• 4th Annual Arts & Crafts Chicago show & sale

    Just got this press release in my inbox. If any of you go, please send me photographs! And remember, the Frank Lloyd Wright home & studio is in River Forest, too, so you could easily make a nice weekend out of this:

    The 4th Annual Arts and Crafts Chicago Show and Sale is coming back to
    Concordia University in River Forest on Saturday, May 30th and Sunday,
    May 31st 2009. Focusing on mission furniture and accessories of the
    American Arts and Crafts Movement (approximately 1890-1920), this show
    will truly be one you won’t want to miss. You’ll find 20th Century
    Decorative Arts including furniture, metalwork, pottery, textiles, art
    and lighting; everything from Stickley, Limbert, Roycroft, Rookwood and
    much more. Over 50 of the nations leading dealers will be on hand to
    answer questions and advise on how to decorate your home. This
    specialized event has proven to be one of the premiere antique and
    contemporary shows in the Midwest.

    Dealers attending this year’s show are coming from all across the
    country. We have dealers from Massachusetts, New York, California,
    Texas as well as the best dealers from the Midwest. JMW and Crones
    Collectibles from Massachusetts will be featuring high-end pottery from
    the Northeast such as Grueby, Saturday Evening Girls and Marblehead, as
    well as furniture and accessories. Jack Papadinis Antiques,
    Connecticut, will be showcasing some of the premiere lighting in the
    country and David Surgan from New York will offer the best Heintz
    Collection for sale in the country. Paramour Fine Arts, which
    specializes in arts and crafts era woodblocks and art, will be on hand
    showcasing some fabulous artwork from the era. Local dealers such as
    John Toomey Gallery will be exhibiting as well, highlighting Midwest
    artists such as Frank Lloyd Wright, TECO and Jarvie.

    Not only is this an antique show, but the weekend will showcase the
    highest quality contemporary craftsfirms as well. Ephraim Faience
    Pottery, Door Pottery, Arts and Crafts Hardware and Dard Hunter Studios
    will be in attendance, just to name a few.

    With the success of the show over the last three years and with the
    rich tradition of bungalows, as well as the Prairie School heritage of
    Frank Lloyd Wright, Chicago has proven to be a perfect fit for this
    specialized show.

    Homeowners interested in educating themselves as to the appropriate
    furnishings for their turn of the century bungalows and craftsman style
    homes shouldn’t miss the 4th Annual Arts and Crafts Chicago Show and
    Sale, Saturday May 30th, 2009, from 10 am – 5 pm and Sunday May 31st
    from 11 am – 4 pm at Concordia University at Geiseman Gym in River
    Forest, Illinois. Admission price is only $7 each. Free parking on site
    in a 5-level garage. No parking on Monroe.

  • Stickley on Craigslist part 2 – and more

    I got over a dozen emails from those of you who found our Stickley-on-Craigslist aggregator (a page that lists all the Stickley items for sale in 15 major American cities’ Craigslists, filtered for those that include photographs), so I not only wanted to remind those of you who may be shopping for a major holiday gift for your Craftsman furniture loving spouse, but also to introduce something new…

    I’ve made variants of the same pipe for a few other search terms. Remember to bookmark this page, as these aggregators will always show the most recent entries for these terms, whether you check them today or next year:

    And remember, if you use Firefox or Safari (now available for Windows, too!) or another browser that lets you use live bookmarks, you can simply drag the rss feed right into your menu bar – or add it to your favorite newsreader or start page.

    Also, while I was playing around with Yahoo Pipes, I created a news aggregator – similar to Google News, but this one not only pulls in news stories, it also illustrates them with new and hopefully related photographs from Flickr:

  • 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:

  • September Craigslist finds, west coast-centric

    It’s interesting how some communities really embrace Craigslist and use it regularly, and some areas hardly touch it. I’ve noticed that many of the midwest and southern states use it rarely – mostly only for employment and rental advertising, while even small cities on both coasts have extremely active Craigslist communities. So, just in case you were wondering why I give short schrift to certain parts of the country in these monthly reports, that’s your answer. Meanwhile, today’s crop:

    • library desk with shelves, interesting detail, excellent condition: $950, San Ramon CA
    • sideboard with good grain and unique round mirror: $365, Hollywood CA
    • Limbert dresser, good condition & nice hardware: $900, San Jose CA
    • armchair with high spindle back & leather seat, signed Stickley: $450, Santa Ana CA
    • partner desk with shelves and "tug-of-war" drawers: $650, Santa Cruz CA
    • pedestal / plant stand, attractive grain: $275, Portland OR
    • rocker, leather seat & nice wide slat back: $250, Salinas CA
    • rocker, slat back, with velvet seat and back: $40, Tacoma WA
    • library table & side chair with some interesting details: $150 for both, Templeton CA
    • armoire with interesting detail, mirror on door: $1850, Spokane WA
    • settle & armchair, Stickley, matching upholstery: $2500, Northridge CA
    • dining table and four spindle-backed sidechairs: $500, Molalla OR
    • piano bench designed after a 1910 Stickley design, very attractive: $450, Estacada OR
    • cabinet doors or entry door sidelights with pretty stained glass: $275, Seattle WA

  • Arts & Crafts on Ebay: August 2007

    There are plenty of interesting pieces of A&C furniture and ceramics on Ebay right now – almost 50% more than I usually see up there, with some neat Roycroft pieces and pretty tiles too. Maybe people are cleaning out their own collections this summer, or trying to cover the costs of their rising mortgages by selling off family treasures (I hope not!). Here are some items closing soon that caught my eye:

  • Craigslist finds, May 2007: West Coast Edition

    Plenty of nice stuff out there if you know where to look. Included for your edification, several bits & pieces of Arts & Crafts furniture, architectural salvage and other related items that I’ve found using the terrific Craigslist search engine Crazedlist.

    • refinished Limbert dresser with original copper hardware, $1000 (San Francisco CA)
    • document or sample cabinet, $340 (Santa Cruz CA)
    • Gustav Stickley ladderback chair, $475 (Santa Cruz CA)
    • L & JG Stickley "postal desk" and rocker, $500 ea (Glendora CA)
    • set of 4 early Mission Revival / Craftsman side chairs and 1 armchair, $350 (Ventura CA)
    • Stickley #729 writing desk, $5900 (Montecito CA)
    • round pedestal dining table, $600 (Sherman Oaks CA)
    • set of four c1925 Stickley side chairs, $3600 (Las Vegas NV)
    • set of two contemporary Stickley spindle-back armchairs, $1300 (Del Mar CA)
    • contemporary glass-top Stickley coffee table, $250 (San Diego CA)
    • L & JG Stickley armless rocker, $500 (Portland OR)
    • another Stickley armless rocker, this one with new-ish leather seat, $250 (Portland OR)
    • Stickley Bros. rocker, needs minor repair, $225 (Tacoma WA)
    • drop-leaf Mission desk, $275 (Alameda CA)