Craft traditions on display
Short videos are spotlighting living craft traditions — blacksmithing, silversmithing and rawhide braiding in rural communities — as active practices, not museum relics, per a March 12 feature Living craft traditions like blacksmithing and silversmithing highlighted. These clips are a good primer for travelers who want hands‑on craft workshops rather than passive gallery visits.
Ruralite ran the feature "Preserving Traditional Western Arts" on March 1, 2026. ruralite.com The story names Eatonville blacksmith Darryl Nelson and mentions Russell Maugans as Timberline Lodge’s second resident blacksmith, while tracing the Northwest Blacksmith Association’s founding to 1979. ruralite.com Ruralite reports that Blacksmith Week typically draws "between 50 and 75 people" for classes and demonstrations, and that a past Western States Blacksmithing Conference once filled Government Camp with roughly 400 smiths. ruralite.com The feature links those local efforts to wider preservation work: the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association runs education, mentorship, a fellowship and scholarship programs for silversmithing and rawhide braiding, and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum has a "Continuing the Tradition" video series focused on rawhide braiding. tcowboyarts.org
