Together we made it happen!

Thanks to your gifts and the gifts of hundreds of generous supporters like you, we met our December goals and were awarded the $7,500 challenge grant!  Overall 2011 annual fund donations totaled $94,000 in support of educational programs, building care and maintenance, and the day-to-day operations of the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms.

 Your 2011 support:

•  Helped protect and preserve a National Historic Landmark;
• Introduced thousands of children to a world of history and culture;
• Gave visitors with limited mobility opportunities new ways to participate;
• Offered emerging scholars an opportunity to present original research;
• Produced original research;
• Developed an all-day symposium;
• Brought visiting scholars;
• Created the Stickley Design Invitational for talented teens;
• Welcomed bus tours from senior centers;
• Piloted an artist’s residency program;
• Sustained a high-quality cultural resource;
• Helped us receive the New Jersey Historical Commission’s 2011 Award of Recognition!

 We couldn’t have done it without you!

 Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

Thank you! Our Challenge Grant Was a Success! is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

All Christmas cards, tree ornaments, and calendars will be 30% off on Saturday December 19 and Sunday December 20. Shopping hours are 11:00 to 4:00. Remember the museum and shop will close for the holidays at 4:00 on Sunday and reopen at 11:00 on Saturday, January 9.

Two Days Only! Save on Holiday Items! is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

Saturday and Sunday, December 5-6  & December 12-13 from 11-4 p.m.

Visitors are invited to stroll through the house and enjoy the candlelight and Christmas decorations at their own pace. The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms will be all decked out for the holidays as Stickley and his family would have decorated it in 1915.  The Christmas tree will sparkle with Bavarian glass ornaments that were the fashion at the time the Log House was built.  Evergreen garlands festoon the staircase and poinsettias, which Stickley described as “the Christmas Flaming Star,” will brighten the three fireplaces.

HOLIDAY CARDS: An exhibition of approximately 40 recently acquired vintage holiday postcards from the period will be on display along with an accompanying text.

LIVE MUSIC: Holiday music from the period completes the open house atmosphere.  On both Saturdays from 1:30 – 3:30 pianist John Baratta will perform authentic period music on the antique piano in the Stickley’s living room.  On both Sundays at 2:00 the Community Theater Performing Arts Company will sing holiday favorites and lead family sing-alongs!

ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN: Daily changing activities will be based on holiday celebrations in the early 1900’s and will include special times for children to make paper chain garlands and string popcorn.  On both Saturdays at 11:30 Children ages 6 -9 are invited to a special Story Hour concluding with a special Christmas-tree craft project.

CRAFTS: A trunk show featuring the high quality work of present day artisans from around the country will be open both weekends for your shopping pleasure.  These crafts include pottery, woodwork, jewelry, papermaking, block prints and more.  The exceptional work reflects the ethics of the Arts and crafts movement.

REFRESHMENTS: Gingerbread cookies and hot cider round out the open house atmosphere.

ALL-INCLUSIVE ADMISSION: Members: $4 Non-members: $8 (Free to children age 2 and under)

Join us for the Holiday Open House is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

Join us for this fascinating lecture by Mary Greensted at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 10 at the Grolier Club. Mary Greensted’s talk will examine the influence of William Morris, father-figure of the Arts and Crafts movement, on the ideas and work of one of the most important British designers of the turn-of-the-century, Ernest Gimson. The direct impact on Gimson’s furniture, metalwork, embroideries, plasterwork and architecture will be discussed.

Our speaker, Mary Greensted, is a curator, lecturer, and writer, who was for many years responsible for Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum’s significant Arts and Crafts collection. A trustee of the Court Barn Museum, Chipping Campden, and the chairperson of the Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen, she is the author of numerous books, including Craft and Design: Ernest Gimson and the Arts and Crafts Movement and The Arts and Crafts Movement in the Cotswolds, along with three catalogues on Cheltenham’s Arts and Crafts collections (as joint author/editor). Her most recent publication was An Anthology of the Arts and Crafts Movement, published by Lund Humphries in 2005. She is currently a recipient of Birmingham University’s Leventis studentship for researching links between Greece and the Arts and Crafts movement.

This lecture is the latest in the ongoing collaboration between the William Morris Society in the United States, the American Friends of Arts and Crafts in Chipping Campden, the Grolier Club, the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms, and the Victorian Society in America.

