Abstract:
Biltmore Estate Industries began in the late nineteenth century with an instructional woodworking class taught by Charlotte Yale and Eleanor Vance, and supported by Edith Vanderbilt. In the early 20th century, Yale and Vance expanded the reach of these classes to teach mountain women how to produce finer wool fabric. Biltmore Estate Industries demonstrated how popular and viable commercial weaving could be for the Asheville area. Following George Vanderbilt’s death, ownership changed hands and the material produced by the women came to be known as Biltmore Homespun. Today, the industry is owned and operated by the Blomberg family who purchased it in the 1950s.