Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
HARVEST OF CRAFTS
Silver Dollar City welcomes creators, cowboys
Ronney Williams wasn’t buying it when his wife, Terri, wanted a bracelet made out of spoon handles. He literally wasn’t buying it.
“I knew nothing about silverware,” says Williams, who has a bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in philosophy. “I made the comment, ‘Why would you make jewelry out of something you eat off of?’”
Undeterred, Terri Williams bought some spoons and got out the jigsaw, intending to do it herself.
“If you’re ever used a jigsaw, you know how comical that was,” Williams says of finding his wife hard at work. “Our first bracelet handles were made with chain grips and a baseball bat.”
A teacher, Terri Williams wore her bracelet to school in Lebanon, Mo., and everyone wanted one. Then she participated in a church craft show, then a craft show in Rolla. That was six years ago.
“Next thing you know, we’re doing crafts shows more and more often, and then larger and larger — and now we’re at Silver Dollar City,” Williams says. “It’s really changed our lives.”
On a crisp Saturday in September, Williams was making jewelry out of spoons and forks faster than you could say “pass the potatoes.” Dragonfly Designs is among the 125 crafters selected for the National Harvest & Cowboy Festival, which also includes a new Wild West Show with trick riders, ropers and a world-champion Native American hoop dancer; a Western barn dance; fall foods; and the usual complement of rides and attractions.
It’s more work than Williams could imagine — even when he turned down Silver Dollar City’s first offer four years ago.
Dragonfly Designs was at Apple Butter Makin’ Days in Mount Vernon, Mo., when a scout from the Branson, Mo., theme park approached Williams.
“At that point in time, it was a very intimidating prospect,” he says. “We weren’t sure we had the inventory to support” the one- or two-month commitment.
When the recruiter came back the next year, the Williamses were ready — or at least they thought they were.
“It was a very defining moment,” he says. “It felt like Silver Dollar City was the next level, the bigger league. You’re not playing in the sandlot anymore. That’s the way it feels.
“It’s a real honor to be asked to come here, to be considered worthy. The show is prestigious, and they’re pretty darn picky.”
John Ancona, the Silver Dollar City director of events and entertainment and the only who makes crafter choices, agrees with that assessment.
“We really concentrate on a craft that is unique, whether it’s a skill set or a craft we haven’t had in a while or one we never had,” he says. “The key is being able to demonstrate their craft and sit and talk about their craft — the personality to ensure they
will engage in conversation with our guests. We’ve gone as far west as Nevada to recruit craftsmen and artists and artisans, as far east as North Carolina, we’ve been to Iowa and Kansas and Arkansas and throughout the state of Missouri and into Illinois and Indiana.
“Even when we go to the local festivals, we will see craftsmen doing things that are a bit atypical. We found a guy who carves doors! We love that people are taking old keys, or old doors, old china and repurposing it. We love that message. It’s very green.”
Ancona says the craft doesn’t have to be correct to the 1880s time period in which Silver Dollar City resides, but it does have to be handmade by the artisan — “in some ways, a dying breed,” he says.
“We are very proud to say we’re ‘the home of American craftsmanship. We proudly proclaim that.”
Williams is proud of keeping up with the pace required of weekends that range from 14,000 to 36,000 Silver Dollar City visitors.
“Our skill and techniques have continued to improve,” he says. “If you compare what we made five years ago to what we make today, you’ll see a vast difference. I’m a perfectionist. So everyday I’m thinking ‘how can I make it better?’”