Board + Staff

Supporting Member.  Master Welder, Jeweler, and Instructor. 30-year career building race cars with a specialty of aerodynamics and air management. Instructor at Haywood Community College in jewelry fabrication. Teaches micro tig welding as well as workshop on various jewelry techniques. Served on the Membership and Education Committees of Southern Highland Craft Guild. Married to Ruthie Cohen, an Exhibiting Member in Jewelry.

Exhibiting Member in Fiber since 2012. Specializing in wet felt Merino wool accessories, including hats, scarves, mittens. BCA in Theatre, UNC-Charlotte; also studied at Penland and in San Francisco, which included an apprenticeship in fashion patterning skills and business planning classes at the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center. Self-taught in felting employing basic millinery techniques acquired in through costume design studies in college.

Supporting Member. Retired. BB&T Wealth Lending 2015-2019, BB&T Area Executive 2003-2015, First Virginia Bank Commercial Relationship Manager 1979-2003. Serves on several boards from diverse organizations including Harford Day School, Home Partnership Foundation, The Lawdew Topiary Gardens, and UM Upper Chesapeake Health from 2009-2015.

Exhibiting Member in clay since 2018.  Instructor of ceramics at Sawtooth School of Art.  Teaches ceramics to blind and handicapped children at the Little Red Schoolhouse, a program at the Industries for the Blind.  BA Art History with a Minor in Fine Art, University of Delaware, Masters in Teaching, Queens University in Charlotte.  Winston-Salem, NC

Neal Howard, Waynesville, NC. Exhibiting Member in Fiber since 1990. Owner, Neal The Weaver & Henceforth Yarns for more than 30 years. Neal is a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. Her work is exhibited at fine craft venues in the southeastern United States. She also teaches at John C. Campbell Folk School and other regional arts organizations. Neal holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Sociology and Psychology from Guilford College, an Associates Degree in Professional Crafts/Fiber from Haywood Community College, and a Certificate in Theology from the School of Theology, the University of the South.

Exhibiting Member in Glass since 2022. Owner/Artist Screaming Squirrel Glass. Mark spent the majority of his life as a photographer, but in 2005 discovered the art of fused glass. After starting with a small table-top kiln he quickly realized that he was meant to create larger and more complex works.

Supporting Member. Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology and Linguistics Program, USC. Robin has been committed to improving access and opportunity to under-represented populations as she co-authored and directed a summer research program for minority undergraduate students. Her second passion was the power of cross disciplinary interactions in education. She is intrigued by the creative parallels between artistic endeavor and basic scientific research.

Supporting Member.  Artist and Marketing, Public Relations and Communications Executive; Former Chief Marketing Officer, United Way of Forsyth County; Marketing, Story and Communications Strategist, Piedmont Advantage Credit Union ; Director of Marketing, Greensboro College, Marketing Manager, Wake Forest University, Owner- FRESH Productions and Marketing, BA, UNC Chapel Hill; MLA, UNC Greensboro; additional studies: Masters Studies, UNC-G; Fine Arts Studies, St. Andrews University; British Standards Institutions Certified Auditor, Southern Polytechnic University.

Exhibiting Member in Wood since 1996. Owner, Furniture by Design since 1996. Previously served on Piedmont Craftsmen’s Board of Directors in late 90s and early 2000s. Served as Chair and Co-Chair of the Standards Committee. Exhibiting Member of Southern Highlands Craft Guild. Manager, Great Outdoor Provision Company for twenty-two years. BS in Business Management/Administration, BS in Industrial Engineering and a Masters in Industrial Design all from NC State University.

Gallery Director since 2010.  BS in Journalism, Emerson College, Boston MA; Apria Healthcare Customer Service Specialist 2008-2010; United Healthcare Customer Care Professional 2006-2008; Barnes and Noble, Department Manager 2002-2006.  Long time Piedmont Craftsmen Volunteer assisting with audience development, Young Collectors, Fair, and Shop before joining our staff.

Sonja Broome has been with Piedmont Craftsmen since 2015.  She worked professionally in another field until she retired when her love of shopping and jewelry started her on a path to working in the Gallery.

E-Commerce Specialist since 2021.  Practicing artist in all media with specialty in metalsmithing and jewelry. Owner and artist behind Ravena Metalworks. Metals Instructor for Sawtooth School for Visual Art. BFA in Metalsmithing, RU, Radford, VA; MFA in Metal Design, ECU, Greenville, NC. Originally from Floyd, Virginia and currently resides in Winston-Salem, NC. Love for all things art, nature, books, and birds.

Piedmont Craftsmen Operations since 2017.  Bachelor of Fine Arts, Sculpture, Indiana University South Bend, South Bend, IN; Instructor, Sawtooth School for Visual Art, 2017 – present; Part-time Assistant, The New Winston Museum, 2016 – 2017; Visitor Services Specialist, Reynolda House Museum of American Art, 2014 – 2017; Freelance Artist Assistant since 2008.

David Wiinikka-Lydon joined the Gallery and Ecommerce staff in 2021.  He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Maryland Institute College of Art.  His background includes extensive customer service experience, graphic design and Freelance Digital services.