wares in individual booths; rather, the center buys the products wholesale and resells them to visitors. A monthlong grand opening is planned for June.
Since 1993 - the Year of American Craft - West Virginia also has published a state crafts map, spotlighting craftspeople's studios and workshops, galleries and education sites by region. |- MEGAN SCHNABEL
LENGTH: Short : 43 linesby CNB