CONTACT: MARK LYNN FERGUSON
With hundreds of funky crafts plus stories about the food, music, people, and places that make our mountains special, Woodshed is a fresh destination for folks who love the Appalachians.
Both online and in the brand's Roanoke, Va. shop, Woodshed sells handmade goods and small batch foods created by gifted Appalachian artisans. These range from Stick Candles, which are molded from real sticks, to necklaces made from butterfly wings to stickers with sayings like "Hot Mess" and "Whiskey Makes Me Frisky."
The website also publishes unique stories about Appalachian life. In current features, TikTok sensation Appalachian Forager cooks up preserved mushroom pasta, North Carolina writer Lauren Stepp unpacks stereotypes about single-wide trailers, and Woodshed's founder Mark Lynn Ferguson solves a family mystery when he visits Wytheville, Va.
"This all started with my blog," explained Ferguson, who founded The Revivalist: Word from the Appalachian South twelve years ago and later opened the retail store, "I was writing about the region and selling these amazing Appalachian crafts in Roanoke. Now Woodshed brings all this mountain goodness together in one place."
Stories from Ferguson's blog are now housed on the new site, and he said he's thrilled to be publishing work from other writers. "I really want Woodshed to be a home for Appalachia's best artisans and writers."
In downtown Roanoke, Woodshed is part of a larger marketplace called Crafteria. Housed in a midcentury cafeteria building at 16 Church Avenue, SW, it also contains Little Green Hive Coffee and Tea, Saltys Lobster & Co., a women's boutique called Southwest Native, Vintage Vault Records and Pop Collectibles, and Roanoke's only Puerto Rican eatery Delicias Boricuas.
Billed as "Roanoke's raddest marketplace," Crafteria has scooped up awards, and Ferguson said diversity is one reason why. "Where else can you come for Appalachian crafts, and stay for Caribbean food?"
You can shop Woodshed's collection in person, Tuesday-Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 10-4. Online, you can shop or read stories anytime at www.woodshed.life.
Here's something new! Woodshed is all about modern Appalachian life. It has tons of funky, handmade crafts plus stories about the food, music, people, and places that make Appalachia special. www.woodshed.life
Love funky Appalachian crafts? Check out this new website. It sells hundreds of handcrafted goods and small batch foods. Plus it has stories about modern Appalachian life. www.woodshed.life
Plus first dibs on sales, the latest stories, & heaps a'luvin from us.
