Our newest staff member, Samuel Calabrese, the museum’s Member & Visitor Services Coordinator, reflects on his past year at Craftsman Farms. Simplicity For Me By Samuel Calabrese, Member & Visitor Services Coordinator When Executive Director Vonda Givens asked me to write my first blogpost about what Craftsman Farms meant to me, … Read more

“Respect a Good Breakfast”: An Invitation from the Executive Director By Vonda Givens, Executive Director I’ll be honest. A diner breakfast is one of my favorite things about New Jersey. This is a surprising truth, given that, as a native Tennessean, I am a stalwart champion of the Southern breakfast: … Read more

The Craftsman Shop x Amy Brandenburg: Inlay Inspired Jewelry Now Available Meghan Fletcher, Manager of The Craftsman Shop The Craftsman Shop is proud to present this timeless suite of jewelry, inspired by intricate inlay designs found in the Museum’s collection. Developed exclusively with Amy Brandenburg, a talented and well-known designer … Read more

“How to Take a Break”: Notes from the Director’s Chair By Vonda Givens Executive Director I recently searched The Craftsman magazine on the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries’ website for a pithy quote on the subject of rest, but to my surprise, searching the word “rest” didn’t turn up much. I then tried … Read more

“Preservation Doesn’t Take a Holiday”: Notes from the Director’s Chair By Vonda Givens Executive Director Throughout 2023 the museum’s events have focused on preservation, and that focus has been primarily on major projects that are recent, ongoing, or upcoming. With the end of the year approaching, it struck me that … Read more

“Thinking in Reverse”: Notes from the Director’s Chair By Vonda Givens, Executive Director Dear Friends, Preserving a property like Craftsman Farms is not a solo operation. With a thirty-acre landscape and nine original buildings, the preservation of Craftsman Farms requires the hands, minds, and help of many individuals. It is … Read more

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I Met a Yellow Daffodil Kristen McCauley, Senior Manager of Education and Interpretation “When the bulbous plants break through the crust of winter, then Spring, evasive, whimsical and wild in her ways, cannot be gainsaid.” The Craftsman, March 1914. In early spring, the bright pink and yellow blooms of spring … Read more

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With 2023 on the horizon, we are looking ahead to a new day at Craftsman Farms. Next year, we will fully re-open, for the first time since March 2020, with a newly rebuilt Annex and restored Log House Kitchen (generously funded by the Twp of Parsippany-Troy Hills and the Preserve NJ … Read more

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Staff Pick: Yoshiko Yamamoto “100th Anniversary” Print Scarf By Vonda K. Givens, Executive Director When you have access to a shop in your workplace, especially one as nice as The Craftsman Shop, it can feel (at least for me) like a fringe benefit of the job. In fact, I have … Read more

“The only reason for being a bee is to make honey. And the only reason for making honey is so I can eat it.” -Winnie The Pooh It’s officially fall, and around here that means the air is getting cooler (slowly), leaves are starting to change (eventually), and the honeybees … Read more

Start with the Plumbing By Vonda Givens, Executive Director An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable than an incompetent philosopher. The society that scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor … Read more

Collections News: Howe to Succeed In Business by Jonathan Clancy, Director of Collections and Preservation Using the metalwork aesthetic that Gustav Stickley was developing and promoting in the first decade of the 20th century, Benedict Studios rapidly transformed itself from a maker of silverplated goods into a manufacturer of domestic … Read more

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Peach Season By Kristen McCauley, Senior Manager of Education and Interpretation Don’t you just love the summery sight of a bowl of brightly colored, fresh-picked peaches on the kitchen counter? It’s peach season here in NJ and we’re looking at the history of the New Jersey peach, and its connection … Read more

Collections News: Additional Clews to Stickley’s Taste by Jonathan Clancy, Director of Collections and Preservation As it turns out, there are a few things I have trouble resisting. Near the top of the list is almost any pun about ceramics followed closely by the thrill of tracking down Staffordshire transferware … Read more

Collections News: Some Clews to Stickley’s Taste by Jonathan Clancy, Director of Collections and Preservation Amongst the holes we’ve been eager to fill at the Museum since the opening of last fall’s exhibition Circa 1917: Rediscovering Craftsman Farms are the historical pieces that Stickley owned which greatly expand our understanding … Read more

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Craftsman Kitchen: A Treat for Valentine’s Day By Kristen McCauleySenior Manager of Education and Interpretation “The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne,” This quote gets a prominent place in Stickley’s Log House, hammered into the copper hood of the living room fireplace. It’s the first line from … Read more

Surprise Craftsman by Vonda K. Givens, Executive Director November 20, 2021 was the day it had to happen. We had to find a house to purchase. Two previous offers had fallen through, and meanwhile the sale of our house was moving at lightning speed (its closing date was less than … Read more

Christmas Decorations from Winter’s Garden By: Kristen McCauleySenior Manager of Education and Interpretation Nearly every December (2020 being the notable exception), we decorate the Log House based on ideas about the Christmas holiday as told through articles in Stickley’s magazine, The Craftsman. In the magazine, Stickley advocated for the use … Read more

By: Kristen McCauley,Senior Manager of Education & Interpretation In honor of Bat Week, and Halloween right around the corner, we’ve… well, we’ve gone a little batty! You might say, we’ve got bats-in-the-belfry! A turn-of-phrase that dates to the early 20th century. In fact, one early example of the phrase appearing … Read more

New Jersey Historic Trust recommends Annex and Log House Kitchen Project for Preservation Grant! Following a destructive tropical storm in August 2020, the museum has been intensively working on a plan to rebuild the Annex. Adjacent to the Log House, the Annex was built by Gustav Stickley as an open-air … Read more