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North Carolina business owner crafts a new path after Helene

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North Carolina business owner crafts a new path after Helene


YANCEY CO, N.C. — A small business owner in Yancey County is trying to bounce back during her busiest season after losing her shop and inventory during Helene. 


What You Need To Know

  • Christy Edwards lost her shop and inventory during Helene
  • The owner of Christy’s Crafts is trying to bounce back, preparing for three upcoming holiday markets
  • The Vintage Market of Asheville Metro takes place from Nov. 22-24 and part of the proceeds benefit the River Arts District in Asheville
  • Edwards is hosting two Christmas craft shows in Burnsville


Christy Edwards is the owner of Christy’s Crafts and had a shop for 17 years across the Cane River in the Pensacola community. It held all her inventory and great memories.

“I talked to my customers on the front porch a lot. Waved at a lot of friends and neighbors, and I’m going to miss it terribly,” Edwards said. 

The retired art teacher recalls the day of the storm, seeing the floodwaters surround the building before wiping it out in the blink of an eye. 

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“I turned and I looked, and my shop was gone. I didn’t see it because we had water in the basement,” Edwards said. 

The shop, which was on her property, was on lower ground than her house. 

“The river came across over here. That little creek was flowing out all of this gravel so it was like a churning mess,” Edwards said. 

Now, only a meter box stands where the building used to be. 

“It’s like losing a piece of my heart. This is what I did every day of my life, come here and meet people and create,” Edwards said.

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She said she lost $100,000 altogether and the location where she hosted her Christmas Open House. 

“This was helping me pay for my daughter’s college. This was helping me just to live. Things are so much more expensive now,” Edwards said. 

Mid-November she was working around the clock to make up for lost inventory as she prepared for three holiday markets, including Vintage Market Days of Asheville Metro. 

The event, which will take place Nov. 22-24 is expected to bring 130 vendors to the WNC Agricultural Center. Organizers say half of them are from the region and part of the proceeds will benefit the River Arts District in Asheville. 

Edwards is also moving forward with hosting two Christmas craft shows with local vendors at the Burnsville Town Center. The Holly Jolly Market will be on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. Then, on Dec. 7, she will host the Christmas Ornament Craft Show. 

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“It’s very important to have this and to keep things going, being normal again,” Edwards said.

She’s not sure if she’ll rebuild her shop again because she worries she could lose it again.



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North Carolina

Art exhibit in Atlanta aids North Carolina artists hit by Hurricane Helene

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Art exhibit in Atlanta aids North Carolina artists hit by Hurricane Helene


Nearly three months after Hurricane Helene barreled through the southeast, a North Carolina-based non-profit has opened an art exhibit in Atlanta to try and help struggling artists recover.

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Asheville’s Historic River Arts District was reduced to ruins after Helene came through in September and destroyed 80 percent of the artist’s studio space.

“Art is very important to Asheville and kind of always has been…this was definitely a wonderful gift,” RADA Foundation Executive Director Kim Hundertmark told FOX 5.

That gift to Asheville artists came in the form of exposure at Atlanta’s Ponce City Market.

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“Ponce City Market donated this space…we don’t really have a lot of gallery space or studio space in the River Arts (District) right now,” she explained.

Hundertmark is one of the dozens of artists whose studio spaces were damaged by the hurricane that claimed hundreds of lives and left widespread devastation.

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“The River Arts District started as an inexpensive place for artists to find studio space,” she said. “We all had to move out…I was in the second floor…and had about a foot and a half of water in my studio.”

Hundertmark says even in the cold of this winter season, the response from Metro Atlanta residents has been warm.

“We’ve sold about $20,000 worth of art in the last four weeks,” she told FOX 5.

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She says that support means everything to the 40 artists featured.

“It means they pay their rent for the next month or two…it means that they’re able to buy supplies that they lost in the flood,” Hundertmark said.

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The River Arts District pop-up exhibit will be open until Sunday, Dec. 29. The exhibit is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Source: This article is based on original reporting by FOX 5’s Joi Dukes.

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Vince Marrow turns down offer to join Bill Belichick at North Carolina

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Vince Marrow turns down offer to join Bill Belichick at North Carolina


The Kentucky Wildcats will keep Vince Marrow in Lexington for at least one more season.

According to John Brice of Football Scoop, Marrow has decided to remain with Kentucky. He was recently offered a spot on Bill Belichick’s first staff as head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels.

“Sources with direct knowledge tell FootballScoop that Marrow intends to remain on Mark Stoops’s Kentucky staff,” Brice wrote.

So, for what feels like the hundredth time, Kentucky’s recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach has turned down offers from another school to remain on Mark Stoops’ staff, where he’s been ever since Stoops was first hired as the program’s head coach in November of 2012.

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It’s no secret that Marrow has been Kentucky’s most important assistant coach in terms of recruiting for the duration of the Stoops era. That’s led to him receiving frequent interest from other programs, including Michigan, Michigan State, Louisville, and even head-coaching interest from Youngstown State and Southern Miss.

That interest has helped Marrow receive numerous extensions and subsequent pay raises while in Lexington. He’s now one of the highest-paid assistants in college football at $1.3 million per season.

Now, Marrow will look to help this program rebound from its most disappointing season in the Stoops era.



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2024 photo galleries: Businesses hit hard by Helene in Western North Carolina

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2024 photo galleries: Businesses hit hard by Helene in Western North Carolina


Businesses in Western North Carolina took a hit after Helene hit on Sept. 27, causing unemployment to skyrocket. For example, before Helene, only around 5,000 were unemployed in the Buncombe County, but after the storm over 13,000 people out of work, according to a report from the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

Fraser fir farmers

Christmas Cottage

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Asheville Tea Company

River Arts District

Ellaberry Llama Farm

Corner Kitchen

Zillicoah Beer Co.

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Asheville breweries

US Reps. tour Asheville’s River Arts District



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