Show & Tell: Arts & Crafts Style

by Bruce Johnson

 

As much as we all lament not being able to see each other face-to-face in the Great Hall, at the seminars, and in the shows at the Omni Grove Park Inn Resort, we have found a few silver linings inside the dark Covid cloud. Typically, you would have left your favorite items in your collection at home when you traveled to Asheville and the GPI, content to merely show pictures on your cell phone of your most recent finds or, perhaps, of a mystery piece you could not yet identify.

Experiencing the virtual 34^th National Arts and Crafts Conference from the safety of your home, however, does mean that you are still surrounded – and comforted — by your Arts and Crafts treasures.

 

 

And that nearly invisible camera lens atop your computer also means that you can share with your Arts and Crafts friends and fellow collectors a full-screen, 360-degree view of your favorite piece, along with details about it and, perhaps, a story of how you came to acquire it for your home.

That is what we will be doing on Sunday afternoon, February 21, at 3:00pm (EST), so have a piece or two ready and we will have some virtual fun. The link will be at our Conference Schedule Page for registered attendees.

 

 

Show Specials

As we mentioned in today’s News story, many of our exhibitors, both antiques dealers and contemporary craftsmen and craftswomen, will be selecting from their inventory a designated and discounted Featured Show Item for you to consider. The discount price, however, will only be available for this week – and only for as long as the piece remains available.

I have also asked our exhibitors to consider having a second selection ready, in the event their Featured Show Item sells right away. So, just as you would do at a live show, take another lap around the room at our virtual Exhibitor Profile Boxes, go to their websites, and check out their special show discounted items today through Sunday, February 21.

Some may be changing daily, so one lap may not be enough to discover another treasure for your home.

 

 

Arts & Crafts House Tours

 

As you know from my earlier columns, the Asheville Preservation Society is offering a 40-minute, high-quality video tour of three impressive Arts and Crafts-influenced homes. These are homes inaccessible via a large bus, so this will be your only chance to view them and their furnishings.

The annual House Tours are a critical fundraiser for our Preservation Society, which is fighting to save 13 early 20^th century homes from a developer’s wrecking ball not far from the Grove Park Inn. Your $25 donation today not only allows you to watch the video between now and mid-March, but it also helps us defray the cost of fighting this powerful developer.

To sign up to watch the video tour at your leisure and to help save these 13 homes, please click on the Preservation Society’s website link:  www.psabc.org.

 

Thanks for your support!

 

Until next week,

 

“The virtual home tour was amazing. Very well-produced and the houses were incredible.” – Conference Attendee

 

Bruce

 

For more information:  www.Arts-CraftsConference.com