- What Craftsman Farms Means to Me…
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 … - Protected: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the 1972 exhibition “The Arts and Crafts in America: 1876-1916”This content is password protected.
- The Craftsman Shop: Fall Feature
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 … - “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
“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 … - Start with the Plumbing
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 … - Collections News: Howe to Succeed In Business
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 …Continue reading “Collections News: Howe to Succeed In Business”
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- Peach Season
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 … - Collections News: Additional Clews to Stickley’s Taste
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 …Continue reading “Collections News: Additional Clews to Stickley’s Taste”
- Collections News: Some Clews to Stickley’s Taste
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 …Continue reading “Collections News: Some Clews to Stickley’s Taste”
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- Craftsman Kitchen: A Treat for Valentine’s Day
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 …Continue reading “Craftsman Kitchen: A Treat for Valentine’s Day”
- Surprise CraftsmanSurprise 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 …
- Christmas Decorations from Winter’s Garden
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 …Continue reading “Christmas Decorations from Winter’s Garden”
- Craftsman Kids: Bat Jumping Jack
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 … - Preservation News
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 … - Craftsman Cocktail: Quarter Sawn Oak (Whiskey Smash)
To celebrate “Fall For Stickley” and The Craftsman Gala, we ‘re serving up another Craftsman Cocktail! Our jauntily named “Quarter Sawn Oak” is a variation on a classic Whiskey Smash, a fruity drink similar to a Mint Julep. Though it appears in earlier bartending manuals, it isn’t given the name …Continue reading “Craftsman Cocktail: Quarter Sawn Oak (Whiskey Smash)”
- Tropical Storm IsaiasOn Tuesday, August 4, Tropical Storm Isaias brought significant and unanticipated destruction across New Jersey. In the early afternoon, high winds ripped through Craftsman Farms and brought down a massive tree onto the Log House Annex, which, since 2008, has served as the museum’s educational program space. This space, which …
- From the Director’s Chair: The Most Craftsman Holiday
The Most Craftsman Holiday by Vonda K. Givens, Executive Director Thanksgiving, of all annual holidays, strikes me as the most Craftsman. Its customary colors—brown, red, orange, yellow—complement the Craftsman aesthetic (in fact, during a post-Thanksgiving clearance-sale buying spree, I once scored a vast supply of paper cocktail napkins that lasted …Continue reading “From the Director’s Chair: The Most Craftsman Holiday”
- From the Director’s Chair: Fall For Stickley, Part 2
From the Director’s Chair: Fall For Stickley, Part 2 by Vonda K. Givens, Executive Director (Part 1: https://www.stickleymuseum.org/from-the-directors-chair/). Tropical Storm Isiais swept through Craftsman Farms in the early afternoon on August 4 and brought irreparable destruction to the Annex. Connected by a corridor to the Log House (the Stickley family …Continue reading “From the Director’s Chair: Fall For Stickley, Part 2”
- From the Director’s Chair: Fall For Stickley, Part 1From the Director’s Chair: Fall For Stickley, Part 1 by Vonda K. Givens, Executive Director Aside from being a seasonal play on words, I see the museum’s “Fall for Stickley” program series as an invitation to become acquainted, and possibly even enamored, with this property and the vision of its …
Continue reading “From the Director’s Chair: Fall For Stickley, Part 1”
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