Stickley Era, the Arts & Crafts Movement

[Stonecat]

This is interesting; Bruce Johnson has just launched a site.

http://artsandcraftscollector.com/
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Stonecat

[Wabash]

I like that site, the article about the front door is timely for me. Would it be worthwhile to ask him to put a link to this forum on his site?

[Steve06]

Very interesting - this might be it stonecat. He has a huge contact list and obviously a big commercial angle. It might (hopefully) become a one-stop shop for A&C collectors.

HOWEVER, big problem pointed out already - no functionality in the discussion forums. Essentially we need this discussion format with all its functions embedded within Bruce's site. I have a feeling that can be made to happen. It would be fantastic if all of our current material could be transferred over.

Bruce is also suggesting a huge reference library of shop marks.

Stonecat - I am guessing you have thought a lot about this already but I highly recommend that you contact Bruce directly and make some sort of proposition to get this forum or this style of forum put into his web site. It also seems that this might make a great outlet for your big reference collection - unless you really do plan to publish it somehow....??

[Stonecat]

Easy now. Just because Bruce Johnson now has a one week old website doesn't mean I'm jumping on his bandwagon.

"...the explosion of websites has left Arts & Crafts collectors, businesses and homeowners adrift in a turbulent ocean with no map, no compass and no directory to help us." Is he the new Elbert Hubbard or what??

Basically I see a lot of the style of the Arts and Crafts Society (our old site) plus some American Bungalow site, some Arts and Crafts Home site, and gustavstickley.com thrown in. What he's showing is already being done. Time will tell if his site works. Don't get me wrong; it's good to see fresh stuff and don't let me suggest folks shouldn't sign up and contribute. It's true it looks like his forum and buy/sell system is not the best and this will certainly need work. On the buy/sell thing, the A&C site had a classified when we hung out there, but it was barely used and the new owners canned it. We've discussed it here as well, and basically you are free to post any sell side stuff you want if you are a member in good standing. Nonetheless this doesn't seem to happen much.

The one key problem with having a forum on a commercial site is that the common denominator amongst us common collectors is how cheap we are 'We' are not dealer friendly. This forum and the old forum have had sparse representation from dealers and all seem to have come and gone. Dealers and contemporary craftspeople want to talk about high value pricing and a strong market, who can blame them, but not how joe public can score cheap deals at field shows, auctions, flea markets and so on. My point is that it remains to be seen if his 'collector' angle pans out or not - it might just alienate the commercial side of the site, and obviously there is a commercial side. With the commercial side also signed up and paying for advertising on the other sites noted above, plus the cost of their own sites, plus the current economy, they might not exactly be jumping on the bandwagon either. On that note, he can buy out my database for...

Final note on bringing buyers and sellers together in one big marketplace....it's called ebay.
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Stonecat

[Steve06]

Stonecat - you have obviously thought about this waaay more than I have, and for good reason. You have some great points, maybe the best of which is that we are all cheap, or should I say frugal. I was just talking to another collector about this yesterday - that one of the best things is finding that gem when you least expect it. It is probably one of the things I like the most about this hobby. Anyone can 'find' an original finish Gus piece at a top auction house or dealer if they have enough 1000s in their pockets, but finding a rare Limbert tabouret at a Midwest antique mall for 125$ is totally different!

I know I will be sticking around here just because it seems that so many of us are on a similar wavelength. Plus I think this forum format works great!

[Klay]

[morganpam]

I, for one, love seeing everyone's finds and have learned quite a bit from this forum. One day, I hope to actually be knowledgeable enough to share something you guys might not know!