House of Folk Art

About House of Folk Art

Join Matt Ledbetter, esteemed auctioneer and folk art connoisseur hailing from Gibsonville, North Carolina, as he unveils the rich tapestry of Southern Folk Art. With personal ties to numerous folk artists through his renowned quarterly auctions, Matt brings you on a journey through the intricate history, the profound motivations, and the intimate encounters that shape the world of folk art.

Publisher

Matt Ledbetter

Category

arts · history

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

29 Mar 2024

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

67 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   12 Oct 2026

   Episode 67 | Cursed Objects, Buyers Regret, and Rare Trading Cards

   In this episode of House of Folk Art, Matt and Sully try something new: ten topics, six minutes each. Matt maps out a three-month House of Folk Art road trip from Tennessee to the Outsider Art Fair in New York, shares the story of two paintings that wouldn't stop talking to each other, and makes the case for buying brown furniture while it's cheap. Sully pitches time travel destinations, discusses cursed object collecting, and the two get into seller's regret, the one that got away, and the T206 Honus Wagner. Matt also tells the story of how Kobe Bryant's death pushed him to open Ledbetter Auctions the very next day. The episode wraps with the first ever House of Folk Art card break, chasing Ohtani. Chapters: 00:00:00 | We're Not Talking About Folk Art 00:01:33 | Should We Keep Going? The HOFA Road Trip 00:06:58 | Time Travel: Country Stores, Dave Drake & Black Joe Jackson 00:15:40 | Auctioneer vs. Entrepreneur: Is Gym Equipment Art? 00:20:13 | Cursed Objects: The Paintings That Talked 00:30:05 | What to Do With Brown Furniture 00:36:29 | Going Beast Mode 00:55:09 | The T206 Honus Wagner & the Upside Down Stamp 01:01:06 | Seller's Regret 01:06:28 | Non-Buyer's Regret & the Card Market 01:11:18 | How Kobe Bryant Started Ledbetter Auctions 01:18:17 | Drawing Conclusions 01:21:07 | Our First Card Break 01:26:21 | Wrap Up Where were you when Kobe died? Ever bring home an object and have something strange start happening? Want more card breaks on House of Folk Art? Tell us in the comments. houseoffolkart@gmail.com (919) 410-8002 Leave your name, where you are from, and any information you have about the item, artist, or collection. You might hear from us or see your story featured in a future episode. Follow @houseoffolkart for more folk art stories, artist visits, collection deep dives, and new episodes, and find upcoming auction dates at LedbetterAuctions.com (http://ledbetterauctions.com/).

2. 

   28 Sept 2026

   Episode 66 | Mike Smith Met S.L. Jones: Rare Video, Carvings & Stories

   Matt sits down with collector Mike Smith for a closer look at the work of S.L. Jones, using several carved heads and drawings from Matt’s collection alongside Mike’s firsthand memories of visiting Jones at his home in West Virginia. Mike met S.L. Jones late in his career and was able to spend time with him, photograph him, and document some of those visits on video. Matt and Mike compare early and late carvings, look at the similarities between Jones’ carved faces and drawings, break down the unusual stamped signatures found on some of his heads, and talk about the life-sized figures and carved bluegrass bands he made earlier in his career. Along the way, Mike talks about what it was like traveling around the Southeast in the 1990s to meet folk artists while they were still working. He explains why visiting artists in person added another layer to collecting their work and shares what he remembers from making the trip to see S.L. Jones. The episode ends with something Mike has held onto for decades: video from one of his visits with S.L. Jones. In the footage, Jones talks about carving as a child, drawing in school, retiring from the railroad, and eventually getting into carving in a much bigger way. Chapters 00:00 | Mike Smith Met S.L. Jones 01:26 | S.L. Jones Carved Heads and Signatures 02:50 | Life-Size Carvings, the Band and His Drawings 07:56 | The Problem with Collecting Folk Art 12:37 | Stories from Visiting Folk Artists in the 1990s 20:45 | Photographing Folk Artists 25:25 | Mike’s Visits with S.L. Jones 27:51 | S.L. Jones in Books and Old Photographs 29:47 | Collecting S.L. Jones 33:30 | How Many S.L. Jones Heads Are Out There? 35:01 | Mike’s 1990s Video of S.L. Jones 39:41 | S.L. Jones Crucifixes and Later Work 42:10 | The Carved Band and Comparing His Faces 44:15 | Why S.L. Jones Heads Are Hard to Find 45:19 | House of Folk Art Keeps Going Mike Smith is still active in the folk art world as a collector and dealer through Mike’s at Home Gallery. Follow Mike on Facebook to see more from his collection, available folk art, and pieces he comes across: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelESmith72/ Do you have a folk art collection, unusual antique, old photographs or video of an artist, or something tucked away that deserves a closer look? Reach out and tell us what you have: houseoffolkart@gmail.com (919) 410-8002 Leave your name, where you are from, and any information you have about the item, artist, or collection. You might hear from us or see your story featured in a future episode. Follow @houseoffolkart for more folk art stories, artist visits, collection deep dives, and new episodes, and find upcoming auction dates at LedbetterAuctions.com.

