Hi-

I'm interested in hearing opinions on the glut of Arts and Crafts reproduction furniture on the market, as compared to the original ideals of the movement.

Any thoughts?

Well as far as i know
The best repro's ive seen has been
Hile Studio's and Voorhes..
Both Company's out do them selves..
Ive worked with Hile Pieces
and they use an exssive use of Quarter Sawn
oak..Some of the best Finishes ive seen
They also use hammerd copper pulls
Voorhess is out standing..The use of Inlay
by Harvey Ellis for Gustav Stickley
They too have fantastic fininshes
THey too have Gus stickley copper pulls
Now if you want to talk about NEw Stickley
I would say Trash..Nothing come as good as these company's
Now cost of pieces..Well Both Company's Are making these pieces by HAnd and machine
ANd of corse pieces are made in studio's
and can take up to 3 months..
Piece's by both companys are reasonable
And yes New pieces can be expensive
But its what people want..it depends if you want to spend $10,000 for a Drope arm Morris chair
or a authentic repro for a Morris chair around $2500..I think both company's are not bad on NEw pieces and like i sayed these pieces are solid Quarter sawn oak..check out on Yahoo both company and compare prices...
But it's up too you But as a rule of thumb
New stickley Mission pieces are for the Modern
Family..Hile And Voorhess make the pieces as if they were Aniques...
Hope that Helps you out...


adam varrow

Hile and Vorhees make excellent furniture. I have a table and chair set from Hile and it looks fantastic.Good reproductions do blend in well, in my opinion.

I live three blocks from the Voorhees in Pasadena and I prefer their pieces to Hile studios. Mainly, their chairs are vastly more comfortable than Hile studios. I think both have nice finishes and I'd have to see them side-by-side to tell you which I prefer.

The person who runs the store is very nice as well.

Overall, I do prefer originals, and sometimes they're fairly reasonably priced. For example, I have a few original 'signed' armchairs and rocking chairs I paid under $400/each for. I would have to pay about double that for a good reproduction, so I don't see the purpose of buying a repro in that case. But if you're set on having a gustav stickley design, then repro is probably your only option, since the originals tend to be expensive, even when they're in bad shape.

Also, I find side tables to be astronomically priced relative to a reproduction. I am very happy with the finish and construction quality of a side table I bought on Ebay.

-Ian

Has anyone had experience with Caledonia Studio reproductions? I am considering buying a set of Ellis chairs from them. Their stuff is only sold through modernbungalow.com and craftsmanhome.com I belive...

Thanks
heather

How do Hile and Vorhees look next to the antiques? There are things that you just can't find in antiques that I have had to buy new. Also, sometimes I buy really beat up stuff that has been painted or badly refinished. When they are refinished--they blend with the antiques a lot better than the reproduction furiture.

When I mix the new with the old, the new stuff suffers. The finish seems too bright, the grain too bold and it just looks out of place. They look OK in the store but once I get them home--the new stuff looks awful.

Bev.

That's exactly the reason I was looking at Caledonia Studios furniture -- I was hoping it would blend in with my antiques.

The guy I talked to at Modern Bungalow said that of all the 12-15 lines of furniture that they carry (including Hile and Stickley), nothing comes close to Caledonia. He says that that patina is so well done that most people will swear that it is a turn of the century antique with re-covered seats. But maybe it's just a sales pitch!?

Adam's post above was very helpful but I don't know how Caledonia compares to Hile and Vorhees. Or if there are other companies that offer really high-quality reproductions that would blend with real antiques? Or how any of them compare to real antiques! Hope someone has some experience...?

heather

i have to make my soapbox speech again...

the are great original pieces available for less than the reproductions. unless you only want 1901 gus pieces.

stickley bros., limbert, lifetime, young are not expensive. and the best generic stuff is in my opinion more desireable than all but the best repro, such as hile or voorhees.

Dear Don,

You're right. A lot of the original A & c furniture you can buy is cheaper if it is not made by Stickley. But it has been very hard for me to find anything to go in a bedroom. This month, I finally found a dresser but it is somewhat poorly constructed with a real ugly grain top coated with poly. For $300 plus restoration work, I don't think that it is worth the money. It took us 15 years to find an A & C piano and that was by luck.

Pretty much everything we have now is an A & C antique except for my art studio (drafting table, file cabinets, flat files, and so forth) and the bedrooms. If I could find what I needed in authentic A & C antiques, I would replace it. But it has been a long search and we are left with looking for all the hard stuff.

Bev.

you are right, bedroom stuff is the hardest to find. not sure why except that bedroom furniture gets a lot of wear and use, so maybe just most of it got worn out and tossed.

living room and dining are easy to furnish with good stuff at great prices if you look.

there is a great piano on ebay now. i think it ends today. do a search on mission piano or estey piano and you should find it. im at work and cant get to ebay or i would provide a link.

here is the link to the piano

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rare-Mission-Oak-Piano-w-Tenons-Est...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Wow, what a great looking piano. I live close to this seller. They list some sweet stuff. Gotta do a drive over soon and see what else they have. Love to find out where they keep getting these clean neat items.

Amen!!!


I am glad somebody else said it.. Stickley furniture is not near what the antique Stickley pieces were..


new furniture gets down to a few things..

(1) ask the right questions.. Check with them on assembly. if you know how it is built, then you will know what to expect.
(2) and for a reference.. Try to get a reference from a customer that has purchased the same item.
(3) ask for a sample block of the finish. For the $5 in shipping and the cost of a piece of scrap wood.. it is well worth it. From the builder standpoint, I would rather spring the cost of shipping to make sure I get the finish coloring and such right for them.. rather than risk sending a piece that is totally the wrong color.

Thanks..

Rob

www.houseofyesteryear.net

Dear Rob,

The modern Stickley shop closest to us does have some good stuff but I did find drawers that stuck. They try to reproduce the old ways and sometimes even use the old equipment. Their new stuff does fight with the antiques.

The main thing is that their new pieces clash with the old Stickley antiques because of their finish. Your use of wax will make the furniture from House of Yesteryear fit in better. That is your niche and an advantage over a place like Stickley.

I checked out your website, and your stuff is gorgeous. You pick up on other successful designs by the A & C big names and a much more versital design than the guys from New York.

Bev.