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. All a member needs to do is RSVP. Further more, all New Memberships will get the opportunity to make double the impact at any membership level.

This weekend will start with the last course of the “Craftsman Utopia” series: a look at the Craftsman Building in New York City in addition to the first of an exclusive Members-only two-part course featuring a rare look into Bruce’s workshop.

 

 

This Saturday, August 1st at 1:00 pm EDT, The Stickley Museum will hold a Zoom course – open to everyone for a small registration fee – called “’A Cheerful, Hospitable Home for Our Friends’: The Craftsman Building in New York City.”⁠ This session explores the final chapter of Stickley’s career–the peak and fall of the Craftsman movement–by examining the many different facets of his business in the Craftsman Building.⁠

Later at 4:00 EDT, The Stickley Museum will also host “Furniture 101: A Visit to Bruce Johnson’s Workshop,” the first of a two-part series with Bruce in his workshop, showing viewers what they need to know in identifying common shopmarks and signatures as well as the different types of cuts and joints found in Arts and Crafts furniture. Planned for both newcomers and “seasoned” Arts and Crafts enthusiasts, Bruce will take on several topics related to Arts and Crafts furniture and leave time for live Questions & Answers at the end.

The Zoom courses that the Stickley Museum offers to the general public started earlier this year as a way to educate and keep operational costs paid, but since has turned into a success in connecting live face-to-face with supporters. “With our doors closed for tours, like most museums, we’re facing uncertainty about the future,” said Executive Director Vonda Givens, “but we’re determined to focus on what we can do, rather than on what we can’t do. Virtual programs make it possible to bring together museum Members all around the country. We are excited to offer opportunities to connect, share information, and even spark inspiration.”

The Stickley Museum Board of Trustees is offering another incentive to those who sign up as New Members – the opportunity to double your impact. When you become a New Member today and RSVP for any Members-Only program, the Trustees will match your membership dollar-for-dollar. All new members at any level – from a $45 Individual Membership to a $600 Sponsor Membership and all the level in between – will be matched.

Each new member becomes part of the museum’s nationwide community. Members get access to exclusive programs, stay informed about all the museum’s activities, receive alerts about the shop flash sales, and more. “We’re excited to offer these all-new Member programs. In putting them together, we asked longtime friends for help, and they all came through in extraordinary ways,” said Givens. “Each program has unprecedented access or a special, one-of-a-kind experience.”

 

Exclusive Virtual Programs for Members
4 Saturdays, August 1, 8, 15 & 22 at 4:00 p.m. EDT

The following virtual programs are FREE to Members with RSVP! Click here to RSVP

Not a Member? Join today and then make your reservations to attend. Click here to become a Member

 

Aug 1 & Aug 8 at 4:00 pm EDT
Furniture 101: A Visit to Bruce Johnson’s Workshop (Part 1 & Part 2)

Take an exclusive virtual visit into the workshop of Bruce Johnson, founder of the National Arts and Crafts Conference at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina and autr of more than 14 books on antiques, woodworking, history, and Arts and Crafts. Planned for both newcomers and “seasoned” Arts and Crafts enthusiasts, Bruce will take on a variety of topics related to Arts and Crafts furniture and leave time for live Q & A at the end.

[RSVP]

Aug 15 at 4:00 pm EDT
A Conversation with Herb Stratford, Director of Gustav Stickley: American Craftsman

Join us for a virtual visit with Herb Stratford. Hear the latest news about Stratford’s documentary Gustav Stickley: American Craftsman and enjoy a first opportunity to see the film’s trailer! We’ll go behind-the-scenes through pictures, video and conversation and discuss Stratford’s travels around the country, including Craftsman Farms, to gather exclusive interviews and footage.

[RSVP]

Aug 22 at 4:00 pm EDT
Virtual Farms Afield: The Harvey Ellis Bungalow at Crab Tree Farm

Enjoy a virtual visit to the extraordinary Harvey Ellis Bungalow at the privately-owned Crab Tree Farm in Lake Bluff, Illinois. Explore this remarkable structure, which was constructed using Ellis’ original designs–published in a December 1903 article in The Craftsman--and its interiors. An early 20th century dairy farm in Lake Bluff, Illinois, Crab Tree Farm’s original farm buildings, which were designed by noted Chicago architect Solon Spencer Beman, have undergone extensive renovation and display collections of furniture and decorative arts from the American and English Arts and Crafts movement, as well as contemporary furniture.

[RSVP]

07/29/20: This article has been updated to show details for the first of The Stickley Museum’s offerings this weekend: a course about the Craftsman Building in New York City on Zoom at 1:00 PM Eastern.