Asheville Holiday Gift Guide [2021]

Handcrafted Holiday Gift Guide 2021

Unique Locally Made Arts & Crafts

Uncommon Home Decor

from Mountain Made – a Downtown Asheville Art Gallery

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Are you having a hard time finding the right … any … gifts for your family and friends, this year? 

You are not alone…

What with the COVID push that has gotten more shoppers out and about, to sluggish transportion to non existent product on the shelves, the 2021 holiday season is shaping up to be a bit of a tangled mess!

Which is why, here at Mountain Made, we invite you to shop LOCAL! Our gallery represents over 150 artists, authors and craft professionals – all of whom are living and working right here in Western North Carolina.

We have hundreds of pieces of locally made artwork, one-of-a-kind crafts and unique home decor items. No matter what you are looking for, we probably have something you would like.

Each item we offer was handcrafted by one of our mountain artists or master artisans whose impeccable craftsmanship makes Mountain Made the perfect place for you to do all your gift shopping.

So don’t get wrapped up the frenzy of trying to pick something out online, and wait for it to arrive, when you can drop by our gallery and check out some our unique gift ideas for yourself:….

Unique & Uncommon Gifts Ideas from
Western North Carolina Artists

(Nationwide Shipping Available*)

[Click each thumbnail to view a larger image…]

How to Order …

Call us at 828.350.0307 or email us using the form below.

Tell us what you are looking for: paintings, pottery, blown glass, artisan jewelry, metalwork, etc.

Our staff will assist you with advice, ideas and gift suggestions. But no hardball sales pitches, here!

We can then share photographs and descriptions via email or text messages with you.

Once you select what you want, we take your payment over the phone and then will ship your gift out as soon as possible.

Or if you prefer, we will safely store your purchase until you can come by and pick it up!

Don’t let your busy schedule overwhelm you or let long distances stop you, our Mountain Made staff members are waiting to help you today!

Notice:
The exact art piece depicted on this post might not be available for sale since each individual item is unique and custom made by the artisan. Each photo is a representation of the artist’s style and work.

If you are interested in a particular artist’s work, we invite you to visit our gallery or drop us an email or call 828.350.0307.

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….* Nationwide Shipping Available (but only within the 48 continental states)

We can ship (almost) any size item from our gallery directly to you via the USPS or alternative shipping service. Please contact us about specific shipping and handling details or costs for any individual item shown above.

US Postal Holiday Shipping Deadlines for the Lower 48 States in the US Only

First-Class Mail® Service Dec. 17
Priority Mail® Service Dec. 18
Priority Mail Express® Dec. 23

NOTE: Let’s be face facts here. Due to shipping delays and staff shortages, we can not guarantee that USPS will be able to deliver your packages on time. So please order from us as early as you can, and we will ship them out as soon as possible. Or if you live nearby, we are always happy to set aside your purchase to pickup!

SPECIAL HOLIDAY SEASON DATES TO REMEMBER

Mountain Made will be CLOSED Thanksgiving, November 25, 2021

Mountain Made will be OPEN Black Friday, November 24, 2021

Channukah starts Sunday, November 28, 2021

Mountain Made will be OPEN, Christmas Eve, December 24, 2021

Mountain Made will be CLOSED Christmas Day, December 25, 2021

Kwanzaa starts Sunday, December 26, 2021

Mountain Made will be OPEN, Friday, New Year’s Eve December 31, 2021

“Is All this Art Locally Made?” – The Question (Almost) Everyone Always Asks

“Are all your arts and crafts made here in Western North Carolina?”

Due to the outstanding craftsmanship of the art and crafts available in our gallery, almost everyone secretly wonders, “How can something so beautiful be locally made, especially here in [the backwoods of] North Carolina?”

The answer is yes!

As a local Asheville art gallery, we showcase a variety of different arts and crafts – all produced in Asheville and the surrounding Western North Carolina mountains.  We are always looking for the best and  our gallery features the works of over a 150 accomplished craftsmen, writers, musicians and artisans – in both contemporary and traditional mountain arts and crafts.

Below is a partial list of the kind of artworks that we have currently on display in our shop. If you have any questions about contemporary mountain arts or any of our artisans, then please contact us for assistance:

• handcrafted artisan jewelry made from gems, beads & precious metals
• fine ceramic art and hand-thrown earthen pottery,
• hand-sewn quilted wall hangings
• gourd art & woven baskets,
• hand-turned bowls & wooden accent pieces,
• original wall art and paintings,
• whimsical metal garden art,
• blown glass goblets and pitchers, plus fused & stained glass art,
• plus books and music CDs by our local authors and musicians.

(more…)

Last Minute Shopping Tips – 4 Ways to Keep it Simple

We know you hate shopping late this year, but perhaps you have been having a hard time finding just the right gift for that special someone ?

You are not alone.

We have noticed that more and more folks are waiting to this last weekend to get serious.

But with such little time left to do any shopping what can we do to simplify our gift giving?

We recommend this proven method…

“Get something they WANT, something they NEED, something to WEAR and something to READ.”

We were told a few years ago that the phrase WANT-NEED-WEAR-READ was an easy way to made holiday gift shopping quick and simple.

Let me explain…

You can almost always hit a home run if you follow one of this simple gift giving rules.

