The 2026 Small Group Discussion Topics
From the very beginning of the National Arts and Crafts Conference at the Grove Park Inn, our seminar presentations have been so popular that we have always held them in the spacious Heritage Ballroom. It soon became apparent that attempting to hold a traditional question-and-answer session with each speaker afterwards was impractical in a large ballroom, so in its place we began offering daily Small Group Discussions.
Friday, February 20th – 11am – Noon
Art Pottery Collecting 101
with Christine Boone and Patti Bourgeois
The Skyline Room (Sammons wing)
Unfortunately, this session has been cancelled. Sorry for any inconveniences.
“Spotting Furniture Fakes, Forgeries, and Repairs”
with N. Gordon Gray
American Arts and Crafts Prints and Frames
with Mike McCue
The Heritage Ballroom (Sammons wing)
Collecting Textiles
with Dianne Ayres
The Heritage Ballroom (The Sammons Wing)
Researching For Your Book: Where Do I Start?
with Jill Thomas-Clark
Rhododendron room (The Sammons Wing)
Saturday, February 21st – 2:30pm – 3:30pm
Saturday: The full conference and show weekend will be up and running! Both the 8th floor Vanderbilt wing and the Sammons wing will be utilized during Saturday and Sunday. Double check the locations of the session that you want to attend!
“Building Towards the Future: Beyond the ‘Arts & Crafts’ at the Stickley Museum”
with Executive Director Jonathan Clancy
The Skyline Room (The Sammons Wing)
Saturday, February 21st – 4:30pm – 5:30pm
More Frank Lloyd Wright: The Oak Park Office
with speaker Lisa Schrenk
The Skyline Room (Sammons Wing)
Arts & Crafts Metalwork: English Influences and More
with speaker David Marshall
Laurel F/G (Sammons wing)
Utopian Communities in Arts & Crafts and Beyond
with speaker Thomas Guiler
Laurel H/J (Sammons wing)
“Remuddling, Remodeling, or Restoration?”
with Norman Blankenship
Roosevelt Room K (Vanderbilt)
How To Publish Your Book
with Peter Copeland
Roosevelt Room L (Vanderbilt)
Creating a Naturalistic Garden to Enhance Your A&C Home
with Karen Sutherland
Wilson Room O (Vanderbilt)
The Arts & Crafts: A Disorderly Movement?
with Andre Chaves
Wilson Room P (Vanderbilt)
Sunday, February 22nd – 12:30 – 1:30pm
Sunday: It’s the last day of the conference. Take this opportunity for one last session with friends and shop the shows for the last minute deals.
Both the 8th floor Vanderbilt wing and the Sammons wing will be utilized during Saturday and Sunday. Double check the locations of the session that you want to attend!
Remembering Bill Porter, Pat Bartinique, Bruce Austin, and Others We’ve Lost
with Conference Director Kate Nixon
The Skyline Room (Sammons wing)
New Orleans’ Best: More On The Works of Newcomb Pottery
with Elyse Gerstenecker
Laurel F/G (Sammons wing)
Craft Revival vs. Capitalism: What Lessons Can We Learn from The Three Mountaineers?
with Heath Towson
Laurel H/J (Sammons wing)
“Stickley’s Craftsman Homes—How to Find and Restore Them”
with author Ray Stubblebine
Roosevelt Room K (Vanderbilt wing)
Recognizing Authentic Joinery in Arts and Crafts Furniture
with E. Stewart Crick
Roosevelt Room L (Vanderbilt wing)
Arts and Crafts Furniture of the Lesser Known Firms
with Mike McCracken
Wilson Room O (Vanderbilt wing)
Arts and Crafts Color 101
with Interior Designer Karen Hovde
Wilson Room P (Vanderbilt wing)