Frances Goodrich was born in 1856 in Binghamton NY. Trained in art, she came to Buncombe County in 1890 as a teacher. She was among the first to promote a revival of weaving as a cottage industry in the North Carolina mountains, founding Allanstand Cottage Industries to give local crafts people an outlet for their work. In 1908 Goodrich opened a sales showroom in downtown Asheville to take advantage of the tourist trade. In 1931 Frances Goodrich donated the assets of Allanstand to the newly formed Southern Highland Handicraft Guild. Her support helped sustain the fledgling organization, allowing it to profit from the operation of a sales shop.