Get something they really WANT

Get something they truly NEED

Get something wonderful to WEAR

Get something interesting to READ

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WANT

Frankly, here at Mountain Made, we feel that ALL art, whether it be an artisan piece of jewelry to a fine art painting, wooden or ceramic art or a hand-blown piece of glass – should fulfill a want…it should be given because you feel the precipitant will enjoy not only how it looks but because speaks to their heart as well.

Hand-blown Glass Christmas Ornaments & Goblets by Jason Probstein

And of course we have to mention that this weekend will be the final days this season that Jason Probstein will inside the gallery, giving live glass blowing demonstrations. Check his schedule here.

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Need

We all need beauty in our lives … but as Liv Tyler states, “There is no definition of beauty, but when you can see someone’s spirit coming through, something unexplainable, that’s beautiful to me.” Below are just a few of our fine art painters.

The “Flyfishermen” Series by Kitsy Stratton

Paintings by Tebbe Davis

Wear

Handcrafted Artisan  Jewelry by Gayle Ray

Read

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body”

Mountain Made always has a great selection of poetry books and wonderful novels written by some the best local authors and writers.

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So if you are in the downtown Asheville area, then we invite you drop by Mountain Made and check out we can help you simplify your gift giving list.

5 Steps to Avoid Holiday Stress

“Are You Only One Christmas Gift Away from a Yuletide Meltdown?”

It has happened again this year. 

You haven’t picked out your holiday gifts, yet!

But now Amazon is glitching and their deliveries are so S-L-O-O-O-W.

And who wants to risk life, limb and COVID going to a crowded shopping mall or big brand store?

You are not alone…

We can all get caught up in the busy-ness of our daily lives and start to lose track of time (especially during these COVID years).

And then suddenly (it seems)… the holidays are here.

So no matter how well we plan, or how organized we try to be, you can succumb to “Gift Panic Mode” during the holidays.

Check out the five tips below for some simple stress-reliving tips…

How to Avoid Holiday Gift Giving Panic

Step one — Slow down. Take a couple of deep breathes and just try and relax (just a little). You still have a few more weeks so take a moment to sit and reflect on what your want and need to do. Concentrate on the very next step that you have to take — and then go out there and do it.

Step two — Focus on what is truly important.

The holidays should be a time that you come together with your friends, family and loved ones. Despite the commercialization of it all, you should never forget that the holidays are an opportunity to show those you love just how much you care about them.

Step three — Know your personal shopping style. Are you an early gift giver who always, always has a shopping list? Or are you like a dash-in, buy it at the last minute type of person?

If you know that you prefer to have a shopping list in hand and checking it twice then you should always make sure that you have plenty of time for more leisurely outings.

On the other hand, if you are a last-minute shopper then don’t beat yourself up trying to make yourself a different kind of person. Just go with the flow.

Step Four — Use your closeness to your advantage. Chose your gifts wisely by avoiding trends and fads.  Close relationships means usually mean shared experiences.  

Think back over the high points in your friendship or family relationship and use it to pick those handcrafted gifts that evoke warm memories or remind you both of inside jokes or mutual adventures.

Step five — Respect your time & stress limitations. Instead of going all over town trying to buy a ton of different gifts for a variety of people, keep your shopping to one central LOCAL location if possible.

You don’t have to go into panic mode. That holiday-gift-giving-stress, it can be solved with one quick and safe trip to Mountain Made Gallery, inside the Grove Arcade!

We invite you to come by and check out our 2021 Mountain Made Holiday Gift Guide — where you will find a wonderful variety of handcrafted gifts from the whimsical to the unique as well as uncommon art collectibles.

He’s Back! And again this holiday season  Jason Probstein will here on Fridays, Saturdays & Mondays doing Live Glassblowing Demostrations!

He’s Back! Asheville Glass Blower Jason Probstein At Mountain Made For the Holidays

Handcrafted Glass Christmas Ornaments

& Holiday Tree Toppers

A Wonderful Family Tradition

Here at Mountain Made, we are proud that since 2010 master scientific glass blower, Jason Probstein has been presenting live glassblowing demonstrations here at our art gallery.

And once again we are proud to announce that Jason will be blowing his unique Christmas ornaments here at Mountain Made from December 3 to December 20, 2021 … Or until his gas tanks run dry!

Jason will be demonstrating from 10:30 AM – 4:00 PM on these 3 days: Fridays, Saturdays & Mondays.

Master Glass blower creates Christmas ornaments at Mountain Made

Mountain Made is proud to have had Jason display his craft during the holiday season. We invite you to come by the gallery and watch Jason at work.

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About Jason Probstein

Jason Probstein is a trained scientific glass blower. He uses professional-grade Corning Pyrex glass tubing – that have been custom colored – to create his wonderful artwork.

He uses a 3000+ degree torch to heat and shape his glass art into strong and very durable pieces like his wonderful Christmas tree ornaments and goblets.

Jason received his degree in scientific glass blowing from the Salem Community College and has studied Venetian glass techniques at the Penland School of Crafts.

Jason as a nationally known glass blower has had his glass ornaments and other collectibles displayed in various art galleries and museum gift shops the throughout the Untied States (such as the Smithsonian).

His lightweight, yet durable Christmas ornaments are unique in both their shape, colors and patterns. It is this attention to detail that makes Jason’s work stand out among other glass artists.

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>> Click on an image below for a close-up view of Jason at work <<

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