Live, Play, Eat: Around the Table (and Other Events) at Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman Farms

Debuting an exciting array of new acquisitions and loans, the special exhibition Live, Play, Eat: Around the Table at Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman Farms celebrates Mr. Stickley’s tables, offering a glimpse into daily life a century ago, highlighting the interests, passions and obligations of early 20th century middle-class life.

The centerpiece of The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms is the Log House, the former Gustav Stickley family home in Parsippany, NJ. It has been largely restored to its 1910-1917 appearance in the 25 years the museum has been in operation, and it is open to the public for tours. “We have visitors from all around the world year round,” says Executive Director Vonda Givens, “But new exhibitions are especially important to our operations because they entice both new and returning visitors.”

This new exhibition, which runs from September 5, 2015 through March 6, 2016, is curated by Pete Mars, a furniture/home product designer and educator with over 25 years in the field including stints at Parson’s School of Design and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Mars is also currently Vice-President of the Board of Trustees of the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms.

Two unique tables newly on display in the Museum prompted the exhibition. “Last winter, we received the significant gift of a rare Gustav Stickley Library table, as well as the generous loan of a dining table,” says curator Pete Mars. “Since Mr. Stickley built high-quality furniture intended for long use, we thought the best way to celebrate these additions to the collection would be to show them being used in daily life, the way Mr. Stickley intended.”

Through multi-sensory vignettes inside the house, the exhibition spotlights the intentional and inextricable link between design and function in Stickley furniture. Mars offers, “The ten vignettes of Live, Play, Eat will make the former Stickley family home look like the family is still there carrying on with the things they did in their daily lives: playing games, writing postcards, making clothes, collecting baseball cards.”

“Gustav Stickley would be completely thrilled to know visitors line up to see his home and furniture designs. He thought of himself as an educator at heart. We’ve brought his dream to life by turning Craftsman Farms into a place where every visitor learns about his work and carries a bit of his legacy out into the world,” says Mars. And Givens agrees: “For Gustav Stickley, it’s not just about making your home beautiful. It’s about making your life better.”

Visitors are invited to experience this re-interpretation of the Log House and celebrate the ways Mr. Stickley’s table designs enhanced daily life a century ago. The exhibition will be on view during regularly scheduled tours, which run four times a day Thursday through Sunday and do not require advance reservations. In-depth curator tours are available monthly beginning on September 12. Saturday, October 3 will offer a full day spotlighting Stickley table design with Executive Director Vonda Givens’ lecture On the Table and curator Pete Mars’ Under the Table design tours. Advance registration is necessary for the curator’s tours and the lecture, and can be made at StickleyMuseum.org or by calling 973.540.0311.

Live, Play, Eat: Around the Table at Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman Farms curated by Peter Mars
On view in the Log House during all tours
Saturday, September 5, 2015 through Sunday, March 6, 2016
Tours run Thursday through Sunday at 12:15, 1:15, 2:15, 3:15 p.m. No reservations necessary.
$10 Adults; $7 Seniors/Students; $4 Children; Free for Members. Admission is paid at the Museum Shop. For more information about the exhibition, call 973.540.0311 or email education@stickleymuseum.org.

Curator’s Tour of Live, Play, Eat with Peter Mars, Exhibition Curator
Saturdays at 11:00 a.m.
October 10, November 14, December 12, January 23, and February 13
Advance registration required; purchase tickets online or call 973-540-0311.
$10 Member; $15 Non-Member.

“Under the Table” Tour led by Curator Peter Mars
Saturday, October 3 at 11:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Advance registration required; purchase tickets online or call 973-540-0311.
$5 Member; $12 Non-Member.

“On the Table” Lecture by Vonda Givens, Executive Director
Saturday, October 3 at 6:00 p.m.
Advance registration required; purchase tickets online or call 973-540-0311.
Free to Members; $10 Non-Member.

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On days when there are no special programs, the museum’s regular hours are Thursday through Sunday, from 12 to 4 p.m. year round, with tours hourly from 12:15 to 3:15. The entrance is located at the intersection of Manor Lane and Route 10 West in Morris Plains, New Jersey. Standard admission is Free for Members; $10 for Adults; $7 for Seniors and Students; $4 for Children.

Craftsman Farms, the former home of noted designer Gustav Stickley, is owned by the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills and is operated by The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms, Inc., (“SMCF”) (formerly known as The Craftsman Farms Foundation, Inc.). SMCF is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization incorporated in the State of New Jersey. Restoration of the National Historic Landmark, Craftsman Farms, is made possible, in part, by a Save America’s Treasures Grant administered by the National Parks Service, Department of the Interior, and by support from Morris County Preservation Trust, The New Jersey Historic Trust, and individual members. SMCF received an operating grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission. SMCF gratefully acknowledges a grant from the New Jersey Cultural Trust. Educational programs are funded, in part, by grants from the Arts & Crafts Research Fund.