Rachel Elise Studio

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Rachel Elise Studio I am a textile artist designing, printing, weaving, and stitching a line of bags in the mountain town of Mars Hill, NC. Visit my studio + store!

Visit my studio + gift shop on Main Street! Hi, I'm Rachel Elise Aughtry, and I am a textile artist in Mars Hill, North Carolina. I started Rachel Elise Studio in 2008 while I was earning my BFA in Fiber Art at the University of North Texas. Combining the skills from my degree with my life-long love of sewing, I started selling a collection of bags at the neighborhood coffee shop. Many stockists later (including a few more coffee shops!), I design, print, weave, and stitch a line of bags and other textile goods that are sold in shops and galleries around the country. We are open 11am-3pm Wednesday-Saturday on charming Main Street in Mars Hill, North Carolina, about a 30 minute drive from Asheville. Our shop carries my line of bags, plus unique gifts and work from other local artists.

10/15/2026

October tips for visitors (and locals!) in Western North Carolina! Happy leafing! 🍁

The shop is open and cheery if you need a lift on this rainy day! Grab a Camden’s Coffee House PumCam 🎃 and come do a li...
10/10/2026

The shop is open and cheery if you need a lift on this rainy day! Grab a Camden’s Coffee House PumCam 🎃 and come do a lil shoppin’. Open ‘til 3pm!

With every Barn Quilt bag or banner y’all buy, I get to make a donation supporting sustainability in our Appalachian com...
10/09/2026

With every Barn Quilt bag or banner y’all buy, I get to make a donation supporting sustainability in our Appalachian communities. This morning, this latest batch of donations were paired with our in-store fundraising jar to give over $500 to Bailey Mountain Preserve. This sweet nature preserve, nestled just over a mile from Mars Hill’s Main Street, features a historical park, ADA-compliant nature paths, picnic pavilions, and miles of hiking trails. Our town and many local heroes, namely Ryan Bell and Laura Boggess, have worked for years to preserve this beautiful land and its ecosystem for generations to come. While the town-side of the mountain is now protected, efforts are being made to expand the preserve’s footprint, giving space to the flora and fauna that call our mountain home.

You can make your own donation and learn more Bailey Mountain Preserve. Photos taken last fall, so wait a couple more weeks for it to look like this. Wink😉 Bags and banners available at rachelelise.com.

It’s maybe gonna be a perfect lil fall day in Mars Hill? The forecast is looking more promising and it’s Lunsford Mounta...
10/03/2026

It’s maybe gonna be a perfect lil fall day in Mars Hill? The forecast is looking more promising and it’s Lunsford Mountain Music Day! Music and art until 4pm! Some activities are outdoors across from the shop, and some music performances are indoors at Moore Auditorium (same building as Weizenblatt Gallery— walking distance from the shop!)

Okay gang. Literally everything except the annual Christmas Parade is happening in Mars Hill this weekend. 😹It’s First F...
10/01/2026

Okay gang. Literally everything except the annual Christmas Parade is happening in Mars Hill this weekend. 😹It’s First Friday! It’s Mars Hill University Homecoming! It’s the Lunsford Mountain Music Festival! It’s the Madison Heritage Arts Festival!

The rain may hamper one, some, or all of the fun, but I’ll be in the studio weaving and happy to chat with you if the mountain/raincloud Plinko gods smile upon us all. 🙏🏼

I’ll post details about each of these events in my stories so you can get info direct from the source. I’ll be open 11-8 on Friday for normal shop hours + Mars Hill First Fridays fun, and then 11-??? on Saturday. The shop normally closes at 3 on Saturday, but I’ll stick around if folks are out and about for the festivals.

See y’all on the Hill! ⛰️🍁💕✨

So honored for my latest woven collection to be featured in the October issue of The Laurel of Asheville! This sweet min...
10/01/2026

So honored for my latest woven collection to be featured in the October issue of The Laurel of Asheville! This sweet mini collection is available online and at the studio. If you swing by the studio, pick up a free copy of the Laurel to learn about all the great local art happenings this season. 🍁

I went back and looked at my post-Helene photos and found so much hope in those darkest days two years ago. Here’s a lit...
09/29/2026

I went back and looked at my post-Helene photos and found so much hope in those darkest days two years ago. Here’s a little bit of the joy, community, and connection we found in the early days.

These gals drove all the way from Colorado to gift Shirley Noland Chambliss this loom after she lost her entire weaving studio in Marshall. Many thanks to Local Cloth for making this possible!

Sweet Mars Hill never lost clean water and we shared it with anyone we could. Our fire department contributed over a million gallons to neighboring communities.

A sweet stranger sharing a list of open pharmacies.

Smiling faces in the muck of Hot Springs, including my friend Susan Stigall and my hubs Bo Aughtry.

The Joy Banner! This little community project hung on the shop window in the early days and still hangs in the shop to this day. 🙂 Plus, a supply swap and a puzzle/dvd exchange (and this point, Mars Hill had power but no internet, so physical media/entertainment was a huge comfort!)

My friends Phil and Susan Stigall rescuing bees that needed to be rehomed from hard-hit Barnardsville.

Flowers from a community member’s garden. 💕

If you know Marshall, no explanation needed. 😹

This batch of Kantha finally arriving from Bangladesh. It was delayed leaving Bangladesh because of the flood there, and then delayed arriving to me… because of our flood here.

The note I scratched to myself when Abacus Corvus Artwork called me to tell me Marshall Handmade Market had maybe found a location for our annual market. We love you Odonata Farm 💕

A big batch of bags heading to the post office after y’all overwhelmed me with orders in the early days, every one of you insisting to just ship it when I was ready and able.

Vintage Charlotte offered me and many other WNC artists free booths at their October event, knowing how important it would be to keep our art economy going. Thanks to Christi for taking this photo and offering me so much joy that day!

Visiting Bailey Mountain Preserve as soon as it felt safe and realizing it was largely unscathed.

The last two years have been full of moments like these. And while it’s important to properly grieve what we all lost—- a process that will follow us

Fat stack of Weekdayers heading to our neighbors Bryson City Outdoors! We love working with local shops! 🤗
09/25/2026

Fat stack of Weekdayers heading to our neighbors Bryson City Outdoors! We love working with local shops! 🤗

09/25/2026

🚨 COZY SEASON 🚨
It’s finally cooling off and the sweatshirt rack is here 4 u. We’ve got lots of cozy cuties, including soft hoodies benefiting Marshall Relief Alliance and Solstice Handmade sweatshirts benefiting your vibe. 🤠 See y’all at the shop! ✌🏼

Address

10 N Main Street
Mars Hill, NC
28754

Opening Hours

Wednesday 11am - 3pm
Thursday 11am - 3pm
Friday 11am - 3pm
Saturday 11am - 3pm

Website

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