The Hobby Shop opened in the second floor of the
College Union [Eardahl-Cloyd Union Gallery].
The Hobby Shop offered workshops and
demonstrations in ceramics, woodworking,
metalworking, poster-making, and other crafts.

Carol Johnson named first Director of Arts and Crafts, overseeing The Hobby Shop

The Hobby Shop changes its
name to The Craft Shop.

The Craft Shop moves to its current location in Frank Thompson Gymnasium, greatly expanding its square footage

Conrad Weiser becomes
Director of The Craft Shop

The Craft Shop is renamed The Crafts Center

The Crafts Center moves from a 9-month to 12-month schedule, offering summer session classes for the first time

The Crafts Center expands into the Riddick Rifle Range space, formerly the gym pool and currently the Wood Shop

Memberships are offered for the first time to allow independent practice to improve skills

The first Annual TOTAL CLASSES Crafts Fair is held at the Crafts Center in Thompson Hall, starting a tradition that has lasted 40 years

Director Conrad Weiser
retires and Jim Pressley
begins his tenure as
director of the Crafts Center

The Crafts Center
receives the Raleigh
Medal of Arts award

The Crafts Center moves to a temporary facility for two years while Thompson Hall
undergoes major renovations

Director Jim Pressley retires and George Thomas begins his tenure as director of the Crafts Center

The Crafts Center
officially reopens with
the addition of four new
studios: Fiber, Glass,
Jewelry, and Mixed
Media

The Crafts Center, converts the Assistant Director position to full time status

The Clay Studio
Manager position is
moved to full-time
status

The Wood Studio Manager position is moved to full-time status

Director, George Thomas retires and Carol Fountain Nix begins her tenure as director of the Crafts Center

With a grant secured from The Fox Foundation, the C:LAB is established as a digital maker-space for designing, prototyping, and extending traditional media practices into commercial production

The Crafts Center
closes its doors due
to COVID-19 pandemic
and pivots to a full
slate of online
classes. All staff
members learned to
use new digital
technologies for
remote teaching and
demonstrations

The annual Crafts Fair is held outdoors as a street fair in front of the Crafts Center

After over a year of restrictive programming, the Crafts Center returns to full operations after the pandemic offering more classes and workshops in the Center’s history

The Crafts Center moves to paperless transactions

The Crafts Center
hires a full-time Studio
Technician, bringing
the total staff to six
members.

The Crafts Center
celebrates its
70th Anniversary!