Rather than showering mamas in red roses and boxed chocolates this spring, dairy farmers-turned-woodworkers and die-hard gardeners are setting out to make sycamore spoons and evergreen bouquets the new go-to gifts. This push for local and eclectic presents celebrating motherhood inspired Grovewood Gallery’s upcoming Mothers and Makers exhibit.
According to event coordinator LouAnne Jordan, come May, patrons can peruse through displays of hand-thrown porcelain mugs and Appalachian cherry-wood cutting boards. Asheville’s Patch Design Studios, a Martha Stewart-approved business featured in CH+G last winter, will offer organic tea towels in okra prints and carrot-orange colors. More than a dozen regional artisans are booked to accompany Patch, some showing wheel-thrown canisters and others textured silver bracelets.
Full-time potter Laura Cooke makes the former: ceramic kitchenware dipped in sage green and teal glazes. Her 12-ounce “Haywood Mug,” a nod to Asheville, is crafted for morning coffee, while her geometric “Pisgah Cup” is best for evening wine, she says.
Though hand-carved wine caddies will also be up for sale alongside Cooke’s makeshift vino glasses, the weekend’s complimentary drink is something a bit milder.
Katie Lauver, certified optician and owner of The Herbal Spectacle, has mixed up a “Grovewood Blend” tea — an aromatic medley of spearmint, hibiscus, and lavender meant for relaxation. Guests can also check out her gambit of cedarwood beard oils, chai-tea lip balms, and rose-hip bath mixes.
“I put so much love and thought into these products,” she says, reflecting on the summers of urban homesteading and the leap from an office job to a one-woman herbal remedy show.
In terms of gifts, radical West Asheville gardener Christopher Mello has something else in mind. He likes constructing bouquets from naked twigs, flower buds, pansies, and boughs of evergreen, making the piece look like a “hunk of garden.” The unusual variety is then placed in a thrift-shop vase or secondhand ceramic pot.
“I’m fond of gifting a small vase of flowers,” Mello says. “Then, they can fill up the container over and over again; they can make a tradition out of it.”
Mello will offer a how-to demonstration on floral arrangements during the Mothers and Makers celebration. He plans on using ceramics and glass materials while focusing on “hand-sized, carry-able” sorts of pieces.
This Appalachian native agrees that his bouquets are on the “wild side.” But it all comes back to offering mom something more original than roses, more satisfying than chocolate.
A Celebration of Mothers and Makers happens May 7 from 10am-6pm and May 8 from 11am-5pm at Grovewood Gallery (111 Grovewood Road, adjacent to the Grove Park Inn). Starting April 22, Grovewood Gallery will also sell Mother’s Day gift sets packed with honey dippers, tea strainers, and other goodies. 877-622-7238. Grovewood.com.