Born into a working class German-American family, Gustav (born Gustave) Stickley was born poor enough that he was put to work by his father at age 12. While William Morris was born into a posh English family and later philosophically rejected it for his utopian socialistic ideals, Gustav and his brothers were not so privileged. Gustav’s father was actually born with the last name Stoeckel, but changed it to Americanize the sound of his signature. In that same manner of thinking Gustav later brought William Morris’s Arts and Crafts Movement back to the United States, and then Americanized it with his signature. Stickley brought to the world American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement.

With the Arts and Crafts Movement reaching its zenith from 1900 to 1915 by 1901, Stickley had turned “mission” furniture into an American living room standard. Suffering from an over-exposure to the gilded machine age of Victorian England, social reformers such as William Morris and John Ruskin founded the Arts & Crafts movement in Britain during the late nineteenth century. Their literal philosophy declared that a return to simplicity was needed to protect society from the growing inhumanity of the Industrial Revolution.

After traveling to Europe, Gustav Stickley was deeply inspired by these European social reformers. After his return to the States Stickley constructed an organic philosophy of simplicity and function that became famous world round. His take on the Arts and Crafts philosophy came to life in his radical and functional furniture style. Furniture was not the only thing Gustav cared about when creating an organic environment for the American home, and in fact he soon began designing the actual homes. Stickley published the famous Craftsman magazine, hosting the Craftsman Home Builders Club, through which tens of thousands of blueprints for homes were free to subscribers.

Today Amish craftsman, many like Stickley of German ancestry, bring the same honest, integrity that Gustav Stickley sought when he designed his American idea of Arts and Crafts called Craftsman. Solid native American hardwoods, fantastic stain choices and durable construction and finishes, are all available now in Mission, Craftsman and Arts and Crafts designs; thanks to the honorable woodworking Amish artisans, keeping Stickley alive today.

Tags: Amish, Art, Arts and Crafts, arts and crafts movement, Craftsman, Furniture, Gustav Stickley, hardwood, Mission, organic environment, William Morris

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 at 9:30 pm and is filed under Amish Furniture Styles, Arts and Crafts, Chairs, Craftsman, Dining Room Furniture, History of Furniture Making, Mission, Oak Furniture, Organic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.