Donor Support Helps Crafts Center Expand Studio Accessibility

NC State’s Crafts Center has a goal of making crafting accessible to everyone. Thanks to generous support from numerous donors throughout the 2024-25 school year, the center has taken a major step towards that reality. 

By installing six new tables, including two that are adjustable in the lapidary studio, the Crafts Center can now accommodate a wider range of needs, allowing everyone to make art comfortably and efficiently. There are also now two new, adjustable tables in the glass studio. 

“It’s super important,” said Katy Walls, manager of the Lapidary Studio. “The general mantra of Arts NC State is ‘the arts are for everyone.’ It’s hard to really live up to that without making our spaces accessible to everybody. So being able to add tables that can support mobility devices in our studios has been really important and impactful for some of our members.” 

“The Crafts Center serves a wide range of people, and having both the opportunity and funding to make our spaces and equipment more accessible is truly a gift,” added Carol Fountain Nix, the Crafts Center’s director. 

The Crafts Center’s addition of new studio tables demonstrates the power of smaller donations adding up throughout the year through concentrated fundraising efforts. 

On NC State’s 2025 Day of Giving, the Crafts Center raised $1,414 from 22 unique gifts, and also raised $1,625 from 10 donors during a fall crowdfunding campaign. 

“I am personally grateful to our donors who made this possible,” Nix said. “My hope is that we can continue building on this momentum — working toward the goal of full accessibility in all of our studios.”

Walls said that some of the Crafts Center’s patrons use mobility devices, and called it empowering to see them use the new adjustable tables. 

“This helps a lot,” Walls said. “And outside of those that have and use devices, there have been people that will raise or lower a table in a workstation just to get a different vantage point. So being able to facilitate those kinds of movements has been helpful as well.” 

An accessible crafting space is not just about physical comfort, it’s about fostering an inclusive environment where every individual, regardless of their physical abilities, can participate fully and creatively.

“Community here is super important, both in the thinking phases of whatever hands-on project you’re working on, and in the support that follows and grows after that,” Walls said. “We have a lot of members interconnecting on their endeavors outside of their Crafts Center work, and I feel like this falls nicely into that category.” 

If you’d like to help the NC State Crafts Center continue to make meaningful upgrades to its creative spaces, consider supporting the Crafts Center with a gift. Your gift will help ensure the Crafts Center studios are accessible and well-equipped for all who use them.