http://lifestylemags.com/stories/Stickley

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“Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful –” William Morris (1834–1896)

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Stickley Legendary Arts & Crafts Furniture Company Continues American-Made Hand Craftsmanship Well into its Second Century

By Kris Grant The story of Stickley furniture begins with three words “Als Ik Kan,” an old Flemish craftsman’s phrase meaning “to the best of my ability.”

Gustav Stickley marked every product with that phrase to assure customers that his furniture was of the finest quality and that each piece was made with integrity and pride.

Gustav Stickley was born in Osceola, Wisconsin in 1858. In 1901, he founded The Craftsman, a periodical which expounded the philosophy of the English Arts & Crafts movement based on the teachings of William Morris. But Stickley refined the philosophy into a distinctly American voice and promoted an organic architecture — architecture that promotes harmony between humans and the natural world.

This philosophy carried over to the furniture that was crafted by not only Gustav, but his four brothers — Albert, Charles, Leopold and John George.

All five brothers began making furniture at their uncle’s factory in Brandt, Pennsylvania around 1877. From 1883 to 1918 every Stickley had worked with each brother on at least one venture, though at no time did all five work together.

Mike Danial and Sheryll Jackman

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The L. & J.G. Stickley Company of today was founded in 1904 by the two youngest Stickley brothers: Leopold and John George. Leopold was the founder and guiding force of the company. He started his career as foreman of Gustav’s furniture factory and through his career was known to be an elite cabinetmaker and businessman. Co-founder John George was considered to be the best furniture salesman of his time.

And to celebrate the inauguration of the renowned Craftsman furniture line, still manufactured in large part in its native New York, Seaside Home La Jolla hosted the Stickley Road Show.

The stories of the Stickley family and its legendary furniture were shared with Stickley fans when Mike Danial, a 35-year veteran of the company and today its Corporate Historian, highlighted the fascinating history of Stickley furniture.

Meanwhile, in 1904, Gustav Stickley visited California and was taken with the simplicity of Mission style design, which he said “proves to be the most genuine expression of American feeling in domestic architecture that has yet appeared.”

Now Seaside Home, which has consolidated its Coronado store operations into its newer lifestyle shops in La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe, has been appointed the exclusive Stickley representative for San Diego County. The stores carry the Stickley Mission line — all 398 items — with many of the pieces on display in unique lifestyle settings at the two-story La Jolla store.

Danial shared his own unique experiences researching the company history, where he uncovered design documents that had been hidden away in basement cabinets for decades, and stories of families who have been enjoying Stickley furniture for generations.

L & J. G. Stickley Company began manufacturing Arts & Crafts furniture in 1905 and almost immediately became a major influence on American furniture-making. They acquired Gustav’s Craftsman Workshops in 1918, joining the two major Mission furniture lines.

While changing tastes and economic trends wreaked havoc on other companies, L. & J. G. Stickley persevered by adapting to colonial revival furniture through its Cherry Valley Collection and by diversifying to meet institutional needs. By 1950, L & J.G. Stickley was the one remaining Stickley furniture company. The company has been owned by Alfred and Aminy Audi since 1974 (Alfred passed away in 2007).

In 1985, the Audis moved from the

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century-old factory in Fayetteville, New York to neighboring Manlius, where Stickley furniture continues to be produced to this day.

The original Stickley factory, where craftsmen worked for over eight decades, is now the site of the Stickley Museum.

In the old finishing room, visitors can explore an 8,000 square foot exhibit, “A Well Crafted Legacy.”

Some Stickley design features are

Mike Danial in front of Stickley bookcase

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Side-hung and Center-guided Drawers This method guarantees proper allignment of the drawer. The center guide keeps the drawers from skewing sideways. Suspension on the side guides keeps the drawers level even when heavily loaded. There is never any pressure against the bottom side edges, hence no scrape or screech and no excessive friction, pulling or tugging. One can literally stand in a Stickley drawer.

visible; others have to be discovered, like Stickley’s unique side-hung and center-guided drawers, a Leopold Stickley innovation from the late 1920s. The center guide keep drawers from skewing sideways and the side suspension keeps them level, even when heavily loaded, ensuring generations of smooth operation.

The drawers are also dovetailed in all four corners, fully corner blocked on the bottom, carefully fitted, numbered and dated.

Today, the company has 900 employees.

The creation of a Stickley piece begins with the careful selection of the highest grade of solid wood available; one piece door fronts are matched for grain and color, ensuring an exclusively translucent finish. Only Stickley tongue and grooves the boards in its table tops, allowing an almost indestructible glue joint and allowing for nearly 20 percent extra finished thickness on all tops.

Early Craftsmen knew the value of carefully pinned chair joints; Stickley is one of the few remaining furniture companies that still take this extra stop to ensure a lasting product.

Stickley’s legendary finish begins with intensive hand sanding where the pores of the woods are opened

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and its innate beauty is enhanced by a series of complex applications using dyes rather than pigments. Scores of skilled hand operations including hand glazing and hand rubbing provide a penetratingly deep yet clear finish that is resistant to heat, alcohol and marring.

Back panels on most bookcases and china tops are made of individual solid ship-lapped planks.

Stickley furniture has been called “pure geometry” — simple, linear and proportional – and a powerful departure from the ornate designs of the Victorian era. Stickley called it “honest furniture” in

which exposed construction was unhidden of adornment.

Clean lines, the inherent beauty of natural wood, simple construction and honest design have continued over a century to be at the heart of the Stickley’s craft.

“Leopold Stickley would have been considered green before his time,” said Mike Danial, “Like Gustav, he believed in using local, sustainable materials and what is more sustainable than wood?

Stickley furniture is meant to last more than one’s lifetime, often being passed from one generation to the next and the next.”

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