Georgetown non-profit highlights local artists, saves family heirlooms

GEORGETOWN, Texas - Holiday shopping is in full swing as Christmas inches closer. That's good news for Georgetown's downtown businesses, but at one unique store, the spotlight is on local artists.

Handcrafts Unlimited looks like a typical craft store until you get to know the people inside.

"So, we do have some Hanukkah," said Kate Challingsworth, the shop director. "My scarves were sold yesterday."

The store is stocked with everything from quilts to purses, and yes, even crocheted "emotional support chickens." 

"You never know what people will bring in or what they will decide to try," said Challingsworth.

200 local artists sell their items here. All of them are over the age of 50.

"The original concept was to keep people busy and engaged as they became empty nesters and took early retirement, and it's still going 41 years later," said Challingsworth.

But go a little further into the store, and you'll find Bonnie Price.

"We're doing stitch in the ditch to sandwich it all together, and we're just about done with it," said Price.

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She's one of the many quilters here.

"We have about 95 years here of quilters," said Price.

The group of ladies meets every week to work on refurbishing quilts. Many of them are family heirlooms. The quilt they were working on when FOX 7 Austin was there had been in the works for nearly five weeks,

"A lot of the people go ahead get their blocks from their grandma after they pass away or great-grandparents or whatever, and then they have all these blocks and they decide they want to put it together as a quilt," said Price.

Every single stitch is volunteered. No one who quilts or who works up at the front gets any pay for what they do.

"Oh yeah, we just love it when they bring their quilt tops or whatever or quilt and family heirlooms because we love show and tell, we always say show and tell, we love it," said Price.

They're here simply because they love it.

"Working with your hands, it's relaxing, sometimes it's frustrating but it's very satisfying on the creative level," said Challingsworth.

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Customers can't seem to get enough of it either.

"Artisans continue to bring their things in, people continue to shop here, people continue to volunteer here and it supports the local economy on so many levels," said Challingsworth "I think that it speaks well of the community as a whole." 

The store raffles two of their quilts a year.

A little fun fact, the building it's in is almost 120 years old.