Bruce Johnson
Conference Director
(828) 628-1915
Dear Arts & Crafts Collector,
Nearly one hundred years ago, on July 12, 1913, guests began streaming into the Grove Park Inn, a new 150-room resort hotel built, as Frank Lloyd Wright said, "of the mountain, not on the mountain." Inside they were astonished to see what 400 men had built in just twelve months and twelve days. The world-famous Great Hall featured not one, but two massive fireplaces built not of rocks, but of granite boulders hauled in from Sunset Mountain. Four rock pillars supported the poured concrete ceiling, matte glazed tiles lined the stairwells and oak trim glistened under a fresh coat of shellac.
And it was all Arts & Crafts.
The rooms were furnished with Roycroft furniture and illuminated with mica sconces, lamps and chandeliers from the Roycroft Copper Shop. Guests tried out the leather-cushioned Heywood-Wakefield wicker rockers, bought souvenir postcards, Pisgah Forest and Newcomb College pottery, carved bowls and bookends from Biltmore Industries, Roycroft books, and relaxed on the open porches in Old Hickory rocking chairs.
Although both the Arts & Crafts style and the Grove Park Inn lost their appeal during the mid-twentieth century, starting in 1988 with the inaugeral Arts & Crafts Conference and Antiques Show, they both began a comeback. For the past 23 years collectors from across the country have converged on this historic Arts & Crafts resort - now featuring a world-famous spa and the finest convention facilities - for a three day educational conference and three selling shows: the Arts & Crafts Antiques Show, the Contemporary Craftsfirms Show, and the Books, Magazines & More Show.
Every aspect of this three-day event is designed with you, the collector, in mind. From each of the eight major seminars to the daily Small Group Discussions to the 125 exhibitors, every activity and each event for these three days have been selected with you, your Arts & Crafts education, your home, and your enjoyment in mind.
And after twenty-three years of organizing this event, I can promise that you will hear more, do more, and see more Arts & Crafts in these three days than most people can in an entire year.
Its all Arts & Crafts - and it only happens once a year and in one place: the Grove Park Inn.
I hope you will take a few moments to learn more about the national Arts & Crafts Conference in this web site, but if you have any remaining questions, just give us a call or send me an email.
We look forward to seeing you in February!
Bruce Johnson Sarah Urquhart
Conference Director Conference Registration Manager
bj1915@charter.net (828) 628-1915
PS - Don't miss the slideshow here on the site!