3. 

   14 Sept 2026

   Episode 65 | The Antique Baskets You Should Be Hunting For

   Matt sits down with antique dealer and collector Laura Saville for a deep dive into old baskets, using examples from Matt’s collection and baskets Laura brought with her to answer a deceptively simple question: how do you know a good basket when you see one? The episode starts with the best basket Matt says he has ever seen. They revisit footage from the Ledbetter Auctions sale, talk about the bidder who still regrets letting it go, and use it as the standard for what a truly great Appalachian basket can look and feel like. From there, Matt and Laura work through a table full of Appalachian baskets and explain what they are actually looking at when they pick one up. Age, construction, rim wraps, handles, ribs, tie-offs, patina, materials, shape, condition, repairs, and even the way a basket feels in your hands can all help separate an average basket from a great one. By the end, Matt has gone from showing Laura the baskets he knows best to letting her teach him what to hunt for next. Chapters 00:00 | Laura Saville and the Basket Episode 04:00 | The Best Basket Matt Has Ever Seen 11:03 | How Old Is an Old Appalachian Basket? 14:30 | The $200 Basket Matt Wouldn’t Sell for $10,000 19:14 | Mary Prater and Recognizing a Basket Maker 23:19 | Mary Causby and Baskets to Hunt For 26:01 | Shelton Sisters, Damage and Condition 29:06 | How to Analyze an Antique Basket 36:17 | Cherokee River Cane Baskets 46:39 | Miniature Baskets and “Micro Minis” 57:55 | Painted Baskets 01:06:16 | Laura Picks Her Favorite Baskets 01:15:51 | Laura’s Baskets 01:23:06 | Northwest Coast Baskets and Materials 01:27:27 | The Grandmother Basket Laura is based in North Carolina and maintains a full-time booth at The Antique Marketplace in Greensboro, where you can find antique baskets and other pieces she has collected and sourced. The Antique Marketplace 6428 Burnt Poplar Rd Greensboro, NC 27409 Laura’s main booth is the first booth to the left behind the counter. She also regularly sets up at regional antique shows, including the Tarheel Antiques Festival, Liberty Antique Festival, and Fishersville Antiques Expo. Do you have an old basket, folk art collection, unusual antique, or something tucked away that deserves a closer look? Reach out and tell us what you have: houseoffolkart@gmail.com (919) 410-8002 Leave your name, where you are from, and any information you have about the item, artist, or collection. You might hear from us or see your story featured in a future episode. Follow @houseoffolkart for more folk art stories, artist visits, collection deep dives, and new episodes, and find upcoming auction dates at LedbetterAuctions.com.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

575,769

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.4 / 5

7 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 64 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

81

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

31

Contact House of Folk Art

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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Questions about House of Folk Art