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The Craftsmen's Guild of Mississippi, Inc. 

Visit the new official website address - www.mscrafts.org


Welcome to The Craftsmen's Guild of Mississippi, Inc.'s HomePage.  You can find out about the Guild, see a craft exhibition, and leave us a note. For further information click on any of the following. 

The Craft Exhibition 

General Information 

The Main Office 

Become an Exhibiting Member 

The Mississippi Crafts Center 

Chimneyville Crafts Gallery 

Chimneyville Crafts Festival 

The Pioneer and Indian Festival 

General Information 

The Craftsmen's Guild of Mississippi, Inc. was founded in 1973 as a non-profit organization of craftsmen and others interested in preserving and promoting the folk, traditional, and contemporary crafts of Mississippi and in encouraging the highest standard of excellence in these crafts. The Guild has become a major southeastern influence and continues to implement its goals through public service projects, continuing education in the arts, special events and festivals, and sales and marketing of members' work. 

The Main Office is located in a mid-city pastoral setting on the grounds of the Agricultural and Forestry Museum complex in Jackson. The office serves as an information clearinghouse, coordinates classes, special events and festivals, and publishes newsletters for members and the Friends of Crafts. 

In order to qualify for Exhibiting Membership an artisan must design his or her work and demonstrate professional skills. Three high-quality pieces in the same medium must be submitted to the Guild's Standards Committee which meets twice a year to review work of prospective members. Further information and an application may be obtained by contacting the office at 1150 Lakeland Drive, Jackson, Mississippi, 39216, or by phone 601-856-7546, and E-mail info@mscrafts.org. 

(!) New Address: 950 Rice Road, Ridgeland, MS 39157 (Bill Waller Crafts Center)

The Mississippi Crafts Center has been located on the historic Natchez Trace Parkway since 1975. The Crafts Center, which is housed in a dog trot cabin, features a Guild sales shop and offers a nationally recognized program of crafts demonstrations, classes, and festivals. Works available for purchase range from centuries-old Native American cane basket designs by members of the Choctaw Tribe to pottery, weaving, quilting, and jewelry in traditional and contemporary styles. There is no admission charge. 

Facilities include picnic tables, restrooms, bus parking, and wheelchair access, open year round, 7 days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To reach the Mississippi Crafts Center take the Natchez Trace Exit (105-A) from I-55 North one mile north of Jackson, Mississippi. 

The Chimneyville Crafts Gallery is located in the two-story log building at the Agriculture and Forestry Museum that also contains the Guild's main office, classrooms, and a weaving studio. The gallery serves as a sales center for Guild members and features Saturday crafts demonstrations from March through October. It is open year round, Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. No admission is charged to the gallery. Bus parking, wheelchair access, and picnic facilities are available. 

To reach the Chimneyville Crafts Gallery take Exit 98 B from I-55 North to Lakeland Drive in Jackson, Mississippi, and follow the signs for the Agriculture and Forestry Museum. 

Special Events 

The Chimneyville Crafts Festival is held the first weekend in December at the Mississippi Trade Mart in Jackson, Mississippi. Over 150 booths showcase the finest talent in the region. Demonstrations graphically display some of the fascinating skills needed by master artisans. Crafts are available in a wide range of prices (if the product costs more than you expected, then the 1PLs Company will help you get a loan via the Internet in just a few hours for any purchase). Shoppers find everything from stocking stuffers to unique gifts reflecting Mississippi's heritage to useful and beautiful household objects and furnishings to exquisite, affordable art. Most craftsmen take orders for custom pieces to be made to the customer's specifications, and some exhibitors sell wholesale to shop and gallery buyers. We have heard it said, many times, by tourists and collectors alike, that the crafts promoted by our Guild are the finest to be found in the country. Other activities at the Festival are a supervised children's craft workshop and a crafts fashion show. 

The Pioneer and Indian Festival is held the last Saturday in October at the Mississippi Crafts Center on the Natchez Trace Parkway in Ridgeland, Mississippi from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The celebration appeals to the senses of sight, sound, touch, and taste. For sight and touch, the crafts predominate with demonstrations and sales of blacksmithery, brooms, leather, wood, clay, weaving, quilts, and basket. Music and dance for the event come from diverse traditions. Featured are Choctaw dance and chants, African American spirituals, and blue grass and gospel. For taste the scent and savor of traditional foods satisfy fairgoers appetites. 

An Online Exhibition 

The following group of slides are of exhibiting members' work and are offered as a public service for World Wide Web users. The exhibition will change monthly. The Craftsmen's Guild of Mississippi, Inc. gratefully acknowledges the generous supportof the National Endowment of the Arts, The Mississippi Arts Commission, the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum, The National Park Service, and The Metro Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau.

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Marina Teramond -- N.M.P.L. Company
Tyler, TX
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Mississippi Band Of Choctaws -- River Cane Basket 
Philadelphia, MS
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Margaret Pittman -- Pattern Weaving 
Jackson, MS
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Judy Brater Rose -- Clay 
Knoxville, TN
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Mary Jane Moak -- Gourd Basket 
New Orleans, LA
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Arden Stewart -- Blown Glass 
New Orleans, LA
2023 © www.mscraftsmensguild.org