Seminar Schedule Set for National Arts and Crafts Conference at the Grove Park Inn

For 38 years, the historic Grove Park Inn has delighted collectors of all ages inside its walls, where an Arts and Crafts legacy lives and breathes. One event more than any other celebrates the Arts and Crafts aesthetic: the National Arts and Crafts Conference and Shows at the Grove Park Inn, where collectors can buy from the top dealers and artisans in the Arts and Crafts style and learn from scholars and fellow collectors. Over the three-day weekend, the annual conference offers at least six new seminars, exploring the architecture, designs and the fine handcrafted antiques of the Arts and Crafts era that hold such a meaning to collectors.

Kevin Tucker from Atlanta, Georgia’s High Museum of Art presented the first seminar of the weekend during the 2025 National Arts and Crafts Conference and Shows at the Grove Park Inn. Photo courtesy of Ray Stubblebine.

Starting February 20th -22nd, 2026, the 39th National Arts and Crafts Conference and Shows will return to the Heritage Ballroom at the Grove Park Inn offering six seminars and a Saturday Evening feature film presentation. This year’s presentations will cover colony-made furniture, the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, Newcomb College pottery, and a long awaited seminar on Arts and Crafts Metalwork among other topics. The seminars can be seen by purchasing either a conference events pass from Kate Nixon’s office (828-628-1915) or if interested in staying at the Grove Park Inn during the conference, reserving an Arts and Crafts Weekend Package with the Grove Park Inn. For the latter option, please call the Omni reservation line at (800) 438-5800 and press 1 for group reservations.

The following schedule has been set for the February 20th – 22nd, 2026 National Arts and Crafts Conference at the Grove Park Inn.

Conference Director Kate Nixon delivered her remarks at the beginning of the 38th National Arts and Crafts Conference and Shows at the Grove Park Inn. Photo courtesy of Ray Stubblebine.

Friday, February 20th, 2026

All presentations will be shown at the Heritage Ballroom in the Sammons Wing at the Grove Park Inn.

8:00 PM

Opening Remarks

by Conference and Show Director Kate Nixon

As an annual tradition, the director of the show will formally open the conference with brief remarks.

8:10PM – 9:00PM

Craft in Context: Life and Art in the Handcrafted Utopia

by Dr. Thomas Guiler, author of The Handcrafted Utopia: Arts & Crafts Communities in Progressive America

Published October 1st, 2025, The Handcrafted Utopia delves into the Art colonies, made as a response to the trauma of industrialization and led by Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead, Elbert Hubbard, and William Lightfoot Price. The communities of Byrdcliffe, Roycroft, and the Rose Valley Association grew out of a need for intentional community and offered the chance for artists to handcraft and sell their wares while communal living under the message “The Art that is Life.” Under this new colony, artists could create masterpieces, critique industrial capitalism, and flourish in an original workshop space that brought creative power back to working people. Author Thomas Guiler, Director of Museum Affairs at Oneida Community Mansion, will present the masterworks from all three colonies and the stories of the artists who made them in this opening night talk.

*The book will be made available during the book signing schedule in the Books and More show*

9:10PM – 10:00PM

The Evolving Office: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Oak Park Studio

by Lisa Schrenk, author of The Oak Park Studio of Frank Lloyd Wright and Professor of Architectural History at University of Arizona

Between 1898 and 1909, Frank Lloyd Wright’s residential studio in the idyllic Chicago suburb of Oak Park served as a nontraditional work setting as he matured into a leader in his field. Built as an addition to his 1889 shingle-style home, Wright’s studio was a core site for the ideological development of the prairie house, one of the first truly American forms of residential architecture. Schrenk documents the educational atmosphere of Wright’s office in the context of his developing design ideology, revealing three phases as he transitioned from colleague to leader. Architectural historian Lisa D. Schrenk breaks the myth of Wright as the lone genius and reveals new insights into his early career.

