Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea
Governor Steve Beshear Proclaims December 2008 as "Give a Gift Made in Kentucky" Month

A ceremony proclaiming December 2008 as “Give a Gift Made in Kentucky Month” was held December 1 at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea.
The proclamation was issued by Governor Steve Beshear.

Local gallery owners, craftsmen, tourism staff, and business owners joined Lindy Casebier, deputy secretary of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, Victoria Faoro, executive director of the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, Lori Meadows, executive director of the Kentucky Arts Council, and Terry Fields, chair of the Berea Tourism Commission, to celebrate the Governor’s proclamation making December 2008 the month to purchase and Give a Gift Made in Kentucky – an investment in Kentucky and its talented and creative people.

It was appropriate that this ceremony was held in Berea, the Arts & Crafts Capitol of Kentucky, where you can find a wide variety of craftsmen studios, galleries, shops and the Kentucky Artisan Center, all offering wonderful Kentucky made choices for holiday shopping. In Berea visitors can find Kentucky–made gifts at a wide array of shops including Appalachian Fireside Gallery, Promenade Gallery, Top Drawer Gallery, Log House Gallery, Honeysuckle Vine, The Blue Tail Fly, I Love My Stuff,  The Gallery, Appalachian Arts & Craft Quilt Shop, The Kentucky Artisan Center,  and Gallery 103, or visit working artist studios such as Hosfeld Jewelry, Weavers Bottom, Images of Santa, The Glass Studio, Gastineau Jewelry, Fish Wisdom Beads, Haley-Daniels Woodworking, Mitchell Tolle Studio and Gallery, Warren A. May and the Berea Fudge Shop, to name a few.

State-wide there are many other locations where Kentucky-made artisan works can be purchased.  Some shops and galleries carry exclusively Kentucky-made works such as Completely Kentucky in Frankfort; True Kentucky in Glendale; Kentucky Haus in Newport; Taste of Kentucky in Louisville, Damsel Fly Gallery in Midway; Kentucky’s Best in Owensboro; Kentucky Appalachian Artisan Center in Hindman, and the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea. 

Other places to find Kentucky made items are, among others, Artique, Lexington; Capital Gallery in Frankfort; Ann Tower Gallery, Lexington; and Cross Gate Gallery in Lexington, Cerlan Gallery and Studio and Savane Silver in Lexington; Be Be’s Artisan Market in Paducah; The Cozy Corner in Whitesburg,. In Louisville visit the Kentucky Museum of Art & Craft,  B.Deemer Gallery, Zephyr Gallery, Gallery Janjobe, Lionheart Gallery, Edenside Gallery, Gallery Hertz, and others. Or find unique items at the Museum of the American Quilters Society in Paducah; Rivers Edge Gallery in Erlanger, Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, the Kentucky History Center Museum Store, as well as at many of the gift shops at Kentucky’s State Parks.

The Kentucky Unbridled Spirit Gift Card is another way to purchase Kentucky-made gifts for that hard-to-buy person. Gift cards purchased at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, can be used at other Tourism, Arts & Heritage Cabinet agencies such as the Kentucky Horse Park, the Kentucky Historical Society, and at all Kentucky State Parks. The card can be used for golf, dining or an overnight stay at a state park, admission to the Center for Kentucky History, a visit to the Horse Park, or to purchase works by the over 650 artisans whose works are sold at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea.
 
Unbridled Spirit Gift Cards can be purchased at the Kentucky Artisans Center at Berea, the Kentucky Horse Park, the Kentucky Historical Society and its museum store, at all Kentucky State Parks, or by calling 1-800-255-PARK or by going online at www.unbridledspirit.com  

The Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea is located at 975 Walnut Meadow Road, just off Interstate 75 at exit 77 (Berea). The Center’s exhibits, shopping, and travel information areas are all open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the café from 8 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Admission is free. The Center currently features works by more than 650 artisans from 100 counties across the Commonwealth. For more information call 859-985-5448 or visit the Center’s web site at  www.kentuckyartisancenter.ky.gov

The Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea is an agency in the Kentucky Tourism, Arts & Heritage Cabinet.