Durham Artists Uphold North Carolina’s Rich Furniture Legacy

This story originally published online at UNC Media Hub .

Tucked in a small, sunlit studio in Durham, N.C., Kris Frazier hovers over a slab of wood, the rhythmic sound of her drill cutting through the peaceful silence. The scent of sawdust lingers in the air, and around her, sketched designs and unfinished projects lay scattered in a chaotic gallery of inspiration.

Once celebrated as a “furniture capital of the world,” North Carolina cities drew craftsmen from across the nation to build a legacy of quality artistry. Even as industrialization swept through the United States and factories were moved overseas, the state remains an East Coast hub for a booming furniture market.

Garden & Gun magazine’s “Made in the South” awards honor the best products crafted in the region today, from food and drinks to chairs and rugs. North Carolina artists took home three first-place finishes and 14 runners-up in the past three award shows, revealing not just their individual talents, but the rich cultural tapestry of the state itself.

Durham, a growing city home to countless murals, galleries, and small artist-owned businesses, boasts three recent “Made in the South” awards. Attracting tourists, stimulating business, and bringing residents together, Durham’s arts community is a big part of what makes its neighborhoods thrive.

Each award-winning piece tells a story of past and present, of North Carolina’s colorful history of furniture and textile-making, and how artists in the Bull City are building upon that legacy, redefining what it means to be made in the South.

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In an unassuming corner of his Durham studio sits Elijah Leed’ s award-winning “Warren Cabinet.” Solid dark walnut adorned with bronze mesh, Leed describes the piece as something to tuck objects away without completely hiding them.

A sleek and modern take on a centuries-old design, the Warren Cabinet breathes new life into traditional craftsmanship.

“It’s really a kind of a cabinet of curiosities, where instead of a cabinet where you just throw all your stuff in that you don’t want out and hidden away, the bronze gives you a little bit of the ability to see through,” Leed said. “Something that you treasure personally inside this cabinet, it’s kind of a special place for it.”

Though his first overall finish in the “Made in the South” awards brought more attention to his business, Leed said competitions and trade shows are more about a chance for creativity than recognition. Building basic pieces and filling orders keep the lights on, but he’ll take any chance he gets to transform old ideas.

“It’s typically challenging day-to-day to try to find time or space to make new things or be creative in a way. I’m usually trying to just keep up with what’s coming through the shop,” Leed said. “It’s a rare opportunity to have a hard stop. Is this something new or interesting? We’re doing all this, all this setup, investing all this time into it, let’s go a little bit farther and make something entirely new as well.”

Leed, who studied glass and ceramics at Centre College in Danville, KY., said Durham has a deep appreciation for handcrafted pieces and supporting local artists.

“I don’t really have to differentiate myself or be a competitor to my peers or other people in the area that do the same thing. There’s generally plenty of work for all of us to be doing,” he said. “I know a lot of other folks in the area that make the same kind of handcrafted work and in their own unique way.”

In addition to his own work, Leed teaches glassblowing to students at North Carolina Central University. He values his glassblowing studio, one of few in the region, as an educational resource and a way to mentor members of the community.

Kris Frazier started at Elijah Leed Studio in an apprentice-like role in April 2021. She spent her first year at the studio learning Leed’s style of furniture before taking on a more managerial role and guiding newer woodworkers. For Frazier, crafting furniture is like putting together a puzzle. Figuring her way around pieces keeps work that can get repetitive fun and interesting.

“I never come into work and do the same thing all day,” she said. “Even on boring days, it’s still something that you love doing.”

A childhood visitor of the former World’s Largest Chair in Thomasville, N.C., Frazier, a Thomasville native, was always a “little artist.”

She grew up working furniture markets with her father and grandfather and fell in love with working with her hands in high school woodworking classes. Frazier studied industrial and product design at Appalachian State University, bouncing between studios and foundries in Los Angeles and Walla Walla, WA., before landing back in North Carolina to be closer to her family.

She said Durham supports local first. In many of the bakeries, coffee shops, and restaurants near her workplace you’ll see art from community creatives, and countertops or shelving from studios like Elijah Leed.

“It is quite rare to find that in a larger community like this,” Frazier said. “People who are willing to go out their way to make sure their people are first.”

That’s something unique to the South, Frazier said. There aren’t a lot of places in the U.S. where you can wave at strangers and expect a wave back, or connect with your community in a life-changing way.

“I think it took me moving away to realize there’s something special about it,” she said. “I do love the South. I think there’s a magic to it.”

Surrounded by vibrant fibers in her Pinterest-perfect Durham home, Caroline Cockerham quietly reshapes North Carolina’s textile legacy.

In the 19th century, the state’s textile industry flourished with the establishment of cotton mills and factories, drawing workers from rural areas to burgeoning towns like Greensboro, Gastonia, and Burlington. Producing a wide array of products from durable denim to intricate upholstery fabrics, quality craftsmanship shaped North Carolina’s economy for over a century.

However, the late 20th century brought significant upheaval. Globalization and competition led to a mass exodus of manufacturing jobs, as companies sought cheaper labor overseas. Many historic mills closed their doors and thousands of jobs were lost.

Today, a new generation of artisans and entrepreneurs are pioneering a new, greener way forward.

Taking home Garden & Gun’s first sustainability award in 2022, CICIL Rugs sources wool from small farms and co-ops in New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. The wool is scoured, or cleaned, in South Carolina and carded, spun, braided, and sewn in North Carolina. CICIL offers nontoxic and undyed rugs created with minimal waste.

“One thing that we were really intentional about when building CICIL was to try to get outside of these massive systems that are difficult to make sustainable in any way that you spin it,” Cockerham said.

Cockerham co-founded CICIL in 2021 with Laura Tripp, who she met while working with Patagonia from 2013-2015. Collaborating in a sustainability-informed environment, Cockerham and Tripp wanted to incorporate eco-consciousness into a popular, everyday industry.

Traditional rug-making presents significant sustainability challenges. Material sourcing and production land management can lead to deforestation and habitat loss. Synthetic fibers, often derived from petroleum, are non-biodegradable and contribute to pollution and waste. The industry also has a history of exploitative labor practices, with artisans working in unsafe conditions for low wages.

In 2018, slave labor and false organic claims in foreign supply chains dried up imports for cotton-reliant companies. Wine-fueled conversations about how to simplify and domesticate textile development inspired Cockerham and Tripp to weave a new path.

“Mass production lacks connection,” Tripp said. “We like to know everything going into our product. We want to know its story.”

CICIL experimented with seaweed and hemp textiles, a product they’re still developing, before launching with wool. Working with ethically sourced wool, a durable fiber with antimicrobial properties, allows CICIL to blend conventional rug production with modern sustainability consideration.

“We don’t always need to completely innovate,” Tripp said. “It’s okay to embrace a little bit of tradition while also working on and celebrating new things.”

Cockerham, who grew up in Greensboro and studied textile management at North Carolina State University, said North Carolina is the perfect place for textile innovation. Boasting over 700 fiber material businesses, many in and around Durham, the state fosters collaboration and good working relationships.

“We have the resources and the ability to do it. I think that it just makes a lot of sense to work locally,” Cockerham said. “It puts the person back in the process.”

Tripp, a Bethel, N.C., native, sees basing CICIL in Durham as a chance to come home and honor the state’s textile heritage.

“I like to celebrate the good things about the South,” she said. “The South is my home. I have an emotional connection here, even to the textile industry, that I wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else.”

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