Even the most unobservant visitor to Asheville, North Carolina, would have to notice that it’s a place where crafts are a big deal. It has the Folk Art Center, the Guild Crafts shop, and the Appalachian Craft Center. It has the Blue Spiral 1 gallery, the Grovewood Gallery, and the North Carolina Homespun Museum. On Haywood Road in West Asheville, it has the Asheville BookWorks, a “community resource” for printing and book arts, where you can pay for time on the presses, see an exhibition of zines, or take part in a Japanese bookbinding workshop. And right up the street from that, it has the DryGoods Shop, which isn’t an education center, commercial gallery, repository of craft knowledge, studio space, or community resource. Instead, it’s all of the above – and then some.

Opened in July 2010 by 30-something Leigh Anne Hilbert and her business partner, Jean Potter of Rockpile Bindery, the DryGoods Shop serves as a storefront for Hilbert’s own Overlap line – reconstructed T-shirts and simple halter dresses – and Potter’s beautifully bound journals, as well as the wares of rest of Asheville’s United Craft Front. “We have some other people doing clothes,” Hilbert says. “There is a woman who brings in vintage clothing and shoes. We have people making plush dolls. … We have sweaters. We have jewelry. We have housewares. We have quilts. We have baby stuff and kids’ stuff. It kind of runs the gamut.”

Visitors can also take classes, in everything from sewing to correspondence art. But the most intriguing aspect of the DryGoods Shop is the area it makes available for people to hang out, craft, or read books from the shop’s library. People can come in and use the space for free if they’re not charging money, so knitting groups, stitching groups that just meet as a social, they come and use the space for free,” Hilbert explains. “It’s not just a resale shop, and it’s not just classes. There’s a little bit of this and that goin’ on.” Asheville residents in need of a sturdy Singer can even purchase a membership that allows them to use the store’s sewing machines and supplies – as well as its proprietress’s vast sewing knowledge. “Yeah, people can pay monthly or yearly and use the sewing machines and use the space,” Hilbert says. “And with that membership they get advice and can ask questions when they come in and sew.”

Recently the shop has begun hosting music events, too. Cellist Ben Sollee performed in May, but his playing was just one part of the evening. “We had a lot of people printing postcard-sized block prints based on his album, and then a finished set of those prints went into a limited-release album that just came out,” Hilbert recalls. “And then he played. … We had an awesome crowd here that had a lot of fun learning how to do the block prints plus listening to music.” She credits the success of the event not only to the indie spirit of musicians like Sollee, but also to the craftcentric nature of the DryGoods Shop’s hometown. “Musicians tend to be do-it-yourself people, as well, and like finding people to do artwork for them or making it themselves,” she says. “So it seems to work well – especially in Asheville.”

Over the phone, Hilbert talks about her shop, her past, and her belief that crafting is an “analytic skill.”

Give us a virtual tour of the shop.

The whole space is about 1,400 square feet, so it’s pretty big, and the shelves take up both walls. We took down some shelves but we left most there because they were just beautiful. And there was a big long counter which is still here that was original, that was kind of built with the place. And then everything else we either built or we scrounged. We got a lot of stuff from a salvage/surplus place as far as tables and chairs and things go. There wasn’t a lot of money to do it, so. And it’s just kind of the way I am, anyway. I like working with old stuff and redoing and that kind of thing. … Even if I had a lot of money, it’s how I would have done it.

What was the space before?

Originally it was a dry-goods shop that sold sewing supplies, some clothing, and shoes. That was the majority of what she sold, the previous owner, who built this whole building in the ’40s. She had the store until she was 99! It sat empty for a long time because the family didn’t quite know what to do with it. It’s been slated to be demolished for years, but the highway construction that it would be demolished for was put on hold indefinitely. I think they were just not sure if they wanted to go ahead and rent it out, so it just kind of sat around and remained empty for years. It had stuff in here, but it was never open. And that’s kind of when I saw it, when I moved to Asheville almost three years ago and just started seeing it, and I loved the look of the place.

I have to say, I’m a little in awe. I want a place like this where I live!

It’s definitely the kind of place that could open up anywhere and do well, if you have that community of people who are interested in local and handmade, which, nowadays, there is more interest in that.

So, are you from Asheville?

I’m from the southwestern part of Virginia. It’s the mountains; it’s very rural. That’s where I grew up, but then I lived on the West Coast for about 10 years before I moved back to the Southeast. I was in Portland and then … the Bay Area for the majority of that.

What were you doing out West?

In Portland … I was doing leather work and doing some bookbinding on my own and some art and some sewing. And then in San Francisco, again, I had a lot of different jobs, most of them costume-related. I worked for a couple different places doing sewing for different theater companies. And I worked at UC Berkeley, where I taught some sewing and designed costumes for shows. For the majority of my time I worked for Creativity Explored, a center for [people with] disabilities. It’s a pretty amazing place to work, and a place to be inspired. Just a beautiful studio and full of people making art, making really good art, actually, because it makes them feel better. … And making a career for them where a lot of folks with disabilities never really have a career. They never find where to do that. That’s where I worked the five years before I moved back here to the East Coast.

So did that experience influence you when you thought about creating the DryGoods Shop?

I just didn’t want to have a resale-only space. Even though that’s where our money is coming in, generally. I definitely wanted it to be a place where people felt welcome to just come and sit and read the books that we have and meet other people.

What kinds of classes do you have?

