Hello Conference attendees and Arts and Crafts enthusiasts!
We have posted our tentative list of small group discussion topics - they range from the beginner's guide to collecting art pottery to spotting fakes and forgeries in Arts and Crafts furniture to studying the philosophy of the movement to getting a behind the scenes look at your favorite seminar presentation to listening to the music of the Arts and Crafts Era, our small group discsussions have something for everyone! Make sure to check out the whole list and plan for your three days at the conference at the Small Group Discussions page!
Just as a reminder, we've included the official conference brochure in PDF form on the left hand side of the screen under the green and gold menu. We've also updated information about the speakers, workshop instructors, demonstrators and book club selections on the agenda below and on the conference pages. You can access all information by clicking "Conference Info" on the left hand menu at the top of the page.
If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to call our office at (828) 628-1915. We're available Monday through Friday from 10am to 4:30pm EST. Also, don't forget we publish updates through our website www.artsandcraftscollector.com. Take a few moments to check it out for the latest updates right from our office.
Enjoy the view and we'll see you in February!
Kate Nixon Registration Manager
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Welcome to the
33rd National
Arts and Crafts Conference and Shows !
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Even after thirty-two years, I still find it hard to believe that the Arts and Crafts Revival is still going as strong as ever.But, when I think about the excitement and the passion that people from across the country bring to the Omni Grove Park Inn each February, it really is not that hard to believe.
Since 1913 the Grove Park Inn has been known as the mecca for Arts and Crafts enthuiasts. And since 1988 the Arts and Crafts Conference has been educating and entertaining Arts and Crafts enthusiasts at every level -- from beginning collectors and bungalow owners to experienced auction and show veterans.When I founded the National Arts and Crafts Conference thirty years ago, I had but one goal, and that has never changed: to provide educational opportunitiues for every attendee, regardless of their level of experience. From seminars and small group discussions to walking tours, demonstrations, and the selling shows themselves, these three unique days in February are designed with you in mind. (Scroll down for Agenda)So, please, take a stroll through the pages on this website, starting with the Daily Agenda (below) and the Slide Show, to get a feel for what we have planned -- and are continuing to plan -- for you. And if you have any questions, just send us an email or give us a call, as Kate and I are here to answer your questions, take your requests, and do everything we can to make this YOUR most important weekend of the year.See you in February!
Bruce Johnson Director
828.628.1915
acconferenceinfo@charter.net
PS. To stay current with Arts and Crafts events across the country, join our email list and read our weekly newsletter:
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Wednesday, February 19
Pipe & Drape and Table Setup
8:00am - 8:00pm
This is an early arrival day for many of the exhibitors and attendees. If you have never had the opportunity to explore funky downtown Asheville, tour the famous 1895 Biltmore House and Estate, taste our award-winning craft breweries, drive the winding Blue Ridge Parkway, walk our Arts and Crafts neighborhoods, or soak in the world-class Omni Grove Park Inn Spa, you should consider coming early and making this a real vacation.
The Omni Grove Park Inn is again extending a special Arts and Crafts Conference discounted rate of just $136 for unlimited nights before and after the Friday and Saturday nights Weekend Conference Package, so take advantage of this once-a-year opportunity to stay at the country's most famous Arts and Crafts resort hotel. See our Lodging page for details.
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Thursday,
February 20
Exhibitor First Setup Session
8:00am - 7:00pm
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With more than 115 exhibitors -- including antiques dealers, contemporary craftsfirms, magazines, non-profits, historic sites, and book publishers -- it takes nearly two days to get every truck and van unloaded and every booth filled to the brim with the best the Arts and Crafts movement has to offer. But by 1:00pm on Friday, they will all be ready for you.
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Pre-Conference Workshops * *
Each year we offer a series of hands-on workshops for those of you who have arrived early. These are limited in size and the classes fill up quickly. Additional information is included in this website.
