Wandering the World for Handmade and More - Stony Point, NC and Environs

I don't know how many of you are familiar with the term Googlewhacking, but it means googling a two word search term that only returns one entry. Not exactly easy to do in this age of hyperinformation. Well, I'm coining a new term - Etsywhacking... which I'm dubbing as putting the name of a location into the shopping local tool and only coming up with one shop! Stony Point, NC is just such a location. Debbi, one of my BESTeam teammates and the "mom" half of OurHomeToYours on Etsy had responded to a post looking for hometowns saying that she loved the idea, but she was the only shop in her home town. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity to show off this lovely shop, I decided that I would do a feature on Stony Point and some of the neighboring locales. So, here I am!

Stony Point technically isn't a village or town - it's a census-designated place according to the Federal Census Bureau. That simply means that the government recognizes that there are people living on this three square mile piece of land, and accepts its given historic name. So it's not a city, not a town, not a village... what else is unusual about Stony Point? Well, for starters, it lies in two different counties - Alexander and Iredell counties in West Central Catawba region of North Carolina.

It's also the original site where a unique gemstone known as hiddenite had been unearthed back in the late 1800s. The first discovery of hiddenite was made in 1879 near Stony Point and specimens of this emerald green gem mineral, peculiar to North Carolina, were sent by Mr. W. E. Hidden to Dr. J. Lawrence Smith of Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Smith determined the mineral was a form of green spodumene, and gave this variety the name hiddenite in honor of the discoverer.

While Stony Point may be a small locale with a small population, there is nothing small about the hearts that bring OurHomeToYours to life. Debbi and her daughter Amanda offer a variety of handcrafted goods including crocheted accessories, lovely jewelry, and home sewn goodies as well as a charming selection of vintage finds and wedding and bridal items.

The vibrant red-violet bracelet with a touch of silver to the left is just one lovely example of the beautiful jewelry designs you'll find in their shop, while this Crocheted Skinny Scarf pictured to the right is perfect for any season of the year. (And it's purple! How can you not love it?)

Since Debbi's hometown is so small, I visited my favorite online atlas and looked for a few towns in the general locale. The shops represented below are from the general area of Stony Point and I'm sure Debbi will approve of their sharing the "hometown" space in this unique edition of Wandering the World for Handmade and More!

Taylorsville, NC is home to BlueRidgeWoodworking, where you'll find the most wonderful furniture as well as home and office decor and accessories, many using reclaimed wood. Eco-friendly and beautifully handcrafted like this Wood Bar Table and Stools. I love it!

I have to believe that fairytales and fantasy are alive in the imagination of children everywhere, but the Blue Ridge mountains sure seem like the perfect place for fairy folk to gather to dance and play their fae games. Perhaps this Set of Wooden Dolls in Rainbow colors from ThisCosyLife in Taylorsville was modeled after the wee mountain folk themselves. Find these and other fun playtime accessories in this great little store! Super Cute!

Hickory, NC is one of Stony Point's neighboring towns - and I ran across a great little bath and body shop called ncfox527 that calls Hickory home. I think this Cranberry Fig soap sounds and looks wonderful, although I have to admit it was hard deciding between that item and and the Rice Flour and Shea soap. Maybe you'll have an easier time picking one out - let me know which one you like!


Belts, Buckles, and Fun - that's what you'll find at Traceybelt...also based out of Hickory, NC. Everyone knows how the perfect belt can make or break a fashion statement, and you'll find plenty of choices to pick from in this shop, along with some other great accessories. I personally like this great upcycled Necktie belt in Rich Paisleys. It'd look amazing with so many fashion ensembles!

I hope you'll take some time to visit OurHomeToYours as well as all of the other shops featured in this article.

If you'd like to see your shop and hometown featured here, please be sure to drop me a note via the "contact me" link at the top of the page. Include a link to your shop(s) as well as the name of your hometown and anything you'd like me to know. If you're the first one to suggest your hometown, you'll be the star of the feature! I'm happy to promote any shop as long as the goods you offer are handmade, vintage, or crafting supplies or services! I'll be posting my upcoming schedule of features on monthly calendars on the "Be Featured" page which can be accessed through the link in the right sidebar.

I'm waiting... tell me about YOUR hometown!

xo,