The News Every Collector Needs
In The News
Two Online Courses This Saturday and A Match in Membership: Doubling Your Impact
by Kate Nixon For any collector who wants to make a significant impact while connecting with the growing Arts and Crafts community and get inspired, we have some good news. August is Membership month at the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms and as a “thank you” to current Members and as an incentive to New Members, a new series of exclusive virtual programs will be offered to Members only on four Saturdays next month in August, including exploring inside our own Bruce Johnson’s workshop, a Q&A with a filmmaker and a virtual trip to an extraordinary farm in Illinois. …
Little Journeys
By Bruce Johnson
Life’s Lessons Learned
A good friend of mine had an unfortunate experience not long ago buying an expensive painting while traveling out of state. Having been in that situation myself more than once, I could empathize with him, as he was faced with the challenge of making a quick decision while under pressure. To complicate matters for us, the price is sometimes so tempting that, in the adrenaline rush to snatch up a bargain before the next person walks in the door, we forget to remind ourselves of a key rule. “That which is too good to be true probably isn’t.” His …
Collector’s Guide
The V-Back Chair Designs of Craftsman Workshops
by Bruce Johnson In 1909, Gustav Stickley wrote of his V-back armchair, “No better example of the Craftsman style can be found than are shown in this chair….” As early as 1981, author and noted authority David Cathers wrote of Stickley’s V-back armchair, “The V-back chair, so named because of the flattened “V” of its toprail, while modest at first glance, is perhaps Stickley’s most nearly perfect chair design. Everything about it is right. Over the years of its production, the chair changed very little. Stickley liked to say, somewhat smugly, that many of his designs could …
Traveler’s Guide
Whether it be a museum with an Arts & Crafts collection, a nearby Prairie School home, a bungalow neighborhood, an Arts & Crafts gallery or a Frederick Law Olmstead park, just being able to add an Arts & Crafts side trip to our journey would add to our enjoyment and our education.
See Traveler’s Guide
How-To Videos
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then how valuable is a video?
Here at ArtsandCraftsCollector.com we have been busy making brief, informative videos to educate and instruct viewers in a variety of aspects of Arts & Crafts collecting.
See How-To Videos
Know Your Shopmarks
We are currently in the process of collecting, organizing, identifying and displaying on this website as many Arts & Crafts shopmarks as possible. And like our Reference Library, we need your help. While we have documented the shopmarks of the major Arts & Crafts firms, we need for you to email us a photograph of any shopmarks you have from lesser known firms, along with a brief description of the piece.
Shopmark Guide
Books Worth Reading
As both a collector and a researcher, I have often wished there was one site where every book ever written on the Arts & Crafts movement was listed. Now that place exists. Together we can compile on this website a list of every book of interest to Arts & Crafts collectors. All you have to do is pull some of the books off your bookshelf (go for the less obvious ones – and check below for duplicate entries) and email me the title, author, publisher and most recent copyright date. I will sort them by category and list them here so that anytime you or anyone else wants to research anything relating to the Arts & Crafts movement, you will start your search here.
Reference Library
