“Autumn seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning of the first September was crisp and golden as an apple,” J. K. Rowling once mused. Local fall foliage predictors are echoing the same sentiment.  Due to drier than usual spring and summer seasons, we're anticipating this year’s color to be more spectacular than we've experienced in many years. Your friends at Mast General Store and the Fall Foliage Primer hope to help you get the most out of your leafing tour this year.

We’re proud to introduce our new favorite All-American product! Farm To Feet takes the statement “Made in the USA” seriously. From the Merino wool sheared from US-raised sheep to the packaging that helps tell the story, it's all made right here.

Think fall. Think football season. Think TAILGATE PARTY! Tailgating is among the most time-honored American sporting traditions and a delicious one at that. Folks from Mast General Store have gathered their favorite recipes to share with you. Our selection covers the perfect dishes for early to late games, appetizers, entrees, and desserts, too. Are you hungry yet? We sure are!

Late Summer is a magnificent time of year to enjoy the Blue Ridge Parkway. In fact, you could string together a trip through the mountains, soak in their beauty and rich history, and also find time to meander into your favorite Mast General Store at many stops along the Parkway.

“By ten o'clock, the sidewalk along Vine Street looks like the Fourth of July parade. Mama minds the cash box while Daddy and Mitch go to haul more tomatoes and peppers from the truck. The basket of beans is almost empty, so I fill it up again,” reflects Paul Brett Johnson his children’s book “Farmers' Market.”

Over a century and a half ago, and twenty years before Mast General Store opened our doors in Western North Carolina, a storied American manufacturer was founded in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Two men contributed $150 each to the development of what has become the oldest continuously operated shoe company in the United States. This is the story of Frye boots.

You know the summer is coming to a close when the sunflowers start to droop in the heat of the noonday sun. Checking in with a large field of cheery sunflowers near the Mast Store World Wide Headquarters, it’s clear from the sleepy blooms that summer is ever so slowly fading. Before we get back into the swing of another school year, here are a few of our favorite ways to enjoy the last days of summer.

The summer harvest season is in full swing! And if your garden is like ours, you have enough squash to feed everyone in the community. So, if your garden gives you squash, you make squash everything! 

Hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, Paddywax has been crafting American-made, artisanal, and eco-friendly candles and soaps for nearly 20 years. They’ve dedicated themselves to creating something lovely for every home and their candles and soaps combine innovative scents and creative designs for every gift-giving occasion.

Coveted ingredients. Classic recipes. Crafted with care. These are the hallmarks of the Old World Moravian baking tradition, a celebration of pure and cherished flavors. Since 1930, Salem Baking Company has proudly carried on this tradition, because they believe using only the finest and essential ingredients is still the best way to convey the naturally vivid flavors in everything they bake.

QMT Windchimes originated in the Florida craft show circuit in the early 1980s. Mike Throne camped in the back of his van and traveled to craft shows selling different products, including wind chimes from a local producer. When his source for chimes dried up, Mike began to build his own handmade wind chimes, with an eye toward quality and continually improving his designs.

In the summer of 1984, Maine artist, Roxanne Quimby, was trying to thumb a ride home. Eventually, a bright yellow Datsun pickup truck pulled over, and Roxanne instantly recognized Burt Shavitz, a local fellow whose beard was almost as well-known as his roadside honey stand. Burt and Roxanne hit it off. Before long, Roxanne was making candles with unused wax from Burt's beehives. They made $200 at their first craft fair; within a year, they'd make $20,000. It was a pretty fantastic beginning - but it was just the beginning, all the same.

At the Darn Tough mill, there's a sign that says, “Nobody ever outsourced anything for quality.” The Darn Tough folks share, "When you’re really serious about something you make it yourself. Our socks aren’t produced off shore or out-sourced within the US." And that's not all we love about these socks!

How did Colonel Littleton get started? Here’s the story from the Colonel himself:

I don’t want to say by accident, but it was a little that way.

Ann Clark started out with little more than a pig-shaped Christmas ornament and a dream. After years of painting and creating small gifts for her children to give away, she set up shop in her garage and turned a hobby into a business. Armed with a small amount of start-up cash and unbridled enthusiasm, Ann tackled her first trade show. She set up a booth at the Philadelphia Gift Show featuring six cookie cutter designs and several other hand-made crafts and came home with $3,500 in orders. Ann Clark, the person, became Ann Clark, Ltd., the company.

Let’s take a little trip back in time. It’s 1946. Detroit. Engineers Frank Cotter and G. Howlett Davis hit on something big: they harness the natural insulating powers of air to create a permanently sealed, double-walled tumbler. Finally, a way to keep hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold. This outstanding innovation changed the drinkware industry forever.

Upon his return from the American Civil War, Colonel Ichabod Conk concocted fine grooming products for the discerning gentleman. He used and sold these items in the New Mexico barbershops he ran with his wife.

Back in 1949, a Rochester, New York chemist named Emanuel Goldberg developed the first plastic pipette holder. He, along with three workers, began the Nalge Company in a small building at 625 South Goodman Street. For years, Goldberg and his growing team developed the Nalgene line of state-of-the-art polyethylene laboratory equipment: centrifuge bottles, filter units, storage tanks. Obviously, it wasn’t the kind of stuff you toss into your backpack for a weekend in the woods. But there were rumors floating around … stories about scientists taking the smaller, more convenient bottles out of the lab and using them on hikes and excursions.