I do a kids’ class every Friday which is a drop-in, pay-for-materials parent-and-child art class, which is really popular. We kind of have a mix of sewing classes. I’ve done some leather classes before. I’ve done a T-shirt-reconstruction class. We’ve had rug-braiding classes, and then we’ve also had some art classes, some more typically fine-art. We have a postcard group that meets, where people can come in and do postcards, collages, or draw – or whatever they want to work on, basically. And bookbinding. Teachers will come in and have an idea for a class, and I kind of work with them to get it in the schedule.

How did Ben Sollee end up playing at the DryGoods Shop?

His tour manager lives in Asheville. She came in here once and we started talking. He wanted to do something called Merch That Matters, where he was buying goods directly from artists compared to just getting T-shirts printed, the normal kind of merchandise that you find at music shows. So he was getting stuff handmade by different local artists and he planned this event here, which was free for anybody who came.

Do you think you’ll have more events like that?

We’re starting to have more music events here and also open up for private rentals. I do bridal parties, baby showers, and birthday parties where they’re basically craft parties, where people can come in with their group and I’ve already got their craft ready for them. So then the group makes whatever it is that they’re working on. We’ve had people make crafts for their wedding, or for the reception, or for the ceremony. They come in and they help the bride make the stuff that she needs and it’s social and fun, and it’s the same thing with baby showers. We’ve had people doing onesies for the mom, and there’s food and socializing. In August we have a thing coming up with a couple of local bands, and they’re kind of wanting to have a craft party, as well, where they have music and a craft table where we teach them different things.

There seems to be a really great do-it-yourself vibe in Asheville.

Yeah, a little bit. People just wanting to know how to get back to knowing how to do things with their hands again. Which for me is kind of really important, and, I feel, like something that’s been totally lost. … Women used to know how to sew, and now hardly anybody does and it’s a really valuable skill. And not only is it really valuable money-wise, but being able to make stuff, it helps you develop a different way of thinking, of seeing things, putting things together – like an analytical skill.

Like a problem-solving skill!

Yeah! You know – taking stuff that’s flat and making it into something that fits around the body. It’s a much more interesting process, and unless you do it, it’s hard to figure out. It’s the same thing with making anything – woodworking, any kind of construction technique. It’s a really big part of my life as far as I really value having the set of skills that I have, which is really varied. That’s the one thing that I wanted to try to offer – a place to try to work on that.

In this the premiere Talk Shop, Joshua Tiktin, artist, musician and co-owner (with his wife Luciana),
of Dekka in Washington, D.C., gives us the goods on his unique art co-op that has become a smash hit gallery and retail destination.

Dekka’s mission is to be a vehicle that designers, artists, and musicians can use in order to connect with their consumers; They provide opportunities such as donated space and time at entertainment events for individuals to showcase their talents and sell their products.  Dekka also provides their artists with donated space at the DEKKA Showroom — a co-op style space where members pay a rent to sell their merchandise.  And to top off this brilliant concept, Joshua is a super nice dude… which means a lot in the fast-paced business world of D.C.  Read on to find out more.

Tell us what Dekka is all about:
DEKKA is a showroom that features over 30 (mostly local) designers and artists. We work together as a team to promote our individual creative businesses.  At the same time, it is in our hearts to stir up positive movements in the cultural landscape in the DC area.

Do you have any sort of background in crafting or the arts?
Yes, a lot! I have written, produced, MC’d, and DJ’d Electronic and Hip Hop music since 89′.  I was also a self employed artist for several years in Miami, after graduating from University of Maryland with an Art degree.

How does your business support independent artists and crafters and/or the handmade community?
We give them the opportunity of having a store in the heart of a hopping shopping district (U Street!),
without the tremendous cost and risk of owning and operating their own store.

Being that DC is typically a conservative (fashion-wise) and expensive (for most of us) city, how have those factors played into your decision to open and run a business here?
We didn’t plan on doing this! We did have the idea in our minds while living in Miami and here, but it happened here because we met a lot of artists and designers who wanted to do it.  DC wanted this! It turns out that this is the best place to do this now.  Since the government is here, the economy is more stable in DC than in other cities.  People still have their jobs, they still have money, and they are still shopping!

How can local crafters get involved with Dekka?
They can send me an email with “DEKKA” in the subject line (please send links and/or pics, etc.).  From there we will go over their work and see if it fits in with what we are doing.  If it does, we will go over all the details and logistics.  After that, it is up to them if they are ready to join with us!

What are the most unusual items for sale in your shop?
With songs like “Evil Chicken” and “The Windshield Wiper Dance”, I would have to say my “JMC” CD’s are definitely out there.  Also, Jon Wye’s belt buckles (Belgian waffles, underwear, etc) are fresh.  The artwork of David Barr and Michelle Fatovic are also truly unique and inspiring.

Any exciting upcoming events or sales going on at Dekka?
Absolutely! Black Friday is going to be awesome (November 28).  We will be open from 9am-9pm, featuring lots of discounts, drinks, food, and music.  It’ll be a blast!  Also, the first Saturday of every month is our Art Open House, and the third Thursday of every month is our Trunk Show.  Keep a heads up for some monthly out of store events coming soon! Don’t forget to visit our website at www.dekkafam.com.

Dekka is located at 1338 U Street NW, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20009.
Check out their artists and latest happenings at dekkafam.com.

If you own a boutique, gallery or other place of business that supports the indie craft community, and want it featured in Talk Shop, email hellocraftinfo@gmail.com with Talk Shop in the subject line.