Co-owner and operator of Oaks Gallery; handweaver and handweaving instructor, has been a retail merchant in Dillsboro for 33 years.

Education: BS in Related Arts, Crafts & Interior Design from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Family: Married for 32 years to Bob Leveille; have a family of two dogs and a cat

We Asked:
1: How did you become interested in your profession and what brought you to your current job?
2: What do you like most about your job?
3: What do you like least about your job?
4: What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
5: What is your favorite leisure time activity?
6: What is the last book you’ve read/movie you’ve seen/music you’ve heard that inspired you?
7: Tell us about a person or organization in Jackson County whose work you admire?
8: What keeps you living in Jackson County?
9: Where is your favorite place in Jackson County?
10: What is your hope for the future of Jackson County?

1: I was blessed to be born into a family of craftspeople. My father was a physician but he had learned to make hand hammered pewter at Penland School of Crafts and it was his sole livelihood throughout college and medical school. Not wanting his pewter business to die when he started his medical practice, he trained two brothers in this community to carry on the work. They did this in the basement of our home until 1957 when my parents started Riverwood Shops in Dillsboro. I was surrounded by beautiful handmade objects and their makers all my life — I was introduced to pottery, iron, braided rug, broom making, woodcarving, etc. through my parent’s involvement with the Southern Highlands Craft Guild and the my great aunt Lucy Morgan started Penland School of Crafts. I married Bob and together we opened The Cheddar Box in Dillsboro and developed it into a very successful cheese and gourmet foods business. Missing the wonderful sandwiches we had enjoyed at a deli in college, we started selling similar sandwiches on a to-go basis at The Cheddar Box. By 1977 the sandwich business needed more space, and Bob started The Well House. The same year Bob started The Well House I opened Riverwood Handweaving. In June of 1988 I closed the weaving shop and we opened Oaks Gallery where we feature the work of more than 100 area artists and craftspeople.

2: One of the best things about my job is that all day, everyday, beautiful handmade objects surround me. The other thing I like is the people that I come in contact with. The craftspeople are creative, talented, passionate and fun individuals. Many of them share my concerns about our stewardship of this planet and its resources. And so many of the customers that come into the shop are a joy to visit with. They bring into my world stories about their world, and I enjoy that very much. Over the years I have developed many good friendships with some of these people.

3: What I like least is the hours. Owning your own business takes so much more than 40 hours a week. That part was easier when I was in my 20’s. And the concerns and worries go home with you 24/7. But if owning your own business is to be your livelihood, you must be a risk taker. It is not for the faint of heart.

4: I do not remember anyone ever verbalizing it, but my parents and many other family members showed me by example that following your passion will bring you a wealth of happiness. And being of service to others will bring you a satisfaction and purpose that you can’t achieve any other way. Those guides have served me well.

5: I don’t have much leisure time, but Bob and I enjoy taking walks with our dogs. And sometimes I get to weave something just for the pure pleasure of weaving. And I enjoy any little bit of time that I have to spend with nieces and nephews, and now — great nieces and nephews.

6: Nothing much that is new, as I stay so busy. But I continue to return to music from the ‘60’s — Bob Dylan and others who make you THINK. The same with movies — “To Kill a Mockingbird” comes to mind.

7: I greatly admire the work of all the people involved with Jackson County’s Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF). They give so much time to the animals they rescue, but more importantly they give so much caring. The more contact I have with this group, the more my admiration grows.

8: The beauty of the place has got to be the most important to me. The mountains, the flora and fauna, rivers and waterfalls, change of seasons — it is all so beautiful. I also am glad that Jackson County is rural and not urban and I want it to remain that way. And I have many good friends here that I can’t imagine being without.

9: I think the hill where I live is my favorite place. It is a stone’s throw from where I grew up and has the same gorgeous view of Doubletop Mountain to the east. My parents both cherished that view. My husband and I both enjoy watching the clouds and the sunlight change moment to moment as we look out our windows toward Doubletop.

10: I know that change is a constant and that Jackson County is and will continue to change. My hope is that wisdom can prevail in our government and in the will of the people so that there is a plan for change and that the plan is evidence of wise stewardship of our land and all its tangible and intangible resources. All the money in the world cannot restore the view we so enjoy of Doubletop Mountain if developers and bulldozers destroy it. We must PLAN if we are to keep the things we so cherish.