To register, simply call our office at
(828) 628-1915
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| Coppersmithing attendees and instructor Frank Glapa during the 2019 "Coppersmiting: Arts and Crafts Style" workshop |
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| You can learn how to prepare a woodblock for the printmaking process during Laura Wilder's "Arts and Crafts Printmaking" workshop |
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Coppersmithing with Frank Glapa (part 1)
Thursday 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Printmaking with Laura Wilder (part 1)
Thursday 2:00 PM to 5:00PM
Embroidery with Natalie Richards (part 1)
Thursday 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
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Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms
Kick-Off Party * *
Begin your conference weekend with the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms' cocktail party in the Omni Grove Park Inn's Skyline Room.
from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
(Make your reservations today! Details on the Stickley Museum's website at
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Friday, February 21
Exhibitor Final Setup Session
8:00am - 1:00pm
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Pre-Conference Workshops
Continued
8:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Coppersmithing with Frank Glapa (part 2)
Printmaking with Laura Wilder (part 2)
Embroidery with Natalie Richards (part 2)
Small Metal Art Project with Ron VanOstrand
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| The Arts and Crafts Printmaking Class shows off their final product. |
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| The 2019 "Coppersmithing: Arts and Crafts Style" class shows off their final product with instructor Frank Glapa |
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While you are enjoying breakfast, attending a hands-on workshop, exploring Asheville, or sitting in on a Small Group Discussion, our exhibitors will be putting the finishing touches on their booths in anticipation of the 1:00pm opening.
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Walking Tours of the Historic
Grove Park Inn
Hourly Friday: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Join GPI historian Sue Angell for an informative 45-minute walking tour that will take you to places you might not have found on your own, and will provide you with fascintaing stories about the famous -- and infamous -- guests, from Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald to presidents from FDR to Obama. A tour not to be missed!
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Walking Tours of the Historic
Biltmore Industries
Friday 10:00 - 11:00am
(Repeats on Saturday and Sunday.)
No, not the 1895 Biltmore House, but the 1905 Biltmore Industries, which George and Edith Vanderbilt supported. Founded in 1905, Biltmore Industries was one of the longest lasting Arts and Crafts cottage industries, making and carving furniture, bowls, bookends, trays, picture frames, and much more. In 1917 the workshops were moved onto the grounds of the Grove Park Inn, where the Arts and Crafts buildings have been restored as a museum, gallery, cafe, and artisan studios. Step back in time on one of these daily one-hour tours.
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Small Group Discussions:
Session #1
Friday 11:00am - Noon
One of the most popular aspects of the conference are our daily Small Group Discussions. Here you will have a chance to select a topic to sit down and discuss with other attendees. No advance registration is necessary. These discussions are lead by volunteer attendees. The final list for each day is still being compiled, so if you have a suggestion, please send us an email.
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All Three Selling Shows Open
Friday 1:00 - 6:00pm
This will be your first opportunity to see and add to your collection some of the finest antiques and new works in the Arts and Crafts style. Our exhibitors save their best pieces for this weekend, so take advantage of this once-a-year opportunity. A complete list of exhibitors is included here.
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Silent Auction: First Session
Friday 1:00 - 6:00pm
Known as the largest and finest Arts and Crafts silent auction, this two-day event serves as a fund-raiser for the non-profit Arts and Crafts Research Fund. Have something to donate for a tax deduction? Call us at (828) 628-1915.
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Arts and Crafts Demonstrations
2:00 - 6:00pm
(Repeat on Saturday and Sunday.)
Peg Morar of Asheville's Peg Morar Studio will reveal the process of tilemaking in her demonstration “The Making of An Arts and Crafts Tile,” bringing her decades of expertise to the conference as she’ll show the basics of tile making, meant for observers of all experience ranges. As an experienced teacher, she creates an easy-to-understand process of tile carving and designing, showing a tile mold in different staging and showing examples of glazed and non-glazed pieces with her standard blue and green glazes.
David Van Epps will return to the Grove Park Inn to teach attendees about mortise and tenon joinery and will bring plenty of examples to show. Known as the strongest joint in woodworking, a mortise and tenon joint connects adjoining two pieces of wood or other material through a mortise hole and a tenon tongue. David’s informal demonstration will be designed for Arts and Crafts woodworkers as well as collectors with furniture that have mortise and tenon joinery.
