Thank You for an Amazing Giving Tuesday!

This Giving Tuesday, we asked for your support, and you delivered! 134% worth!

With your help we surpassed our goal and can restore and display ALL of the folk art objects that need some extra love. These items include:

• A handmade table and set of chairs, designed and crafted by Chester Cornett. Cornett was the subject of the 1981 Appalshop Film Hand Carved (directed by Herb E. Smith). The table has become warped and needs restored, and the chairs will need to be conserved (professionally cleaned with some repair).
• The "Appalshop Chair" designed and crafted by Chester Cornett during the filming of Hand Carved. The chair is engraved with writing across each rail and was mottled by a Coleman campfire burner the night it was finished. Chester Cornett has made chairs for multiple presidents and even hand-delivered one to Richard Nixon in the Oval Office. After filming Hand Carved, filmmakers Herb E. Smith and Elizabeth Barrett purchased the Appalshop Chair on behalf of the organization. 
• A banjo, owned and autographed by Lily May Ledford. Ledford was in the Coon Creek Girls, one of the first all-female string bands to appear on radio. She also received a National Heritage Award in 1985. She gave her banjo to WMMT's Jim Webb, who later donated it to the Appalshop Archive. This instrument will need to be cleaned and restored to make it playable again, and needs a case for storage. This restoration will be completed by the luthiers at Troublesome Creek Guitars. 
• Two wooden sculptures by Fred Carter. Carter was a longtime resident of Clintwood, Virginia, and known for his "Appalachian Art Brut" wooden sculptures, often with themes exposing the ravages of coal mining on both the miners and their environment. One of the sculptures is a self-portrait, entitled "Prometheus." The other is a portrait he made of Hatfield and McCoy. Both sculptures need to be cleaned and buffed.
• Four quilts that were hanging in the Appalshop building. Although these quilts were not damaged by floodwaters, they were exposed to high humidity levels and need to be professionally cleaned. One quilt was created by the family of Aunt Etta Banks, and donated in her memory. Another was quilted by Gail Crider and Angelyn DeBord. A third was created by the quilters from the Appalshop Film Quilting Women. 

We also want to especially celebrate a couple folks who went above and beyond. Singer/songwriter John McCutcheon (who has recorded with our very own June Appal Recordings) donated enough to cover the entire restoration of the banjo owned and autographed by Lily May Ledford. Thanks to him, the luthiers at Troublesome Creek Guitars will be able to make this beautiful instrument playable again, and we can purchase a better case for safe storage. 

On top of that, Appalshop friend and author Sarah Cornett-Hagen generously ensured that all of Chester Cornett's furniture, from the table and chair set to the special "Appalshop chair," will have all warping and cracking fixed and be professionally cleaned. Check out this video that Shane from our archive staff made showing the carved chair.

Your incredible generosity truly moved us. We will keep you updated throughout the restoration process and will hold a public exhibit at some point in the future. 

While Giving Tuesday might be over for this year, we would still love your continued support.

Please visit appalshop.org/2025 for a message from Executive Director Tiffany Sturdivant!

Thank you!