Oftentimes a visitor will walk into the Floyd Country Store and their attention will be immediate caught by a lantern, basket, or a birdhouse expertly crafted out of a hard-shell gourd. These pieces can be found all around the Store in the fall and are made by local husband-and-wife duo Jack and Joyce Menefee, otherwise known as The GOURDian Angels.
While Jack and Joyce began crafting gourds together around eight years ago, their story intertwines much earlier—fifty years earlier, in fact. As children, this duo lived across the street from each other in Tacoma Park, Maryland. Later on as teenagers, Jack and Joyce dated for some time but eventually parted ways. It wasn’t until several decades later that they reconnected and moved to Southwest Virginia. They became happily married in 2012.
It was at a festival in Kentucky where they were inspired by all of the crafty, artful things that can be done with gourds. Soon after, they began experimenting with their own designs. They began The GOURDian Angels the same year they got married, sourcing their gourds from a farm in Pennsylvania. It was at Steppin’ Out in Blacksburg, Virginia several years back when Heather Krantz encountered the couple and expressed interest in selling their crafts at the Floyd Country Store.
Featuring just about every color under the sun, the Menefees’ repertoire boasts a plethora of designs and themes, including seasonal designs centered around the holidays (think snowmen and jack-o-lanterns), functional art like birdhouses, baskets, plant containers, and candy dishes, and also purely decorative items.
The Store is proud to sell a variety of these creations. For now, they are only available for sale in the Store, but we’re always happy to work with folks from outside the area, give us a call at 540-745-4563 if there is something you are looking for. As December approaches, we encourage you to come in, take a look, and consider purchasing one or more as holiday gifts for the craft-lovers in your life.
While the Menefees don’t have a website or on-site store and simply work from their home garage, they do wholesale and craft shows.