You are invited to our Annual GPI Kick-Off Party!  Come to the 25^th Annual Grove Park Inn Arts & Crafts Conference a day early and kick off the weekend with an evening of casual fun and entertainment in the Homespun Shops of Biltmore Industries, just steps from GPI.

Join us on Thursday, February 16 for the festivities.  Begin the evening at our welcome table in the Estes-Winn Memorial Automobile Museum (open just for us!), enjoy local beers and wines during cocktail hour, and choose one of two seatings to indulge in a dinner menu that embraces the regional fare.

Author, historian, and art-potter, Rodney Leftwich, will speak on the pottery tradition of Western North Carolina.

But that’s not all! The North Carolina, bluegrass string-band Country Farm, is sure to liven things up even more with toe-tapping performances throughout the evening.

We’ll cap off this enjoyable evening with a fascinating lecture by our featured speaker, well-known author, historian and art potter Rodney Leftwich.  A native of Western North Carolina, Rodney Leftwich is a full-time potter, deeply inspired by the history of North Carolina pottery.  He exhibits his work at GPI each year, has written numerous articles and essays on art pottery, and has personally researched and collected works by the region’s early potters.  His talk, The Pottery Tradition of Western North Carolina, will cover a range of topics including the utilitarian origins of art pottery in the Asheville area, and the works of Walter B. Stephen and Oscar Bachelder.

Your all-inclusive party ticket includes: museum and gallery visit, cocktails, live music, pottery lecture by Rodney Leftwich, dinner and dessert. Tickets are $140 each.

Download the Reservation Form here or check our website for more information.  Advanced reservations are required! So don’t wait!

North Carolina bluegrass string-band, Country Farm, will perform at this year's GPI Kick-Off Party!

Don’t Miss this Pull-Out-the-Stops Good Time! is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

You are invited to

The Annual Craftsman Farms Banquet
at the GPI Arts and Crafts Conference

Thursday, February 18, 2010

6:00 p.m.

at the Grove Park Inn
Asheville, North Carolina

The cocktail reception starts at 6:00 p.m. and includes a full open bar and passed hors d’oeuvres including mini-quiche, pot stickers and mini-quesadillas.

Follow that up with great camaraderie and a gourmet dinner including Spicy BBQ Shrimp, Corn Cake with Roasted Salsa; Baby Lettuce with Poached Pear, Candied Walnuts and Pumpkin Seed Vinaigrette; Grilled Filet of Beef and Crab Cake Combo with Seasonal Side Dishes; Marble Cheesecake, Coffee, Tea or Beverage. Vegetarian Entree available upon request.

After Dinner, Guess the Movie! How many times have you been at the movies and said, “there’s a Morris chair,” or “what a neat bungalow?” Guests at the Craftsman Farms banquet will get a chance to test their recall when they join in the evening’s interactive entertainment.  During the lively and fun movie presentation, participants will win prizes when they correctly indentify images from movies that use Arts and Crafts architecture and decor to tell their story

RSVP here!

Annual Craftsman Farms Banquet is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

We know our readers will want the details on this new release on the furniture collection at Grove Park Inn by our long-time Stickley Museum member and supporter Bruce Johnson. New book details Grove Park Inn’s signature furniture collection The book will be available in our gift shop shortly. Email the Museum Shop shop@stickleymuseum.org if you’d like us to reserve one of the first copies for you.

Bruce Johnson Releases New Book is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

This is the exhibit from Mr. Stickley’s Restaurant, on display at the Arts & Crafts Conference and Antique Show.

If you have any photos from the Arts & Crafts Conference and Antiques Show at Grove Park Inn, please share them with the Craftsman Farms friends and family in our Flickr group!

Mr. Stickley's Restaurant is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

Stickley granddaughter, Barbara Fuldner, with Leigh Ann and Bruce Johnson, solving the questions on our Stickler Quiz!

Stickler Quiz Photo is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

Last night’s banquet at the Grove Park Inn was a great success, with nearly 100 attendees. This year’s entertainment was our first Stickler Quiz,  thirty questions of detailed Stickley family trivia, which led to some cutthoat competition among our Stickley devotees! Thanks so much to Mark Weaver, Peter Copeland, Dorothy Beattie, and Dave Rudd for all the work that went to making such a well-researched and fun quiz.

Oh, and table 7? Better luck next time!