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Arts and Crafts Book Club Discussion:
Friday 4:30pm - 5:30pm
The Ladies of the Canyons
by Lesley Poling-Kempes
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| Perfect attendees are recognized in the opening remarks of the 2019 National Arts and Crafts Conference at the Grove Park Inn |
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Friday 8:00 - 8:15pm
Opening Remarks
by Bruce Johnson
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An Evening with Jane Addams
Historical portrayal actor Annette Baldwin will present her rendition in character and period dress of Jane Addams, the social justice icon and co-founder of Chicago’s Hull House. Baldwin’s performance will illuminate and bring to life the humanitarian and peace advocate’s warmth and strength of character, while depicting Addams’ journey to find meaning in her own life while striving to effect social change during the Arts and Crafts era.
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Saturday,
February 22
9:00 - 10:00am
"George Ohr: Sophisticate or Rube?"
by Ellen Lippert
The life and times of George Ohr returns to the conference in a talk given by art history professor Ellen Lippert. An experienced presenter on Ohr, Lippert will reveal a comprehensive study of the Mad Potter of Biloxi covering his personal life, his professional works, and his under-appreciated tokens and oddities.
10:00 - 11:00am
"Bert Hubbard: The Forgotten Son Who Saved Roycroft"
by Robert Rust
Most collectors know of Elbert Hubbard, but what about the trials and tribulations of an important Hubbard family member? Historian Robert Rust will present “Bert Hubbard: The Forgotten Son Who Saved Roycroft” and will reveal how Bert saved the Roycroft Campus after his father’s death in 1915 aboard the Lusitania.
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Noon - 6:00pm
All Three Selling Shows Open
Noon - 6:00pm
Arts and Crafts Demonstrations
(Repeat on Sunday.
Peg Morar of Asheville's Peg Morar Studio will reveal the process of tilemaking in her demonstration “The Making of An Arts and Crafts Tile,” bringing her decades of expertise to the conference as she’ll show the basics of tile making, meant for observers of all experience ranges. As an experienced teacher, she creates an easy-to-understand process of tile carving and designing, showing a tile mold in different staging and showing examples of glazed and non-glazed pieces with her standard blue and green glazes.
David Van Epps will return to the Grove Park Inn to teach attendees about mortise and tenon joinery and will bring plenty of examples to show. Known as the strongest joint in woodworking, a mortise and tenon joint connects adjoining two pieces of wood or other material through a mortise hole and a tenon tongue. David’s informal demonstration will be designed for Arts and Crafts woodworkers as well as collectors with furniture that have mortise and tenon joinery.
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Saturday 1:00 - 5:00pm
Preservation Society House Tour * *
(Repeats on Sunday.)
Our itinerary has not yet been finalized, but rest assured the Preservation Society tour guides, both on the bus and in each stop, will provide you with insight into Asheville's history, much of it during the Arts and Crafts era. These tours are always popular, as Asheville has become as well-known as the Grove Park Inn. Stay tuned for more info soon!
1:00 - 6:00pm
Silent Auction: Final Session
Those of you getting off the tour bus of leaving a Small Group Discussions will have time to stop by the Silent Auction to check on your bids -- and your bargains!
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Saturday 3:00 - 4:00pm
Walking Tour of Historic Biltmore Industries.
(Repeats on Sunday.)
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Saturday 3:00 - 4:00pm
Arts and Crafts Book Club Discussion:
by Elizabeth Hickey
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Saturday 4:30 - 5:30pm
Small Group Discussions: Session Two
This will be a fresh set of topics, so check back later.
Saturday 5:00 - 7:30pm
Asheville Art Museum Reception. * *
More information to appear here soon.
