Annual Arts and Crafts Discussion Topics: What You’ll Chat About at The Grove Park Inn
by Kate Nixon
One annual tradition that Arts & Crafts enthusiasts and collectors from around the country can look forward to is the ability to get together with longtime friends and talk about what they collect. At the National Arts and Crafts Conference at the Grove Park Inn, the Small Group Discussion sessions are offered as a chance for a focused discussion on a given topic. From ceramics to furniture identification to textiles to lighting, there are a number of topics to choose from during the annual weekend event in Asheville. For the 2025 conference, the topics have now been posted in their current order at Arts-CraftsConference.com – favorite sessions for a wide variety of collectors have returned in addition to new subjects by longtime conference attendees and experts in their field.
The 2024 small group discussion session “Spotting Furniture Fakes, Forgeries, and Repairs” with N. Gordon Gray. Photo courtesy of Gordon Gray.
Here are the topics in order:
Friday, February 21st – 11am – Noon
“Art Pottery Collecting 101”
“Spotting Furniture Fakes, Forgeries, and Repairs”
with N. Gordon Gray
“What’s the Best Online Resource for Beginning Collectors?”
with Michael Lehr
“Hats, Shirtwaists and Boots: The Arts & Crafts Style From Head to Toe”
with Dianne Ayres
Saturday, February 22nd – 2:30pm – 3:30pm
“Craftsman Farms for Kids: Making a Children’s Book about Gustav Stickley’s Home in New Jersey”
with Executive Director Vonda Givens and Book Illustrator Anna Szalc
Saturday, February 22nd – 4:30pm – 5:30pm
“Design Theory: Who’s Who in the Era of Arts & Crafts?”
with speaker Marie Frank
“Remuddling, Remodeling, or Restoration?”
with Norman Blankenship
“Collecting the Wooden Lamps of the Arts & Crafts Movement: Part Two”
with Jill Thomas-Clark
“Planning A Color Scheme for your Arts & Crafts Exteriors”
with Karen Hovde
“The Ten (Questionable) Commandments of the Arts & Crafts Movement”
with Andre Chaves
“Building Arts & Crafts Furniture: Where Do I Begin?”
with E. Stewart Crick
Sunday, February 23rd – 12:30 – 1:30pm
“Weathering the Storm: Raising Awareness in Historic Preservation During Natural Disasters”
with Stickley Museum Executive Director Vonda Givens and Jonathan Clancy
“The A and C Philosophy: How Does It Fit Today?”
with Pat Bartinique
“Finding Your Lens: Photography for your Arts & Crafts Space”
with speaker Alex Vertifkoff
“Stickley’s Craftsman Homes—How to Find and Restore Them”
with author Ray Stubblebine
“Landscape Design for Craftsman Homes”
with Arlette Salata