Note: Since this site was created as a free "New Google Site," its design and implementation have been constrained by the possibilities offered for such sites, yet also inspired by the power of New Google Sites!

Thousands of people in Kentucky produce "CRAFTS," though definitions of that term vary widely.  

As a verb, "crafting" is nearly equivalent to "making."  Yet the historic and connotational meanings of "craft"  go much farther...

While the MAIN craft categories in this site are intended to be as complete as possible, it should be understood that the specific links to individual crafters (or companies, institutions, or organizations) can never be complete and comprehensive — there are simply too many, and entries are not provided if they are not online. 

Thatt is: many crafters lack any online presence at all; that is, they may choose to have no websites or other representative links, particularly in such large categories as BASKETRY, CERAMICS, KNIFE-MAKING, WEAVING, or WOOD CRAFTS. A great many "hobbyist" craft-producers are therefore invisible, remaining well below the level of online scrutiny! 

Inclusion of links in this website to individual crafters, makers, or crafting companies should NOT be taken to
imply any special recommendation or endorsement on the part of this site's developer!  

Moreover: links in this site often become useless, when the makers move their information from a dedicated website to conglomerated sites such as Facebook, Etsy, Shopify; or when the crafters cease to practice their craft entirely, due to death, retirement, declining health, or infirmity. 

History: The Kentucky Crafts Encyclopedia began with an idea propounded by the Kentucky Craft History and Education Association (KCHEA).  

Although KCHEA seems to have abandoned or postponed their own plans for an online Kentucky Craft Encyclopedia, this Kentucky Crafts Encyclopedia strives to be similarly inclusive, embracing:

• • • different types of crafts and cultural processes of learning: 

      • • folk/traditional

        • popular/mass-media

        • elite/classical/academic

    • all types of materials and media 

    • craft makers and supporters; schools for craft education

    • organizations that exhibit, market, or provide services to crafts

    • historical periods; geographic areas of Kentucky

    • tools used in craft production

Because of the broad scope of this project, it will proceed in phases and—it is hoped—will involve resources, writers, and advisers from all parts of Kentucky. This work will be based on current and past scholarship and writings about Kentucky crafts, and will also encourage investigation into areas where research has been scarce.