Entries - Entry Category: Crafts and Decorative Arts - Starting with M

Korto (pronounced “cut-toe”) Momolu is an independent fashion designer and entrepreneur. Her designs feature bold colors, intricate patterns, and beading, and are inspired by her African roots. Working out of her studio in Little Rock (Pulaski County), Momolu designed the uniforms for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, a line of handbags and jewelry for Dillard’s, and a jewelry line for the Smithsonian Museum stores. The City of Little Rock named November 13 Korto Momolu Day after she placed as first runner-up on the fifth season of the Bravo reality television show Project Runway in 2008. Korto Clarice Momolu was born in Monrovia, Liberia, on February 2, 1975, the second of four children of Mary Momolu and Clarence K. Momolu …

William F. Moran Jr. was the father of both the American Bladesmith movement and the modern forging of Damascus steel. Moran rediscovered the ancient process of making Damascus steel (layered steel) and incorporated this steel into his knives. Named in his honor, the unique Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing was located on the grounds of Historic Washington State Park before relocating to Texarkana, Texas, in 2019. Moran’s legacy added to the historic fabric of Arkansas’s knife heritage and helped preserve the timeless art of knife making. Knives made by Moran are now some of the most valuable in modern handmade custom knives. Bill Moran was born on May 1, 1925, to Margaret Reid Moran and William Francis Moran Sr., who …