Crafted at Boone Tavern features projects created by Berea College Student Craft
Displayed crafts celebrate the history and future of Berea College
December 10, 2025
BEREA, Ky. - Since the relaunch of the restaurant at The Historic Boone Tavern, visitors have enjoyed much more than a deliciously reimagined menu
They’ve also experienced walls filled with myriad projects from Berea College Student Craft – including ceramic floral wall hangings, a “broom quilt,” hand-crafted instruments, quilts and more.
In late 2024, Student Craft was asked to create a series of items for the Boone Tavern Dining Room as part of a full renovation, which was renamed Crafted at Boone Tavern. Following that request, the curriculum for Student Craft shifted to focus on the project, with students pitching ideas for each available display space in the restaurant.
“Most of us at Student Craft have long believed that Boone Tavern could tell a story that was more authentic to what Berea College is today and who its students are,” said Aaron Beale, associate vice president of Berea College Student Craft. “So, when we were given just the slightest bit of daylight, we ran with it.”
Each of the five areas of Student Craft was considered – outreach, weaving, woodworking, ceramics and broom craft, and students pitched their ideas to the size of each available space.
Ideas were gathered, and students and staff collaboratively chose what they thought would best tell the Berea College story. Once designs were chosen, students and staff worked to craft the 81 unique items created and installed by staff and students.
By Spring of 2026, an additional 132 objects will have been added.
“I’m really proud of all the pieces that are on the walls,” Beale said. “Some of our students are really good about pushing the envelope and trying to create something new, (and) some of our students are very focused on the tradition and heritage of craft. Some of our students are both of those things bundled up into one individual student. This project allows them to display just that – how they are feeling in a given moment.”
More than that, though, Beale says the walls at Crafted now tell the bigger story of Berea College and its history.
“Berea College is special for a whole bunch of reasons,” Beale said. “I think that in the world that we are living in today, Berea is one of the few places that is both very much looking forward to a world that might look very different than the one we’re living in today but also holding firm with pride to history and heritage. And the new dining room at Boone Tavern celebrates both of those things.”
“We have students who lean more strongly in one direction than the other, but so many of our students have both of those things in their hearts,” Beale said. “And this dining room celebrates both of those things at once. And that is unique to life at Berea College.”
In addition to the items displayed in Crafted, students and staff are also in the process of making all new tables for the restaurant, and a new batch of beautiful tables has just been delivered.
Beale hopes the variety of pieces exhibited in Crafted includes something that appeals to everyone, and he encourages visitors – even those just walking by – to walk in to take a look.
“I cannot tell you how proud our students are,” Beale said. “I thought our students would think it was pretty cool, but I was blown away at how important it was to them to put their work on the walls of the space. Boone Tavern is a special place in their mind, and it looms very large in their imagination. It will make our students’ day to know that someone took the time to come see the work they created.”
Beale said he dreams the project will be revisited every two to three years to showcase new students’ designs, ideas and creativity.
A complete list of Student Craft items currently on display – including detailed information about the item and the student and/or staff member who created it – can be found at https://bcstudentcraft.com/crafted-at-boone-tavern/#gallery.