*The book will be made available during the book signing schedule in the Books and More show*

Saturday, February 21st, 2026

9:00AM – 10:00 AM

The Surprising Extent of English Influences on American Arts and Crafts Metalwork

by David Marshall — Researcher, Retired Engineer, Collector, and Dealer in the Arts and Crafts Movement

New research and the discovery of archive material highlights the surprising extent to which Gustav Stickley’s early metalwork and indeed other metal shops were influenced by the designs of two English firms, namely Norman and Ernest Spittle and the Faulkner Bronze Company. David Marshall’s talk will shed more light on these two firms and the crucial link to another company, Art Fittings Limited. Tracking the critical period between Stickley’s visit to England in 1903 and the launch of his first metalwork catalogue around 1905, the talk will ultimately explore how Stickley and others achieved the coherent design aesthetic we know today, including many of their most iconic designs.

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Simple Beauty: The Furniture of the Byrdcliffe Arts and Crafts Colony

by Tom Wolf – Professor Emeritus of Art History and Visual Culture at Bard College

One of a number of Arts & Crafts colonies that created masterworks representative of the movement’s designs and philosophies, The Byrdcliffe Arts Colony, an area of 300 wooded acres with 35 unique and picturesque Arts and Crafts buildings on country pathways in Woodstock, New York – is the only intact Arts and Crafts colony left in America – and the oldest one in continuing operation into the new millenium. Byrdcliffe contained a woodshop and created furniture with unforgettable art detailing, now lovingly preserved in museums. Art Historian Tom Wolf will delve into the rare examples of the iconic and vibrant furniture of the Byrdcliffe colony.

8:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Saturday Evening Movie

Herb & Dorothy

Directed by Megumi Sasaki

Herbert and Dorothy Vogel, a postman and a librarian, respectively, have been collecting contemporary art since the 1960s. Herb and Dorothy redefine what it means to be an art collector. An award-winning documentary in six film festivals from 2008, this documentary follows the life of librarian Dorothy and postal worker Herb Vogel as they build an important contemporary art collection in New York City.

General admission paid for by the Arts & Crafts Research Fund.

Sunday, February 22nd, 2026

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM

Exploring The Moss Mystique: The Women and Works of Newcomb College Pottery

by Elyse Gerstenecker, Ph.D., Curator of Decorative Arts for the Telfair Museums of Savannah, GA.

In the Summer of 2025, Savannah’s Telfair Museum held an exhibition focusing on the Newcomb potters’ material and chosen subjects, their relationships to regional identity, and the Pottery’s changing approaches to these subjects over time. Newcomb designers earned a reputation for turning to their local environment for inspiration. This presentation explores how the natural iconic motifs that have marked Newcomb pottery such as waterlilies eventually transformed into muted landscapes of moss-draped oaks and cypresses, and the way these images presented the unforgettable landscapes of the South. Dr. Elyse Gerstenecker presents a vibrant presentation showing this favorite firm of art pottery collectors and the evolution of Newcomb College design.

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Asheville Strong: The Three Mountaineers Company and Asheville’s Arts and Crafts Movement

by Heath Towson, Asheville Historian and Tour Guide, Mountain Motor Tours

In the early 20th century, Asheville, North Carolina was not only the home of the Biltmore Estate, the historic Grove Park Inn and Biltmore Industries – Asheville was where The Three Mountaineers company called home. This largely unknown enterprise united craft colonies, and acted as a distributor. Influenced by Roycroft in their design and product line, they represented craft colonies of weavers in Madison County, potters in West Asheville, potters in the community of Seagrove and Kentucky. Their product line was made up of items from the arts and crafts movement like woodcraft, weaving, pottery, iron work and architectural items. Local historian Heath Towson creates an inspiring presentation on an Asheville unsung hero of the early 20th century, showing their history, a wide Arts & Crafts catalog, and their survival in the handcrafted business post World War II, while Roycroft and Biltmore Industries were out of business.

If you’d like to attend the seminars, please register below:

Staying with the Grove Park Inn with an Arts and Crafts Weekend Package – call the Omni reservation line at (800) 438-5800 and place a deposit (1st night stay). Please note: the package requires a minimum Friday night and Saturday night stay (the 20th and 21st).

Staying off campus – click here to purchase a Conference Events Pass via PayPal OR call the office of Kate Nixon at (828) 628-1915 to pay $175.00 per person for a pass.

For more information on registering for the Conference, click here to visit the Registration page.