As always, members of the Stickley Museum and other sponsoring organizations are offered reduced rate tickets. $12 for members; $18 for others. To order send a check to William Morris Society, P.O. Box 53263, Washington, DC 2009 or pay by credit card at www.morrissociety.org. The Grolier Club is located at 47 East 60th Street, New York, NY.

Ernest Gimson and the Inspiration of William Morris is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

December 20 -21, from 11am – 4pm

Still buying presents? Our museum shop will be open this weekend to help you with last minute gift ideas. We have many new gift items, including Christmas ornaments, note cards, calendars, teddy bears, pottery, tiles, books and much, much more. And, as always, you can also shop online.

A Peaceful, Friendly Stop for Last-Minute Holiday Shopping is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

Yesterday’s Star-Ledger had a piece on the cooperation between the Stickley Museum and the township of Parsippany, and the new successes at Craftsman Farms.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008
BY AL FRANK
Star-Ledger Staff

The nonprofit foundation that operates the Craftsman Farms national landmark in Parsippany said its fortunes have improved dramatically in the two years since it came to the township for help.

More visitors than ever are attending more programs focusing on the Arts and Crafts movement and its leading light, Gustav Stickley, said Davey Willans, president of the Craftsman Farms Foundation.

But the enclave off Route 10 “is not just for Arts and Crafts aficionados,” Willans told the township council last night. With nature trails and picnic tables, “it’s a little Eden. It’s a 30-acre park.”

The foundation can focus better on that mission because the increased support of the township — which owns the site — means the largely volunteer group no longer has worries of insolvency, he said.

Read the rest of the article at Historic site’s stewards thank town for its help – NJ.com

Parsippany Township And Stickley Museum's Success is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

Jewelry by Zachary Bloom will be featured in our December trunk show.

Zachary Bloom is a Montclair based designer who specializes in custom, one-of-a-kind handcrafted gemstone jewelry. Bloom’s pieces can be found in the Montclair Art Museum and the Newark Museum, as well as many fine boutiques, galleries and jewelry stores throughout NJ. You can visit Bloom’s website at www.accentsinbloom.com to see a preview of his work.

Zachary Bloom Jewelry is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

Roycroft Renaissance Master Artisan Laura Wilder creates limited edition block prints and screen prints, and limited edition archival quality reproductions of paintings. Wilder carves her own designs by hand into blocks, and prints them using a wooden spoon. Her serigraphs are created by hand-painting a stencil onto a screen for each separate color, and pulling ink through the screen using a squeegee

More of Wilder’s work can be seen at LauraWilder.com.

Don’t forget about the other artists featured in our December trunk show!

Laura Wilder is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

Stewart Crick is another artisan whose works will be featured in our December trunk show.

Stewart Crick has been working with wood most of his life. His passion for wood has evolved from a journey that began in his father’s woodshop, continued through the restoration and remodeling of several homes, and continues today as he builds Arts and Crafts-inspired furniture.

While there are many influences that effect the furniture Stu creates, his passion for the philosophies and styles of the American Arts and Crafts movement and the unique, distinctive character of quarter-sawn white oak dominate his designs. In design, the views and philosophies that spawned an opposition to mass-produced furniture, and advanced a return to the virtuous qualities of the independent craftsman, mirror Stu’s beliefs. Honest lines and simple curves, guided by natural forces, and patient attention to details make up his guiding philosophy. Crick searches for wood with a unique character and figure that harmonizes with each part of his vision.

Keep following our blog to see more of our trunk show’s artists and artwork!

Stewart Crick is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

Works from the Motawi tile studio will be available at our December trunk show!

Motawi Tileworks is co-owned and operated by brother-sister duo Nawal and Karim Motawi. Both are passionate about exploring new design and technical ideas, while maintaining a sustainable studio. Motawi Tiles are made from scratch by the Motawis and a creative group of skilled local artisans

Motawi’s historically-informed tile designs are influenced by turn-of-the-century Arts and Crafts
artists and potteries like Dard Hunter, William De Morgan, Pewabic, Rookwood and Grueby. Nawal
believes “in respecting the best of historical design – rendering old motifs in new ways and creating works that will be enjoyed in this lifetime and passed down for generations to come.” Motawi’s current focus is on the block prints of Yoshiko Yamamoto, the graphic art of Frank Lloyd Wright and the architectural ornamentation of Louis Sullivan.

For more information, visit Motawi’s web page.

Motawi Tileworks is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms