A Taste of Some of Our Recent Programs

 

 

 November 25, 26, 27 &December 3, 4, 10, and 11HOLIDAY TRUNK SHOWOur annual Holiday Trunk Show kicked off on Friday, November 25 (Black Friday), and continued each weekend through Sunday, December 11. The Holiday Trunk Show is a wonderful opportunity to support the crafters while finding unique holiday gifts.

 

December 3, 4, 10, and 11

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

During this event, the Log House was festooned for the holidays in period style, with a focus on the home's forest palette and bringing nature indoors.This event also provided a peek into Christmas preparations that would have been typical for a family like the Stickleys, including the blending of Victorian traditions with more modern trends. 

 

Kid's Day at the Holiday Open House took place on Saturday, December 10.  This fun-filled program for the whole family, a collaboration with Kids Club THIRTEEN, featured a visit from special guests The Berenstain Bears (courtesy of Kids Club THIRTEEN) and timeless outdoor winter fun.

 

 

 

 

October 15 &16

CATCH The SPARK WEEKEND

The Catch the Spark weekend was the grand finale of a yearlong celebration of Craftsman Farms' 100th year.  The weekend kicked off on Saturday, October 15, with the Forging Ahead Forum, a full-day symposium held at the Community Church of Mountain Lakes in Mountain Lakes, NJ. The Forum marked the finale of the centennial by seeking to forge ahead into a new century and forecast an Arts & Crafts vision for the next 100 years.  The Forum was followed by the Catch the Spark gala held on the evening of October 15 at the Mountain Lakes Club.  

 

The festivities continued on Sunday, October 16, with a ticketed brunch plus a Centennial Open House, open to all.  Michael Adams and Dawn Hopkins of Aurora Studios were onsite during the Open House to demonstrate their extraordinary work.  Noted Stickley Scholar, David Cathers, was here for a book-signing. The Open House featured two special Centennial Tours of Craftsman Farms led by Pete Mars and the North Cottage was open to visitors for the day.

 CENTENNIAL FARMS AFIELD II: SYRACUSE, NYFriday and Saturday, July 22 – 23

Our ongoing centennial celebration continued with Farms Afield II. Last January’s Centennial Farms Afield took us to New York City for lunch in Stickley’s former Craftsman Building on East 38th Street. For the sequel, we journeyed to Stickley’s original home base, Syracuse, New York for a one-of-a-kind two-day expedition. 

 

Traveling by chartered bus, we departed from Craftsman Farms on Firday at 7:00 a.m. and arrived in Syracuse in time for lunch. Afterward we made our first stop in Manlius, New York at L. & J.G. Stickley, Inc. We experienced the continuing tradition of “earnest furniture-making” on a factory tour and then made a visit to the corporate museum of L. & J.G. Stickley Inc., located in the original L. & J.G. Stickley Factory. With Museum Director Gregory Vadney on hand, we explored the company’s proud century-long history of furniture making.   In the late afternoon, we headed to beautiful Skaneateles Lake.

 

Our Friday adventure was completed with a relaxing dinner cruise provided by Mid-Lakes Navigation, which is owned and operated by descendants of the Stickley Family. We enjoyed a fine dinner as we cruise the lake on the Barbara S. Wiles, named for Gustav Stickley’s oldest daughter.  

Following dinner we made our way to the Craftsman Inn. Our final stop for the day, the Craftsman Inn is decorated throughout with Craftsman-inspired Stickley furniture & appointments.   

 

We began Saturday with a visit to Dalton’s American Decorative Arts. We were treated to light breakfast fare by our hosts, Debbie Goldwein and Dave Rudd who are principals of this lovely Arts and Crafts gallery (Dave is also a trustee of the Craftsman Farms Foundation). Afterward, Dave and Bill Bowen were our guides for an outstanding driving tour of Syracuse, including an opportunity to see the Stickleys’ Columbus Avenue home (which is not available for tours) and a stop at Morningside Cemetery where Gustav Stickley was buried.   

 

The Everson Museum was our final stop on the trip. Our group was treated to a tour with Head Curator Deb Ryan and to viewings of the museum’s Arts & Crafts gallery and their collection of American Art Pottery, which includes a diverse grouping of 2000 hand-crafted ceramics and commercial ware.  

 

STICKLEY SEMINAR: DOCENT TRAINING COURSE

The Stickley Seminar, a free docent training course, was held on five Saturday mornings throughout the summer. The course was begun on Sat., June 25, and prepared potential docents to give tours in the fall.

 

 LECTURE, BOOK-SIGNING & DONORS' RECEPTION
"The Vintage House: A Guide to Successful Renovations and Additions"

June 23, 2011 

This special reception featured a presentation and booksigning by Mark Hewitt, author of The Vintage House: A Guide to Successful Renovations and Additions. The event also honored members of the Craftsman Guild and included the unveiling of the 2010 Craftsman Guild plaque. 

 

 

LAURA WILDER:
Artist in Residence

June 4 - 11, 2011

Laura Wilder’s weeklong Artist’s Residency began with two full-day Block Printing Workshops on Saturday and Sunday. In each of these workshops, students carved two linoleum blocks and practiced printing with a wooden spoon, to create a set of two-color note cards. Laura demonstrated the steps, and as students worked, she told stories of triumph and tragedy.

Laura’s artist’s residency culminated on Saturday June 11, with a special evening, featuring an unveiling of the “Craftsman Farms” block print created during her stay, a mini-printmaking demonstration, and an informal reception and exhibition of her work.

 

BE OUR GUEST

Sunday, May 15, 2011

The Stickley Museum joined with nine historic sites and museums throughout Morris
County to invite the public to Be Our Guest in celebration of National Tourism Week. For this event, the Stickley Museum welcomed visitors to stroll the Log House at their own pace, with docents stationed throughout to answer questions.  Guests were encouraged to contribute a non-perishable food item in lieu of the normal admission fees. More than 700 lbs of food ws collected for the Interfaith Food Pantry in addition to cash donations for the Front Line Fund benefiting Morris County military families.  The event was sponsored by the Morris County Tourism Bureau.

 

 

Saturday, May 14, 2011

SPRING FAMILY DAY

Despite the rain a nice crowd turned out to particiapte in the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms' annual springtime celebration. The grounds were filled with fun family activities including pony rides and Maypole dancers.  Other activities included the cakewalk, the bubble station, old-fashioned games, 3-legged races, sack races, and trying other period activities like walking on tin can stilts. Visitors had the opportunity to stroll through the Open House at the Stickley Museum at their own pace. The Apple Spice Junction booth had lunch, cupcakes, and lemonade available for purchase.  Admission included pony rides, games, Maypole, cakewalk, bubble station, Open House and many more fun activities. Cakewalk prize sponsors were Atlanta Bread and Apple Spice Junction.  In honor of Arbor Day, the Township of Parsippany provided seedling trees to departing families. 

 

 

Thursday, May 5, 2011

LECTURE & BOOK SIGNING with PATRICIA REID HEROLD

Six Degrees of Separation: Gustav Stickley and Mountain Lakes  

On Thursday, May 5 at 7 p.m. the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms welcomed Patricia Reid Herold, author of Mountain Lakes 1911- 2011: One Hundred Years of Community, a project of the Mountain Lakes Historic Preservation Committee, for her lecture Six Degrees of Separation: Gustav Stickley, Herbert Hapgood and the Mountain Lakes’ Craftsman Way. In 1908, Gustav Stickley and Herbert Hapgood, developer of Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, both were negotiating the purchase of large parcels of Morris County property, just six miles apart. Three years later, in 1911, their ambitious projects — Stickley’s Craftsman Farms and Hapgoods’ Mountain Lakes Residential Park — were ready for occupancy. The houses Hapgood built in Mountain Lakes were clearly Craftsman influenced, but with a twist. A century later, we examined Gustav Stickley’s influence on the community born at the same time as his Craftsman Farms. A book signing and reception will followed the lecture. 

 

Patricia Reid Herold is the author of New Jersey Arts, a guide to New Jersey’s arts world. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Metropolitan Home, New Jersey Monthly and numerous other publications.  Her articles helped call attention to Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman Farms during the time it was under threat of development as a townhouse community. She moved to Mountain Lakes in 1963, is a graduate of Mountain Lakes High School and Stanford University. She is a member of the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.  

 

 

 

	Saturday, April 16, 2011 STICKLEY DESIGN INVITATIONAL This exciting full-day design challenge was a partnership with the Robert Busch School of Design at Kean University, for high school and community college students with a serious interest in interior design and architecture.   We are pleased to announce that students participating in the 2011 Invitational represented the following high schools and colleges:   Franklin High School Kittatinny Regional High School Livingston High School Montclair High School Morristown High School Mountain Lakes High School New Providence Hgh School West Orange High School    County College of Morris Essex County College Raritan Valley Community College   READ MORE ABOUT IT

 Friday, April 15, 2011

SYMPOSIUM FOR EMERGING SCHOLARS

This exciting symposium, a partnership with the American Fine and Decorative Art Program at Sotheby's Institute of Art, was dedicated to supporting, stimulating, and encouraging the work of up-and-coming scholars. Presentations critically addressed the thought, intention, and production of objects in the Arts and Crafts movement. A reception followed the presentations.

 Read more about it.

 

 

Thursday, April 7, 2011

SPRING MEMBERS' RECEPTION

Our annual members reception spotlit David Lowden’s presentation “Gustav Stickley’s Debt to England: The Influences of Morris, Ruskin, Ashbee, Voysey and Baillie Scott.”  Southland Log Homes CEO Ken Sekley was on hand to unveil a handmade, detailed, scale model of the Log House.  A reception followed the presentations.

 

Thursday, February 17, 2011      
CENTENNIAL PARTY AT GPI

Our archives show that the Stickley family knew how to give parties and have fun, so we made this a pull-out-all-the-stops fun time. This evening of casual fun took place in the Greenwood cafe, located in the Homespun Shops of Biltmore Industries, just steps from GPI. The Biltmore Industries were established in 1901 under the patronage of George Vanderbilt and direction of his wife, Edith, owners of the grand Biltmore Estate, to provide the youth of the Asheville area an opportunity "to become productive and useful citizens" through training in the creation of fine handmade crafts. This seemed like a truly appropriate message as we celebrated the centennial of Craftsman Farms.

The evening began in the Automobile Museum which opened just for us at 6:00p.m. on Thursday night. Then we walked to the Homespun Museum next door, followed by a visit to the Grovewood Gallery for cocktail hour, appetizers, and a chance to admire and purchase local crafts. Representatives from Southwood Log Homes unveiled a handmade scale model of the Log House.

Next we strolled to the Grovewood cafe to dine in what was originally the woodworking shop, where Bruce Johnson told us more about the background of Biltmore Industries and how it became Greenwood Gallery, Cafe, and Museum. we were thrilled when he presented us with  a $5,000 education grant from the Arts & Crafts Research Fund. 

 

To liven it up even more, "Country Farm," a North Carolina bluegrass string-band performed toe-tapping music throughout the evening. David Higgs of Nashville radio station WPLN says of Country Farm, "You guys know how to have fun...You are all superb musicians...But you are all just wonderful entertainers as well. You put a smile on my face and got me excited once again about the entertainment value of bluegrass music."

 

We wrapped up the fun evening when the Stickley family gathered to cut a cake that was made to look like the Log House.  Net proceeds from the Annual Banquet directly support the maintenance and operations of the Stickley Museum. Many thanks to all who participated!

 

 

Sunday, February 6, 2011MOUNTAIN LAKES DAY

Like Craftsman Farms, the nearby community of Mountain Lakes, NJ is celebrating a
Centennial in 2011. Envisioned by engineer Lewis Van Duyne and executed by Herbert Hapgood, the community of Mountain Lakes included homes that were inspired by the the Arts and Crafts Movement, which was then at its height in popularity, and the home designs produced by Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman Architects. In 1911, the same year the Stickleys took residence in the Log House, the first families moved into Mountain Lakes, a community which today retains its historic identity and character.

In honoring our linked history and mutual Centennial Celebrations the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms hosted a special Mountain Lakes Day featuring:

• Hourly tours of the Stickley Museum, 11:15 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. FREE for all Mountain Lakes residents.

• Special Tours of the Stickley Museum at 1:00 and 3:00, “Mountain Lakes and Craftsman Farms: Shared History” FREE for all Mountain Lakes residents.

• Book signing from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. with Patricia Reid Herold, author of Mountain Lakes 1911-2011: One Hundred Years of Community, a project of the Mountain Lakes Historic Preservation Committee.

• Dessert Reception at 2:30 hosted by Tom and Mary Menard.

 

Sunday, January 23, 2011CENTENNIAL FARMS AFIELD
to New York City

Dr. Jonathan Clancy, Programme Director of American Fine & Decorative Art at Sotheby's Institute of Art, led our group tour through the exhibition The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Travelling by chartered bus to New York City, our first stop was be 5 East 38th Street, the site of Stickley's former Craftsman Building. Though primarily inaccessible office space today, the 1st floor of this historic building houses the restaurant BUtterfield 8, a quintessential New York restaurant and lounge. During lunch in a private room at BUtterfield 8 we learned about Stickley’s enterprising use of this building.

Following lunch we headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to tour the exhibition The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs, on its final day. Dr. Clancy guided the group through the Rohlfs exhibition, which included fifty pieces of the distinctive "artistic furniture" and related objects produced by the workshop of Charles Rohlfs (American, 1853-1936) in Buffalo, New York. Rohlfs’ unusually inventive forms and imaginative carving combined many influences, from the abstract naturalism of Art Nouveau to the bold forms of the Arts and Crafts movement. Participants also had time for further exploration of the museum, including the extraordinary Ellison collection of American art pottery.

Dr. Jonathan Clancy’s current research interest examines Transcendentalism as a cultural phenomenon and explores its effect on American fine and decorative arts. Recently, he has lectured and published on a variety of subjects including: the Arts and Crafts movement in America, Martin Johnson Heade and the Hudson River School, and American art pottery. He is co-author of The Beauty of Common Things: American Art Pottery from the Two Red Roses Foundation (2008) and contributed the text to Warman’s Rookwood Pottery (2008). Clancy received his Ph.D from The Graduate Center, City University of New York and his BA from Rutgers University

 

 

HOLIDAY TRUNK SHOW:

Opening Weekend with Members Preview Friday Morning Opening on the busiest shopping day of the year and continuing all weekend, our 3rd Annual Trunk show featured one-of-a-kind, finely crafted, handmade gifts. A partial list of the participants included:  THE ARTS AND CRAFTS PRESS; JIM WEBB of STUDIO 233; MOTAWI TILEWORKS; ZACHARY BLOOM of ACCENTS IN BLOOM JEWELRY; DOOR POTTERY; MATT OLIAN’S GLASS WORK; ARCHIVE EDITIONS’ TEXTILES; GLITTER HOUSE; UNI-ART; EARBOBS; and JOSH BACH.  Members got a first look at this year’s show at the Members Preview on Friday, November 26 from 9 to 11 a.m.  The preview was by invitation only. The Holiday Trunk Show then opened to the public at 11 a.m. on "Black Friday" and continued from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for three weekends through December 12.

 

HANDCRAFTED HOLIDAYS:

 

Open House and Trunk Show Joint holidays events: the Holiday Trunk Show and the Holiday Open House at the Stickley Museum highlighted handcrafts and offered guests an old-fashioned holiday welcome.

 

For the Holiday Open House, a Craftsman Farms tradition, the Log House was lighted by candles and festooned with period-appropriate decorations, holiday greenery, poinsettias, and, of course, a beautiful Christmas tree, which The Craftsman described as “the symbol of Christmas happiness.”  Visitors had the opportunity to stroll the museum at their own pace, while docents, stationed throughout, were on hand to answer questions. The Open House featured the exhibition Mr. Stickley's Restaurant and a vintage postcard exhibition. Handcraft demonstrations, inspired by the Crafters Trunk Show (see above), were held on the porch.  Featured performances by Pianist John Baratta, and a performance by Joyful Noise Handbell Choir from the First Presbyterian Church of Whippany.

 

SYMPOSIUM and GALA WEEKEND:
  

Visitors from 11 states came together to help us kick off the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Log House at Craftsman Farms.  The weekend was an opportunity to “come home” to Craftsman Farms and begin a year of centennial events honoring Stickley’s groundbreaking achievement and celebrating his family’s joyous homecoming. 

