Instagram story viewer> @bcstudentcraft> Posts

Berea College Student Craft

@bcstudentcraft

6.2K

followers

2953

following

The official account of @bereacollege Student Craft
2026 @cooperhewitt National Design Award Winner
#CraftingChange

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Thankful and grateful. 🙏🏻 Special thanks to every single student here at Student Craft. You made this happen. by @bcstudentcraft

76

4

8 months ago

Since the announcement of Berea College Student Craft as the Cooper Hewitt’s National Design Award winner for product design last week, we have been humbled by the number of people visiting our site in search of more information about Berea College and the Craft program. To help our new supporters understand the program more completely, we are sharing the short video above as a primer on the program and our mission. To learn even more, please visit us at bcstudentcraft.com.
#handwork2026

📸 @seandoesfilms
📸 @evelynmedley by @bcstudentcraft

209

6

8 months ago

First year ceramic student Fairooz ’29, is already making a positive impact on the studio, gaining skills on the wheel and brightening the studio with their enthusiasm.

A computer science major, Fairooz is making the most of the full breadth of opportunity that Berea provides all its students.

📸 @acetone.archive by @bcstudentcraft

108

5

10 days ago

111

2

10 days ago

Autumn, who hails from Whitley City, Ky., had this to say about their experience joining the Ceramics crew this fall.

“Starting ceramics with no previous experience before Berea was intimidating at first, but it has taught me to be patient with myself and to appreciate my progress while I learn this new skill.”

Your support of Student Craft creates opportunities that allow students to find joy in their work, and learn to be kind and patient with themselves as they develop new skills. None of this would be possible without you.

📸 Tristan! by @bcstudentcraft

85

4

11 days ago

In today’s post broom shop student co-manager Bre ’28, who leads our student work in the dye room, is pictured preparing handles for our Cobweb Twill. This broom challenges more experienced students with contemporary plaiting techniques and traditional woodworking skills, requiring the use of a draw knife and spoke shave at the shaving horse.

The Cobweb Twill

A broom for all your corners and webs. Elevating a traditional design with contemporary use of plaiting techniques and hand tools. Designed by Cole ’26, and influenced by the dignity of labor, this broom is the story of student skill building. Bound to a spoke-shaved handle harvested from the Berea College Forest.
Maple sapling, broom corn and nylon. 49-57” x 2”

📸 @acetone.archive @100percentacetone by @bcstudentcraft

231

4

17 days ago

Meet Sam ’30, who has been developing the skills necessary to make our Classic Whisk and other hand brooms. These brooms introduce students to the core fundamentals of broom making and act as the foundation for the year’s curriculum.

The Classic Whisk
This broom is where many first-year students learn the fundamentals of broom-making. Both the form and the structure are reminiscent historical forms. Over the centuries the materials used have evolved but the fundamental technology remains virtually unchanged making the creation of this whisk the perfect teaching tool. A sturdy yet elegant sweep that will last a lifetime!
Broom corn and nylon. 13” x 9”

📸 Tristan! by @bcstudentcraft

150

2

19 days ago

Finger Towels for the Ladies. 2026.

I began my Berea Craft Fellowship Research in the Hutchins Library Special Collections digging through papers belonging to former heads of Fireside Weaving: Anna Enberg and Lena Mae Elkin to ground myself in the history of the program. I found samples of the Fireside Finger Towels and sales pamphlets from the early 1900s which included the text featured in these weavings.
•
•
•
#bereacollege #craft #textiles #weaving #art

Finger Towels for the Ladies and A Guest Towel for the Men Folks. 2026.

My towels honor the craftsmanship and design of the Fireside towels but also poke-fun at the gender essentialist tone of the pamphlet as well as “His & Hers” monograms. I question whether the “daintiness” of the Finger Towels would have been sufficient for the “ladies” of the time and if any “men folks” ever actually disapproved enough to request a larger towel? Perhaps what they all desired and deserved was in fact a guest towel of a more equitable size or a wider variety of sizes, regardless of gender.

Scrappy Lil Berea Ducks. 2026.

I then spent time in the Appalachian Teaching Archive with woven objects and the Fireside Stuffed Toys. I fell in love with a small stuffed duck made from a scrap of a Coverlet, not a toy ever put into production but likely the creation of a student gone rogue. The Student Craft of the past seemed rigid and stuck in a cycle of repeating pattern without fully engaging with meaning; whereas the Student Craft I have had the joy to spend time in is a holistic environment where student laborers are human beings and students first and foremost. They create new designs for products while learning from caring and knowledgeable staff. These Lil Scrappy Ducks combine a pattern from a potentially rebellious past and the contemporary materials of Berea Student Craft. taken in Berea College by @bcstudentcraft

114

3

19 days ago

Congratulations to the Berea / Eastern Kentucky recipients of the Craft Catalyst Initiative, our new partnership with Etsy to invest in craft hubs nationwide.

Berea and Eastern Kentucky have a deep and longstanding relationship to Appalachian craft traditions—a place where independent makers, tourism-oriented businesses, Berea College artists, and production enterprises exist side by side, making craft feel woven into local identity and everyday life. Local makers describe a community defined by relationship: apprenticeships, maker-to-maker learning structures, and shared physical spaces that foster connection across a close-knit geography. The region's small scale is both an asset and a limitation—affordability and access to space remain relative advantages, while remoteness can constrain economic growth and access to broader support systems.

Meet the Berea / Eastern Kentucky Partners:

A creative economy anchor for Eastern Kentucky since 1999, the Appalachian Artisan Center (AAC) supports makers through workshops, apprenticeships, artist incubator spaces, and a marketplace supporting 330+ artisan entrepreneurs. Formed through collaboration with partners such as the Hindman Settlement School and supported by staff and a teaching artist network, AAC drives cultural tourism, manufacturing, and recovery-through-craft initiatives.

Berea College Student Craft program was founded in 1893 to preserve craft traditions and promote the artistry and industry of the Appalachian region. Throughout its history, it has provided thousands of students with a robust and tuition-free education in making in addition to fellowship and artist-in-residence programs.

Rooted in the legacy of the Kelly Mehler School of Woodworking and relaunched by Berea College in 2019, the Woodworking School at Pine Croft offers intensive courses ranging from two days to two weeks—furthering a 120-year institutional commitment to craft while offering makers a place to grow their skills, build community, and counterbalance a disposable world through the practice of making.

Swipe to meet the recipients in the Berea / Eastern Kentucky hub.

@aachindman @bcstudentcraft @pinecroftwoodschool by @bcstudentcraft

175

3

3 months ago

Diliara ’26 joined our Craft Outreach team her first year before switching to ceramics in her second year. A computer science major from Nizhnekamsk, Russia, Diliara has already secured a job teaching and running ceramics workshops in Suzda, Russia, after graduation. Congratulations, Diliara!

📸 @acetone.archive
@di.zero.ceramic by @bcstudentcraft

119

5

5 months ago

Bayla ’26 is a studio art major with a focus on both fibers and ceramics, and she has been a powerful creative force in the studio. Last summer Bayla designed and made all the butter dishes for Boone Tavern’s Crafted restaurant and has been a key producer of this year’s Crafted Collection of mugs and bowls. Congratulations, Bayla!

📸 Tristan! by @bcstudentcraft

63

0

5 months ago

Arav ’26 began his time in Student Craft with the woodshop team before joining ceramics. A computer science major, Arav developed a deep love and connection to making and always brought positive energy and excitement with him into the studio. Congratulations, Arav!

📸 @acetone.archive by @bcstudentcraft

110

8

5 months ago