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8:00 - 10:00pm
Gustav Stickley: American Craftsman
Directed by Herb Stratford
Saturday evening brings the highly-anticipated special screening of the documentary “Gustav Stickley: American Craftsman” to the Grove Park Inn’s Heritage Ballroom. The feature film will examine the life and work of Arts and Crafts movement pioneer Gustav Stickley. Work on the project began in 2015 and has included filming in five different states and in over nine cities and numerous locations, including such iconic locales as Craftsman Farms and his Columbus Avenue home in Syracuse. The team behind the film has also interviewed numerous individuals related to the Stickley story including family members, historians, and collectors, as well as filming objects from the history of the Stickley legacy. Director Herb Stratford will introduce the film, revealing the behind-the-scenes process of making the film. This will be a premiere you won’t want to miss!
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Sunday, February 23
Seminars
9:00 - 10:00am
“Beating Swords into Ploughshares: World War I and the Arts & Crafts Movement”
by Ryan Berley
Historian and curator Ryan Berley will present his research on the little-known subject of handcrafted items made by soldiers in the wartime trenches and how VA hospitals and sanitariums trained wounded and gassed soldiers to make items in the Arts & Crafts style – such as Asheville silversmith William Waldo Dodge, who was first trained in silversmithing at the Asheville VA hospital. The positive and therapeutic effects of crafting during the turbulence of wartime will be covered in Berley’s talk.
10:00 - 11:00am
“The Bungalow Goes to Hollywood”
by Douglas Keister
Author/writer/photographer Douglas Keister has carved out a career traveling the world documenting historic architecture. In the late 1980s and early 90s he was the photographer for the popular “Painted Ladies” books on effervescently painted Victorian houses. In 1995, he collaborated with architectural historian Paul Duchscherer to produce the iconic series of books on bungalows: The Bungalow (launched at Grove Park in 1995), Inside the Bungalow and Outside the Bungalow. Douglas Keister returns in 2020 to show the development of the Bungalow in glamourous Hollywood in the 20's. Keister's image-packed lecture will give attendees a look behind the scenes of how Storybook Style came to be known as the “architecture that makes you smile.”
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| Photographer Douglas Keister will present a visual journey of the Arts and Crafts Bungalow in Hollywood. Photo courtesy of Douglas Keister. |
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11:00am - 4:00pm
All Three Shows Open
For the Final Session
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This IS a selling show and by Sunday you'll see plenty of these SOLD signs. You know the old adage, "He who snoozes, loses." At this show, anyone who hesitates often loses. Sunday of the conference is a hectic day, regardless whether you are in the Antiques Show or the Contemporary Craftsfirms Show, as people realize this is their last opportunity to take advantage of the largest and finest Arts and Crafts show in the country. Our biggest regrets are always those things we didn't buy....
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Sunday 11:00 - 4:00pm
Arts and Crafts Demonstrations
David Van Epps will return to the Grove Park Inn to teach attendees about mortise and tenon joinery and will bring plenty of examples to show. Known as the strongest joint in woodworking, a mortise and tenon joint connects adjoining two pieces of wood or other material through a mortise hole and a tenon tongue. David’s informal demonstration will be designed for Arts and Crafts woodworkers as well as collectors with furniture that have mortise and tenon joinery.
Sunday 12:30 - 1:30pm
Small Group Discussions
This will be a fresh set of topics, so check back later to see what they will be.
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Sunday 12:30 - 4:30pm
Preservation Society House Tour * *
This will a repeat of Saturday's tour, so pick the day that works best for your schedule.
Walking Tour of the Historic
Biltmore Industries
Sunday 1:00 - 2:00pm
4:00pm
33rd National Arts and Crafts Conference closes.
Sign up for the February 2021 34th National Arts and Crafts Conference starts in early January of 2020. Check back here for the specific day when you can reserve your favorite room!
* * **The Conference Events Pass/Grove Park Inn Weekend package DO NOT include admission for the following events: the Craftsman Farms Kickoff Party, the Art Museum event, & the Historic House tours. These events are all fundraisers for non-profit organizations. Additionally, the Conference Events Pass does not include registration for any Pre-Conference workshops. For additional information regarding the workshops, please see the Pre-Conference Workshop page.
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