 

PRE-SYMPOSIUM LECTURE
Gustav Stickley, Joseph Worcester
and the San Francisco Swedenborgian Church
 (held at the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms)

 

We began on Friday, October 15 at 7:00 p.m. with a pre-symposium lecture at Craftsman Farms. For the 3rd Annual Amy Stahl Memorial Lecture, we welcomed Leslie M. Freudenheim, author of Building with Nature: Inspiration for the Arts and Crafts Home.  In her lecture, Gustav Stickley, Joseph Worcester and the San Francisco Swedenborgian Church, Freudenheim explored this National Historic Landmark church, its minister Joseph Worcester, and their connection to Gustav Stickley, who twice featured this church in The Craftsman magazine. A book signing and reception followed the lecture. 

 

SYMPOSIUM
Honest & Beautiful:

The Arts & Crafts Home in America
(held at the Newark Museum)

 

The celebratory weekend continued on Saturday, October 16 in collaboration with the Newark Museum’s premiere of the nationally touring exhibition Gustav Stickley and the American Arts & Crafts Movement.  Over 200 people joined us for a symposium entitled Honest & Beautiful: The Arts & Crafts Home in America presented at the Newark Museum and cosponsored by the Stickley Museum.   The lectures included the following: The Victorian Roots of the Arts & Crafts Movement, presented by Ulysses Grant Dietz, Senior Curator and Curator of Decorative Arts, Newark Museum; Gustav Stickley and the Arts & Crafts Home in America, presented by Kevin Tucker, the Margot B. Perot Curator of Decorative Art and Design, Dallas Museum of Art; The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs, presented by Joseph Cunningham, Curator, American Decorative Art 1900 Foundation.  A panel discussion with the speakers concluded the program.

 

CRAFTSMAN HOMECOMING GALA
(held at the Mountain Lakes Club)

The festivities continued through Saturday evening, beginning at 6:00 p.m. with the Craftsman Homecoming Gala at the Mountain Lakes Club in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey.  The club was filled to capacity as friends joined John H. Bryan, Honorary Chair and event co-chairs Robert C. Burchell and Ann Reynolds for an evening of cocktails, gourmet dinner, and dancing to the music of the Andy Sherwood Trio. The evening included the presentation of the Als Ik Kan Award to John H. Bryan. The gala’s auctioneer was David Rago, well known for his frequent appearances on Antiques Roadshow, and best known to Stickley Museum members as the recipient of the Foundation’s Als Ik Kan Award in 2000.

 

 

ALL ABOUT WOOD!
Fall Members’ Reception

This event was inspired by a recent, very limited tree harvest designed to return the property to Stickley’s original vision. Beginning at 1:30 pm logs were milled onsite by Richard Plog of Plog’s Woods. Richard Plog set up a Wood-Mizer portable band-saw mill at Craftsman Farms to demonstrate the milling process.  This wood, which included a large quantity of Ash and limited amounts of White Oak and Black Walnut, is available for purchase.  Proceeds from the sale of this wood will be used to pay for additional education programs and the daily operating expenses of the Stickley Museum. Visitors were invited to view demonstrations any time throughout the afternoon.  

 

At 4:30 the Members’ Reception opened in the education room, with the first of two woodworking demonstrations by extraordinary woodworker Javier Santiago (shown above), of Nest & Company, a home furnishings shop in Montclair, NJ dedicated to the Arts and Crafts movement. Santiago, a graduate of Parsons School of Design, was an artist and graphic designer for several years before discovering woodworking and the Arts and Crafts movement. Now a masterful woodworker, whose furniture has been featured in the Museum’s Holiday Trunk Shows, Santiago combines the traditions and ideals of the early 1900s with his knowledge of woodworking and creative designs. Santiago demonstrated joinery in woodworking, addressing why and how different types of joints are used, from traditional miter, lap, dovetail, dado, and mortis and tenon joints to non-traditional biscuit joints and pocket-hole joinery.

 

Throughout the Reception, special spotlight tours were held inside the Log House. These tours highlighted two of the Museum’s exciting new furniture acquisitions, the hall settle from the Stickley family home in Syracuse, which arrived at Craftsman Farms last spring and is a beautiful example of Stickley’s use of butterfly joints, and the handsome large chestnut bookcase, original to Craftsman Farms.