gift

last-minute gift shopping on Amazon
I prefer to buy all the holiday gifts for my friends and family from local businesses and craftspeople, but it’s not always possible: many recipients live far away, or need something very specific. And sometimes the online price, even with shipping, is far less than it is anywhere else – and I am not, by any means, wealthy. So there’s that whole needing to make the house payment thing. Should you have backed yourself into a corner and need a few quick fixes this holiday season, there’s plenty – whether you’re buying for a local friend, your spouse, or a faraway family member – on Amazon:
furniture
- attractive spindle-sided cushioned bench for $99
- pretty tile-topped endtable
- a similar piece without the tile, and in a darker finish
- another endtable, this one with a cabinet & shelving
- neat drop-front desk at a terrific bargain
- low, four-shelf storage unit
- wall hook with shelf
- another wall shelf with a bit more detail
- "lowboy" shelf / cabinet storage unit
lighting
- a very cool copper and glass table lamp
- mission / prairie glass pendant
- interesting stained glass table lamp
- pretty Tiffany-glass pendant
- a pretty, minimalist outdoor sconce
- a very nice traditional wall sconce
tools & fixtures
- the be-all, end-all of hammers: the truly great douglas 20-oz framing hammer
- 115-piece tool / home repair set, at a great price
- a very pretty, classic American Standard bath fixture
- an attractive Greene & Greene doorbell
books
- Simon Hyoun’s The American Craftsman, a book of plans in full color
- Christian Gladu’s (of The Bungalow Company) new Small Bungalows
- The Essential Guide to the Steel Square – a must-have for woodworkers and builders
- Taunton’s new guide, Affordable Remodel
and finally, for those who are either completely nuts, ridiculously rich or have a 30-foot entryway to light:
- Meyda Tiffany’s Avondale 2-tier, 10-arm chandelier for just over $11,000. And whoopee – free shipping!
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wanted: dining room table

wanted: Attractive & sturdy Craftsman-style rectangular dining room table with 2 leaves – capable of seating 8 or 10 with the leaves in, 4-6 without – for under $500. Something that will stay sturdy and last at least two generations. Any suggestions?
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this month’s ebay finds
Plenty of interesting furniture, metalwork, glass & more on Ebay this month, with more than the usual number of small gift items available:
- very detailed spindle-sided dollhouse furniture
- attractive new prairie box chair, from craftsman Dale Martin
- Guthrie oak sideboard
- antique Craftsman child’s rocker
- contemporary Stickley #89-1128A stereo cabinet
- enormous contemporary corner desk / office set
- attractive 1907 Limbert glass-front china cabinet
- a very unique sideboard / dental cabinet, c 1910
- pretty 1906 Limbert daybed with spade cutout
- Limbert book & letter holder, c 1910
- pair of Roycroft copper bookends
- inexpensive Roycroft copper letterholder
- Roycroft hammered copper trays, set of three
- tapered form Roycroft vase, hammered copper with rare nickel patina
- Grueby Faience tall green vase
- pretty yellow and green vase by Scott Draves formerly of Ephraim Faience
- Teco matte green buttressed vase
- contemporary oak wall mirror with shelf
- signed Gustav Stickley rocker with leather seat
- attractive slat-back A&C armchair
- Mission style bench salvaged from railroad station
- Stickley Bros. drop-front desk #6534, circa 1903
- chest of drawers, Gustav Stickley red label
- Craftsman secretary, unique design
- contemporary wood and mica ceiling-mount light fixture
- contemporary wood and mica lamp by same designer as above
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fine furniture on Etsy.com
Speaking of buying handmade gifts this holiday season, I took a quick look at Etsy.com, a site which lets all sorts of craftspeople market their wares easily, and found that plenty of talented woodworkers are selling some really nice furniture:
- Surrender Desk & Apex Rocking Chair: solid cherry & curly maple
- Curly Cherry Dean: maple legs & curly cherry top
- square Mission coffee table: solid ash, great grain
- Charles Rennie Mackintosh design king bed: solid ash. massive! – also in a queen
- plant stands / tabourets: solid ash, lighter stain
- simple Amish farm bench: solid butternut
- small display shelf: pretty wood, fantastic price
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buy handmade this holiday season

There are plenty of reasons to buy only handmade gifts this holiday season, chief among them that handmade objects have more soul & personality than even the finest machine-made mass-produced goods. Of course, there are also environmental and social reasons: money stays in the craftperson’s community, and doesn’t (as often) go into the coffers of WalTargetMartEtc. or another international conglomerate that cares not at all about its customers or the quality of the products it sells. From buyhandmade.com:
Buying Handmade makes for better gift-giving.
The
giver of a handmade gift has avoided the parking lots and long lines of
the big chain stores in favor of something more meaningful. If the
giver has purchased the gift, s/he feels the satisfaction of supporting
an artist or crafter directly. The recipient of the handmade gift
receives something that is one-of-a-kind, and made with care and
attention that can be seen and touched. It is the result of skill
and craftsmanship that is absent in the world of large-scale
manufacturing.
Buying handmade is better for people.
The
ascendancy of chain store culture and global manufacturing has left us
dressing, furnishing, and decorating alike. We are encouraged to be
consumers, not producers, of our own culture. Our ties to the local and
human sources of our goods have been lost. Buying handmade helps us
reconnect.
Buying handmade is better for the environment.
The
accumulating environmental effects of mass production are a major cause
of global warming and the poisoning of our air, water and soil. Every
item you make or purchase from a small-scale independent artist or
crafter strikes a small blow to the forces of mass production.
There are plenty of ways to do this. Visit one of the many hundreds of folks selling their wares on etsy.com, for instance, or your local artists’ guild, or contact a local community or technical college and find out who your neighborhood’s cabinetmakers and furniture carpenters are. Either way, down with plastic and up with real gifts!
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Ebay roundup, October 2007, part 1
This month, there are more knicknacks than you can shake even the fanciest stick at over on the mother of all online auction sites. The following aren’t necessarily excellent deals, but everything here is at least interesting.
As usual, I’m avoiding everything labeled misleadingly (i.e., "Roycroft era," "Stickley style," "maybe Stickley?," etc. … I’ll have plenty more up next week and the week after.
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bits & pieces on ebay, September 25 2007
I’m trying to keep to my policy of only including items here that are listed honestly – i.e., not labeled "Stickley-era," "possibly Roycroft," etc.
These are mostly unsigned items, either underpriced or honestly priced in my opinion (although I did include a few interesting signed items, too). While there were plenty of other good deals this week, many were expiring today or tomorrow, so I didn’t include those.
furniture
- high-backed Stickley rocker
- slat-back/arm bench with leather seat
- small bookcase / magazine rack
- sofa table with interesting tenon detail
- Limbert daybed with spade / leaf cutout
- Limbert child’s rocker with original seat
- light wood wall shelves
ceramics
- matte green hanging flowerpot
- Seiz Pottery doorbell
- matte blue Zanesville bowl
- pink & green Fulper vase
- nautilus shell motif tile in oak frame
- unsigned green glossy low bowl
- lot of 40 Mexican talavera tiles, 4×4, floral design
metal
- pair of oak and green glass table lamps
- Limbert lamp base in hammered brass
- copper log box with oak tree motif
- brass inkwell
- desk tray in copper with silver inlay
- hammered copper humidor
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Arts & Crafts on Ebay: September 2007
Lots of A&C copper, furniture & various knick-knacks of interest to Arts & Crafts collectors and aficionados up on Ebay this week. I’m not including prices since I’m writing this on Monday and by the time it goes up on Tuesday morning, the current bids may all be a bit higher than they are now; I did try to select only what I thought were underpriced / good bargain items.
copper: Lots of copper, some nice and some crap. Ignore all the "I was told this was Roycroft but it’s unmarked" claims (or this guy, who inexplicably includes the word "Roycroft" in the name of an Joseph Sankey copper pitcher) – they diligently marked all their pieces, and while some of these unmarked pieces are nice items, they are not Roycroft so don’t be tricked into paying a premium for them. Same goes for the folks who list items as "Stickley era" or "possibly Gustav Stickley?" – they’re just using the shotgun approach to get as many people to see the listing as possible, and while you can’t fault their sales acumen, you certainly shouldn’t give money to these ethically-challenged dealers. Here are some attractive pieces which seem to be sold honestly and without the tricks listed above:
- hammered copper platter, 13 inches, nice patina
- hammered copper vase, 8 inches tall
- hammered copper vase, 5 inches tall
- hammered copper urn, Mexican, enormous – 4 feet deep and 32 inches wide!
- copper box with oversized lid, attractive but needs some TLC
- hammered copper candleholder marked JHD or JD
- copper and glass table lamp, Meyda Tiffany (contemporary), after a Roycroft design
furniture: Again, avoid the folks who have no idea what they’re selling. If it seems too good to be true (a Stickley Bros. armchair for $100?), it probably is; there are many dozens of cases of unscrupulous dealers affixing labels or making fake marks on unsigned pieces to drive the price up, so be careful. The following pieces seem to be listed accurately and fairly:
- pair of Limbert chairs – one armchair, one rocker, with vinyl cushions (needing replacement)
- wall mirror with shelf and attractive trim, 36 x 24 inches
- loveseat / settle / sofa, attractive upholstery and spindle sides
lighting: You would be amazed (or maybe not) at the number of jerks who list their cheap made-in-China knockoffs as a "Dirk van Erp original." However, not all ebay sellers are ripoff artists:
- copper and glass table lamp, Meyda Tiffany (contemporary), after a Roycroft design
- oak & mica table lamp, very pretty design and materials
- floor lamp, oak and mica, octagonal shade
architectural salvage & etc.
- entry door & sidelights – pretty windows & shelf/lintel
- heavy copper doorbell from Restoration Hardware, new in package
- copper doorhandle & kickplate originally from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin
- mantel, dark stained oak with pretty detail, from 1906 Kentucky house
- wall clock, New Haven Clock Co.
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Arts & Crafts ceramic tile on ebay
I’ve been getting lots of emails asking for more links to interesting items for sale – on Craigslist, Ebay, at auction or wherever. So this week and next I’ll be posting a lot more like this.
Today, pretty A&C tiles on Ebay – some in bulk, some in frames, some individually:
- green Nouveau patterned tiles (set of 10)
- blue / green Maijolica tiles (set of 10)
- A&C green tree motif tile, "odd inq" mark, 6×6
- another "odd inq" 6×6 tile, this one in a dragonfly motif
- a third "odd inq" tile, river and pine motif, 4×4
- two-piece Van Briggle tile frieze – 100-year-old pattern in new tile, in an oak frame
- pretty little table with four pieces of Malibu or Catalina-style tile inset
- very sharp mourning dove / olive design Motawi tile in a wooden frame
- green/gray relief tile, pelican motif, in an interesting frame
- octagonal cuenca pine / sunset motif tile
- green gingko leaf motif tile, 4×4
- lily-of-the-valley motif tile, 4×8
- gingko design relief tile, green, same maker as previous, 6×6
- reproduction of Grueby design, trees in landscape motif, wood-framed
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Russ Billington: Arts & Crafts mottos from England

Russ Billington is an artist living and working in the village of Pimperne in Dorset, England. He’s recently begun producing a line of hand-drawn and painted mottos, as nice as anything I’ve seen from the Roycrofters and other great graphic artists of the Arts & Crafts Movement. Each is on 100% cotton Arches, and in addition to his stock of standards, he will also adapt or customize any motto of your choice. Russ takes personalized projects as well; do drop him a line if you have something unique in mind.
Each piece is 8 x 12 on a sheet approximate 12 x 16 inches, and they start at US$125.
For enquiries in the US and Canada, contact David Ford at fordcraftsmanonline.com. To contact Russ for a custom project, email russlisa2@yahoo.co.uk.
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