About 30 years ago, I had this idea that there ought to be a book of measured drawings of Arts & Crafts period furniture, focusing on the designs of Gustav Stickley. Gus called his work “Craftsman” furniture, and I think that term is far more appropriate than “Mission” furniture. “Mission” was a term coined by … Read more
This is a model of a reproduction of the Gustav Stickley No. 369 Morris Chair. Read more
Gustav Stickley and his furniture company were a complex and paradoxical lot. Stickley was a design icon, yet no drawings or work-notes in his hand seem to have survived (although the work of a number of nameless designers for his company does survive). He was a moderate socialist, and an aggressive businessman. He glorified individual … Read more
My favorite project is usually the last one I’ve finished, or the one I’m about to start. The cover project for the April 2011 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine will likely stay a favorite for a long, long time. It’s a reproduction of a Gustav Stickley No. 369 bent arm chair. Gus knew what he … Read more
A one-of-a-kind table reappears after 100 years. By Robert W. Lang Pages: 56-61 From the November 2006 issue #158 Buy this issue now Most original Gustav Stickley furniture can be easily identified by model number. This was, after all, factory-made furniture and pieces were designed to be made in multiples. When you come across an … Read more
In the mid-1860s a carpenter in Sussex, England named Ephraim Colman had a brilliant idea, to make a chair with an adjustable back. The idea was sketched by Warrington Taylor, and adapted by Phillip Webb for a chair to be produced by William Morris and Company. Chairs have had a slow evolution, and the best … Read more
I read a column about “professional blogging” the other day that mentioned a blog is the one place in journalism where it’s accepted practice to start with an anecdote about your grandmother. So here goes. I was raised that it was wrong, wrong, wrong to ever brag, boast or call undue attention to yourself. Grandma … Read more
