Annie Evelyn is a furni­ture maker living in Bakersville, NC. She has been a resi­dent artist at the Penland School of Craft, the Windgate Resi­dent at multi­ple Univer­si­ties, been awarded the John D.Mineck fellow­ship, and exhib­ited nation­ally and inter­na­tion­ally. Evelyn has been working to create commu­nity through­out her artis­tic prac­tice, mentor­ing teens, teach­ing art and uphol­stery in commu­nity and youth centers, as well as putting on arts-based events across the country. In 2019 she co-founded Craft­ing the Future with a dedi­cated group of artists from Penland School of Craft to address the glaring lack of racial and ethnic diver­sity in the fields of art, craft, and design.

Ellie Richards looks to the tradi­tion of both wood­work­ing and the ready-made to create eclec­tic assem­blage, instal­la­tion, and objects explor­ing inter­sec­tions of labor and leisure. She has trav­eled exten­sively to inves­ti­gate the role play and impro­vi­sa­tion have on the artis­tic process. Her work, both furni­ture and sculp­ture, has been included in exhi­bi­tions at the Mint Museum; Center for Craft, Creativ­ity, and Design; SOFA Chicago; and the Society of Contem­po­rary Craft. Currently, Ellie is a 3‑year Resi­dent Artist at Penland School of Craft.