New Thomasville retailer features American artisans
Blythe Leonard recently opened BL Maker’s Market in downtown Thomasville in a renovated historic building that dates back to 1898. The store carries products made in America from about 100 artisans.
{Vikki Broughton Hodges/Davidson Local}
THOMASVILLE |“Made in the USA ” is not simply a marketing slogan for Blythe Leonard. It’s part of her family’s heritage and a way of life she wants to help preserve in a new retail store in Thomasville called BL Maker’s Market.
Back in October 2020, Leonard bought and began extensive renovations on a historic building in downtown Thomasville that now houses a two-story retail store to display the works of more than 100 American artisans. Built in 1898, the building once housed the office for Lambeth Furniture and later Thomasville Furniture Industries. With the help of about 60 workers and volunteers who did the renovations, the store had a grand opening May 29.
Hand-stitched dresses as well as knitted and crocheted items are among the goods in the children’s collection. {Vikki Broughton Hodges/Davidson Local}
The market is only a couple of blocks away from her first business, Blythe Leonard LLC, which just celebrated six years in business as a handcrafted maker of luxury leather goods. She has a retail shop at her facility at 606 Davidson St. and also sells to several stores in the Piedmont Triad area.
“I grew up in American manufacturing so I strongly believe in ‘Made in America,’” said the young entrepreneur, whose great-grandfather founded several mills in Thomasville back in the 1940s and 1950s. Hill Spinning Mill is now one of only two cotton spinning mills left in America.
In fact, the cotton from that mill is used in a line of private-label towels made in Georgia that she carries in the store. The cotton is also used in a line of T-shirts designed by an artist.
“We’re an authenticated Made in the USA store,” she noted, adding that she wouldn’t carry a line of American designed shirts if the blank T-shirt was made in China.
Sauces, jams, jellies, candles, handwoven towels and placements, coffee mugs and cutting boards can be found in the kitchen collection of BL Maker’s Market. {Vikki Broughton Hodges/Davidson Local}
“I saw the effects of supporting ‘Made in China’ back around 2005, when thousands of jobs were lost here,” she said of the shuttering of numerous textile and furniture factories.
“Everything in here is pretty much one of a kind or handmade,” she said as she led a tour of the store, which has a few of her handbags on display but mainly to direct customers to her retail shop.
Of the approximately 100 artisans represented in the store, about half are from North Carolina and several are from Davidson County such as Carolina Nectar Co. in Lexington, Sweet Nanny Goat Soap in Thomasville and Chesebro’s Candy in Thomasville.
The smaller handcrafted items in the store include jewelry, greeting cards and keychains. A garden room features hand-forged garden tools from Oregon, birdhouses, plants and candles in small terra cotta garden pots scented with citronella, honeysuckle and various herbs. The children’s room has clothing ranging from onesies to size 5, including hand-stitched dresses. Original artwork and several types of pottery are displayed throughout the store.
A kitchen area displays cutting boards from West End, handwoven kitchen towels from Maine and a variety of specialty foods such as jams and jellies from West Jefferson as well a dozen Savannah Sauce Co. items. There’s also a pet section with homemade dog treats made in Gibsonville.
Leonard said she found out about many of the artisans from an annual “maker’s market” she held at her leather goods facility. She found out about others where she has lived and traveled. The Thomasville native graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2015 with a bachelor of fine arts degree in fashion and accessory design. She discovered the sauce company and artists from nearby Tybee Island while in school.
“Every place I visit I find local artists,” she said. “I want to find companies with my same passion for what they do and for their community.”
In addition to her passion for her leather craft, Leonard also is excited to renovate historic buildings and is an advocate for downtown revitalization in the Chair City. The store has a display of old photographs as well as artifacts found during the renovation.
To help raise funds to renovate the building at 12 E. Guilford St., just off of Main Street, Leonard solicited donations, sold products on Facebook Live, held raffles and silent auctions and sold T-shirts emblazoned with “Running on Faith and Passion” to sum up the fundraising campaign.
“I raised about 40 percent of what the renovation cost,” she said, noting the community support was amazing.
A member of the boards of directors of the Thomasville Area Chamber of Commerce and Novant Health Thomasville Medical Center, Leonard said she believes in giving back to the community that has supported her.
“Our goal is to inspire other cities to do something similar to this to support their own community,” she noted.
