Connections — And a Few Mysteries
I love making connections, especially historical ones. They serve as a good reminder that the craftsmen, craftswomen, artists, designers and artisans we collect, enjoy and live with did not work in isolated vacuums.
Dick Blacker, a well-known…
Is the Fire Still Burning?
I've known since the beginning of summer that next month I will be speaking at the "Catch the Spark" weekend sponsored by the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms. This two-day event on October 15-16 will serve as the grand finale for the year-long…
Grandfathers and Quarterhorses
My second go-round as a cowboy ended Saturday morning.
My first began as a child when my mother, herself a local horse show queen, perched me atop my grandfather's palomino quarterhorse for a photograph with him. Both were caught looking…
And all the King’s horses….
In 1978, after a brief teaching career and a summer spent running the West Branch Times, I opened Knock On Wood Antique Repair & Restoration in Iowa City. Within a few years I had added a floor refinishing service and had accumulated more…
From The Grove Park Inn to Boston and East Aurora
In 1986, when I began planning the first Arts & Crafts Conference at the Grove Park Inn, there were just a handful of antiques dealers who specialized in Stickley furniture, Roycroft and Heintz metalware, and Grueby, Rookwood and Teco…
About Us
ArtsandCraftsCollector.com is a website dedicated to exploring the works, artisans, historical origins and the contemporary revival of the American Arts & Crafts Movement. The historic movement started as a response to the country’s Industrial Revolution and encouraged simple design paying tribute to the natural world over the intricate design of the Victorian era.