Consultant has designs on northwestern N.C.

• Position: ECONOMIC OUTLOOK - Interview

Using federal funds, the Northwest Piedmont Council of Governments and the Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce hired Austin, Texas-based AngelouEconomics to create an economic-development plan for eight counties in northwestern North Carolina. Its purpose is to give the federal government ideas about investing in highways and other infrastructure to attract businesses and create jobs. AngelouEconomics "found a work force whose talents lie in their ability to conceptualize a product and build it," and the plan suggests building an economy centered on design. Amy Holloway is vice president of economic development for AngelouEconomics.

BNC: Why does the plan include Forsyth County but not Guilford County?

Holloway: The region follows the congressional district represented by Rep. Richard Burr, and that doesn't include Guilford County. Because this is a federally funded project, the funds went to the congressional district.

What did you find?

In every county, we found instances of job losses. Around Winston-Salem, we found furniture manufacturers employing several hundred people closing down. As we got farther away from that core, we found smaller manufacturing operations that had closed. And we saw all of the counties struggling internally with how to deal with those job losses. They weren't really working together.

How would the plan work?

As Winston-Salem goes after the biotech field; neighboring counties can, for instance, provide the land needed for medical-equipment suppliers. On the creative side, Winston-Salem is home to numerous graphic-design and animation firms and the North Carolina School of the Arts. As you get farther out, that type of talent translates into more handwork and fine crafts. Overall, the region starts branding itself and becoming known as a region of design.

How does design fit in?

Design stretches across many fields. In biotechnology, a lot of medical research and modeling is done on computers. That is design on the higher end on the scale of economic activity. In the middle you have people who know how to design apparel, fabrics and furniture. On the other end, the actual artistic side of design, you've got graphic artists and fine arts, performing arts and crafts.

Is there a future for it in dying industries?

We don't think industries that mass-produce commodity goods are going to stay in North Carolina, and that includes textiles, furniture and tobacco. We see in textiles and furniture niche businesses emerging that...