Pa. woodworkers strike tourist market

Pennsylvania Wilds Artisan Development Plan will take advantage of the state’s talent, and 22 million acres of woodlands

By Jennifer Hicks

A cherry corner

cabinet by Jonathan Spiegel of Roulette, Pa., a woodworker who hopes to benefit from the Pennsylvania Wilds Artisan Development Plan.

STAFF WRITER

Woodworkers nestled in the heart of the Keystone State will likely benefit from the Pennsylvania Wilds Artisan Development Plan launched in July. Designed by state officials, the program will assist hobbyist woodworkers in becoming pros, and help professional woodworkers market their work, according to project manager Bob Veilleux, economic and community development educator with the Penn State Cooperative Extension in Port Allegany, Pa.

“We have a lot of folks who have a full-time job, like what they do, but do woodworking on the side,” Veilleux said. “Ideally, if it’s something that they love to do and they can turn it into a full-time job, we want to help them do that. If it’s something that they want to keep at a part-time level, we want to help them be more successful that way too.”

Handmade wood products are what tourists want as souvenirs, so helping the craftsmen produce more of what visitors want will help the state, Veilleux said. Supporters are hopeful the region will gain notoriety similar to that of Berea, Ky., and Tamarack, W.Va., two nationally recognized artisan destinations.

“Recent studies show that visitors to a region want to buy something that’s representative of the region,” said Veilleux. “Here we have the finest hardwood in America, and arguably the world, and we’re trying to encourage our artisans to get into making prod-

ucts that can be marketed to the tourists who come here but also marketed throughout the United States.”

The plan is sponsored by the ongoing Pennsylvania Wilds Initiative, which promotes tourism in the central part of the state, in partnership with the state’s Lumber Heritage Region and the Route 6 Heritage Corridor. Two state agencies — the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Department of Community and Economic Development — jointly oversee the Pennsylvania Wilds Initiative.

A council overseeing the new artisan plan has already had several meetings on how to recruit and help artisans. It includes many volunteer members from the Pennsylvania Council on Arts, the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, and several local arts councils. The group’s main goal is to focus on identifying existing artisans. The Lumber Heritage Region has provided a $23,000 grant to help identify those artisans, said Veilleux.

“We’re trying to identify artisans who don’t advertise that they do woodworking … the people no one knows about,” said Veilleux.

Though the council is still discussing what to do with the identified artisans, one idea is to create a brochure that would be mailed to interior designers, architects, furniture retail locations and art galleries in surrounding states. Another option is to create a smaller brochure at a lesser cost, putting the remainder of the money into Web marketing or a retail portal for the artisans.

The council also wants to offer workforce development for aspiring woodworkers.

“That could mean anything from workshops on how to start your own business, to design workshops for the folks who are producing furniture, to marketing and pricing workshops,” Veilleux said.

Jonathan Spiegel of Roulette, Pa., is an intermediate woodworker who aspires to become a professional. He is extremely appreciative of the artisan development plan. “It’s going to be good for the whole area and bring a lot of industry pertaining to the artisan. I think it’s going to help me reach my goals a lot quicker,” said Spiegel.

Liz Boni runs Appalachian Arts Studios in Ridgeway, Pa. She has a hunch the artisan plan will bring a constant flow of visitors her way.

“We’re here in 22 million acres of woodlands, so if the tourists are provided with information on where they’re going I think they’ll actually come here,” Boni said.

Contact: Penn State Cooperative Extension, 8 Main St., Port Allegany, PA 16743. Tel: 814-642-2295. www. pawilds.com