Our Stickler Quiz is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

“Infinite Variety: Women of the Arts and Crafts Movement” by Pat Bartinique

In celebration of Women’s History month Pat Bartinique will present a lecture exploring the role of women in the Arts and Crafts Movement. The lecture will be on Saturday, March 7 at 4:00 p.m. and will include a reception honoring the members of the Museum’s Craftsman Guild.

Bartinique, a Professor of English at Essex County College and Founding Member of the Craftsman Farms Foundation, states that “at the beginning of the Twentieth Century the dominant views of women were that of wives and homemakers,” but “there was also the emerging image of the working girl struggling in ever-enlarging cities.” Although the first names associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement are those of men, as Bartinique will discuss, it is important to recognize that wherever one looks, there are prominent women equally participant.  Women were active as furniture designers, artists, potters, writers, publishers and editors, architects, and metal workers.  They were involved in the settlement houses and in giving expression of the Arts and Crafts aesthetic in the areas traditionally associated with women, such as handicrafts.

Guest Curator and author of the exhibition catalogue Gustav Stickley—His Craft : A Daily Vision and a Dream, Bartinque also curated and authored the exhibition catalogue for Kindred Styles: The Arts and Crafts Furniture of Charles P. Limbert.  A participant in the Grove Park Inn Arts and Crafts Conference since the first conference in 1987, Bartinique’s platform talks/seminars at the conference include “The Spirit That Endures: Gustav Stickley and The Craftsman Magazine” (1997) and “1901 and The Arts and Crafts Movement”  (2001).  Since 2005, she has led the Arts and Crafts Conference Book Club. Her 2009 Small Group Discussion topic is “Living the Arts and Crafts Lifestyle: A philosophy in Action.”

Lecture and reception:

Saturday, March 7 at 4:00 p.m.

Space is limited

Advance reservations are highly recommended

$12 Nonmembers

$10 Members

Free to all members of the Craftsman Guild.

Infinite Variety: Women of the Arts and Crafts Movement is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

There’s still time to register for the Grove Park Inn Arts & Crafts Conference and Antiques Show, at the Grove Park Inn Resort in Asheville, North Carolina on February 20-22, 2009.  Book your tickets online now by clicking here!

Last Minute Tickets For The 22nd Annual Arts & Crafts Conference and Antiques Show is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms will host its annual banquet at the Grove Park Inn Arts & Crafts Conference and Antiques Show in Asheville, North Carolina, on Thursday evening, February 19 at 6:00 p.m.

The evening will begin with a cocktail hour, followed by a gourmet dinner which will open with a Salmon Medallion on a Bed of Spinach with Pernod Cream Lolla Rossa and Frisse wrapped in a Cucumber Ribbon with Yellow and Red Teardrop Tomatoes and Dijon Vinaigrette. This will be followed by Southwestern Grilled Pork Medallion and Grilled Chicken Breast with Black Bean Salsa, all served with Cabernet Sauvignon, assorted side dishes, and freshly baked breads with butter. The meal will end with coffee or tea, and a plates of 3 Miniature Desserts. The evening’s entertainment will include a lively Arts and Crafts trivia contest with prizes. Brush up on your Arts & Crafts facts to dazzle everyone and win fun prizes!

Tickets are $130 and advance reservations are required. Get your tickets by clicking here!

GPI Banquet Reminder: Brush Up on Your Stickley Knowledge for the Trivia Contest! is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

The 22nd Annual Arts & Crafts Conference and Antiques Show is scheduled for February 20-22, 2009, at the Grove Park Inn Resort in Asheville, North Carolina. This event is recognized as the premier weekend for Art and Crafts collectors and aficionados, offering lectures, an antique show, contemporary craft show, “hands-on” workshops, small group discussions, house tours, and much more.

The Grove Park Inn itself is a work of art and a piece of early 20th century history.  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this 95 year old inn has hosted F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and a president or two.  Visitors can still enjoy the same hickory rockers and Roycroft chandeliers that these prestigious guests experienced in another century.  With one of the largest collections of Arts and Crafts furniture in the world, Grove Park’s ambiance makes it the perfect setting for the Annual Arts and Crafts Conference.

The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms will host its annual pre-conference Gala Benefit Dinner, on Thursday evening, February 19 at 6:00 p.m. Plan to come a day early and enjoy a fabulous evening, meeting old and new friends from around the country. The evening will begin with a cocktail hour, followed by a gourmet dinner. Entertainment will include a lively Arts and Crafts trivia contest with prizes. Tickets are $130 and advance reservations are required. Get your tickets by clicking here!

Craftsman Farms Banquet at the Annual Arts & Crafts Conference and Antiques Show is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms