It never ceases to amaze me how much I learn from my students. One day this past semester I was teaching a course on the Decorative Arts after 1800 and discussing the Arts and Crafts Movement in England. I was showing the students some pictures of the architecture and furniture of Charles F. A. Voysey, when all of a sudden one of my students became very excited and said her hometown clubhouse was built in homage to Voysey. I was stunned because outside of architecture students and lovers of the Arts and Crafts Movement, who would ever have heard of Voysey, let alone believe a clubhouse hand been built echoing his philosophy, and his style. She promised to bring me an article on the clubhouse. My post is based on that article by Susan Sully, published in “Legends, The Magazine of Gracious Island Living.”

“The scope of this book is strictly decorative arts in the Glasgow Style, aimed at the collector. That leads to some odd emissions. No architecture and no fine Art building–even if it is the Glasgow Style rendered in stone–and none of Frances McNair’s remarkable paintings. Those can be seen in many other books or on the Internet. I specifically want to explore items that are not necessarily in other books, things that may not be museum-quality but that represent the broad spectrum of objects made in the Glasgow Style.”

“Architect George Howe thought there were three pioneers of American architecture: Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and William L. Price. Although history has borne out Howe’s observation on Sullivan and Wright, Will Price sill awaits discovery.”

Last weekend I traveled to Pasadena, California for Pasadena Heritage’s Craftsman Weekend. It’s an exhilarating experience that every Arts and Crafts era fan should experience. Pasadena is home to many, exceptional, well-maintained examples of Arts and Crafts homes including works from noted architects Sylvanus Marston; Frederick Louis Roehrig; and Charles and Henry Greene. Compelling Arts and Crafts exhibits were on display at the Huntington Library, Pasadena Museum of History, and the Pasadena Museum of Contemporary Art. And of course there was lots of furniture, both contemporary and original, available at the Masonic Temple Marketplace. Now, here are a few of things that I learned on my Pasadena pilgrimage.

If like me, you weren’t able to make it to New Jersey for Rago Arts and Auction Center’s Craftsman Auction Weekend, you may be interested to see what collectors were willing to pay for the Arts and Craft treasures being offered.

This past weekend I visited Asheville, NC for the annual Brewgrass Festival. The festival features over 30 American breweries showcasing more than 100 different beers. Now add a great lineup of national and reginonal bluegrass musicians and a variety of local area food vendors, and you’ve got all the ingredients for a great day! So what’s the Arts and Crafts experience?

On a recent trip to Minnesota’s Twin Cities I discovered four great Arts and Crafts destinations-the Minneapolis Institute of Arts Museum, the Purcells-Cutt House, the Eastwood Gallery, and the Arbor Inn, which is actually located just across the river in Wisconsin.

One aspect of furniture design is understanding the history behind a particular style or influence. I enjoy building in the Arts and Crafts style, so when I stumbled upon an online course titled “Arts and Crafts Movement” offered by The New School University (www.newschool.edu ), I signed up. New School is an online university run by the Parsons School of Design located in New York City. I’m told by those with knowledge of design and art schools that Parsons is a very reputable design/Art school.

I recently visited the Winterthur Museum & Country Estate in Winterthur, Delaware. In addition to the 175 room mansion of the DuPont family, the Winterthur estate is also home to a major research library specializing on American culture. They have a very extensive collection of information on furniture-including Colonial, shaker, and Arts & Crafts furniture. It includes the third largest Shaker library in the country, and one of the best research collections on the Arts & Crafts movement in America. The library’s Arts & Crafts collection includes business papers from many companies, original periodicals, and glass-plate negatives.