The History of the Craftsman Style

What are the philosophies that gave birth to the Craftsman style?

The American Craftsman Style was born from the Arts and Crafts Movement in England which started in the 1860’s. The movement began as a backlash against cheaply made, mass-produced factory furniture. The movement valued hand-crafted furniture and honest workmanship over the factory model. The movement was also very much a statement against the terrible labor conditions which existed in these factories. There was a rejection of the ornate Victorian forms in favor of more honest designs with clean simple construction, honest workmanship without machine made ornaments which represented these urban factories.

Who was William Morris?

William Morris (1834-1896) is often considered the father of the Arts and Crafts Movement in England. Morris felt that the factory worker was being dehumanized by the industrial system. Morris built his own house in 1859. He commissioned his friend Phillip Webb to design the furniture appropriate for his house. Morris designed the wallpaper, fabrics, rugs, and tapestries. Pattern design was Morris’ greatest talent. In early times, Morris was opposed to the use of machines for production. Later in life, he realized that the machine was necessary to free the laborer from arduous tasks which drove the price of his products up unnecessarily.

Who was Gustav Stickley?

Gustav Stickley is usually considered the father of the American Arts and Crafts Movement. Stickley was largely responsible for promoting the Arts and Crafts movement in the United States. He was the publisher of The Craftsman magazine during the beginning of the 20th century. He was a designer of furniture, an architect, and a proponent of the Craftsman life style. As you read more of our website, you will learn much more about Gustav Stickley. At Shady Grove Craftsman, our collection of furniture draws from our favorite influences from all the historic arts and crafts designers, but the beautiful simplicity of Stickley’s designs are the most influential.

What is the Craftsman Lifestyle?

Along with furniture and home designs, Gustav Stickley sold a magazine. It was a magazine of romance and dreams. It was for people who loved to escape their busy lives and dream of simpler times. Stickley encouraged his readers to find pleasure in manual tasks like gardening and the production of hand crafts. Stickley spent most of his time in the city, but he had a lovely escape in the countryside called Craftsman Farms. Stickley knew most of his readers did not live on a farm, but there was a romance based around the rural lifestyle and the honest, hard work done by farm families. For more on the Craftsman lifestyle, find a copy of the Craftsman Magazine from the early 1900's. There are plenty of copies still out there for collectors. They're not too expensive, and they are still fun reading. We also hope that our historically inspired furniture can invoke dreams of the Craftsman Lifestyle just as Gustav Stickley's did 100 years ago.

Who is Harvey Ellis?

Harvey Ellis was a talented and highly respected architect, painter, and designer who worked for Gustav Stickley in 1904. In some ways, Ellis’s style almost clashed with Stickley’s. In other ways it was a beautiful marriage of ideas. Stickley’s early furniture was very heavy. It had a solid and medieval feel and it was extremely rectilinear. Ellis brought a lighter touch to the designs. He introduced softer arching curved elements along with very subtle ornamentation. Ellis was also a talented painter. He greatly added to Stickley’s home designs. And Ellis was passionate about the use of color in interior designs. Harvey Ellis died after approximately 7 months of working with Stickley, but his influence on Stickley design was permanent.

Who were the Stickley brothers?

Gustav Stickley had brothers who worked with him, and later competed against him in the manufacture of Craftsman Style furniture. The best known of these brothers are L& J.G. Stickley. L & J. G. stands for Leopold and J. George. L. & J.G. had a shop in Fayetteville, N.Y. which produced products very similar to Gustav’s. In 1899, Leopold was the foreman for the Gustav Stickley company.

L & J.G. were not the only brothers competing against Gustav in the area of Craftsman Style furniture. He had two other brothers, Charles and Albert, who formed a company called Stickely Brothers company in Grand Rapids, MI. Their furniture was labeled “Quaint” or “Arts and Crafts.”

Gustav did not seem to appreciate the competition from his brothers. He probably felt that they were copying his designs and and capitalizing on his name. However, some of their products were very good quality. Generally speaking, today, Gustav's products are most sought after by collectors but some of the L&JG pieces are also highly respected. Charles and Albert's product are usually less valuable.

Who is Elbert Hubbard?

Elbert Hubbard was an American that visited Morris’ Klemscott press in 1894. He returned home to found the Roycroft shops in East Aurora, NY. He published a monthly magazine called The Philistine. The Roycrofters produced fine furniture as well hand-crafted copper prodcts.

What is quarter sawn oak?

Quarter sawn oak is what gives most craftsman furniture its distinctive beauty. It is a method of sawing an oak tree which presents the natural grain of the tree from a different perspective. We believe that quarter sawn oak is a more intense presentation of the oak. There is also an historic reason for using quarter sawn oak. In early colonial days, oak was split along its rays. This was done because splitting was faster than sawing. But the split or quartered wood produced an interesting, ribboned grain pattern. To designers like Gustav Stickley, oak which was quarter sawn to replicate the ribboned grain was an old, timeless, nostalgic look. It is this timeless look that we still feel today when we see a well crafted piece of furniture in quarter sawn oak.

What is the difference between white oak and red oak?

In the Shady Grove Craftsman line of furniture we use only white oak. When you look at a piece of quartersawn oak, the white oak displays the medullary rays more prominently than the red oak. We believe this gives our pieces a richer, more unique look.

What is fumed oak?

One way to stain oak wood is to expose it to ammonia gas. The ammonia gas will eventually cause the oak to take on a lovely greenish hue. This was the preferred method of staining oak for Gustav Stickley. It was also used by L& JG Stickley. Here is the interesting part of the story. Ammonia gas is produced from urine as it ages. Ammonia gas is commonly found in horse stalls when they are not cleaned frequently. Apparently untreated oak used to make horse stalls will take on a beautiful “fumed” finish. It may be that Gustav developed his appreciation for this finish by looking at smelly horse stalls. Yes, we owe it all to “horse piss.”

What is a Morris Chair?

One of William Morris’s most famous forms is the Morris chair. It was an early predecessor of our current recliner. True to its Arts and Crafts roots, the Morris chair was created for great function, namely comfort. The back of the Morris chair has removable pins which can be adjusted to allow the chair to recline. While the Morris chair was a wonderful advancement in comfort and styling, today I prefer to use a modern recliner which is fashioned after the Morris design. Just a personal preference.

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