in any other context, that title would raise some eyebrows.

i posted this in the events forum in response to a question on how a friend and local dealer enjoyed the grove park conference. i thought i would be of interest to folks here as well...

he had a good show, sold some things, brought some things back.

i have forwarded this group to him, he may start dropping in... he is in the process of expanding the shop into an adjoining building, which will help show off the stuff much better.

right now things are pretty crowded, stacked up and such. but very nice things if you look. i am attaching a picture i took yesterday while helping him move some things. i also took pics for reference on the uhpolstry for a morris chair i am making.

this is (if memory serves) a G. Stickley rocker with a small G.Stickley taboret next to it. in the back right is a large mitered mullion G.S. case. back left is the corner of a Limber 3 door bookcase. literally everywhere you look there are vignettes like this.

i like to just sit and absorb the ambience.

his web site is www.jcdreamlight.com

Hello Don,
I like the furniture in your picture that you posted and when I opened his web site I saw a sideboard table similar to the one I made.

See the attached picture.

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones

Don,
Here is another view.

Ralph Jones

nice work, ralph.

the pictures on his site are somewhat out of date. he should be updating soon, but it still gives an idea of the things he has.

i feel fortunate to have a shop locally with the caliber of things he always has. instead of just admiring photos, i can feel the finish, see the great variety of colors and grains. sitting in a well proportioned morris chair is worth a thousand pictures.

Up my way, there is no such thing as a dedicated dealer making a living off of just A&C, that I'm aware of. I know three dealers who are part time A&C excluisive, and a couple who are maybe 50% A&C. Being part time, I only see these dealers at shows, and I aim for their booths early to see what they've hunted. I would imagine as well, that anyone up here with a major collection to sell, would be better off going to the American market instead of trying to deal up here, except maybe for pieces that are confirmed Canadian makers, which makes a big difference in the Canadian market. I'm not really up on the west coast scene however, and my impression is that A&C might be a bit stronger out in Vancouver/Victoria than here in Ontario.

Don, thanks for the heads up on the dealer. My sister recently relocated to the Bardstown area so I will be sure to check it out when I visit.

If you are ever up for a drive you might check out Southern Indiana Arts and Crafts Antiques run by Chuck and Christy Johnson. They do not have a retail store but they exhibit at a lot of shows and they have a large building on their property (located southwest of Bedford, Indiana about 1.5 hrs from you). I saw their booth at an antique show this past weekend - they had some very nice things - GS table, Limbert side chairs, JMYoung Morris chair, very nice settle, etc etc. I have been to their building at their home and they have much more of the same...toll free number is 866-834-7520.

thanks for the tip.

if you come to louisville, let me know and i can take you and introduce you to john, the owner. he is only open regular hours on saturdays, 11-5, but if you know you are coming another day, he will open if he is in town and not on a buying trip. his phone number is listed on the site, his cell phone, so you should be able to reach him just about any time.

well worth the visit.

attached picture is a stickley/ellis mahogany fixed back arm chair in the shop this last weekend.

Hello Don,
In the other picture of the side view of the Stickley arm chair I notice a nice Limbert book shelf, have you noticed how similar they are to the red painted chair the other fellow posted?

I would almost bet the rails were cut in the same fashion as the ladder back rails on the chair.

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones

Hi Don,
We are heading down to Bardstown this afternoon and plan to stop at Dreamlight around 3:00 or so. I just spoke to John and he said he will be there. You can call my wife's cell at 812-322-5492 if you want to meet us there.
Luke

sorry i didnt get you note in time. i had a family gathering today.

i did drop by right before 5:00 to drop off the shelves i was working on. john told me you got a rocker in need of some help. be sure to post pic of before and after if you can.

i'm also interested in your impressions of the shop.

Don -
Yes, we did purchase a "project" rocker - we had to go down and dig it out of the basement (though it didn't end up fitting in our car so we will have to get it picked up in the next couple of weeks - I think he was disapointed to not be rid of it!). It is in rough shape but most of the wood is still there so I should be able to pull the nails, repair the splits, and fix up the finish. At $35 I feel like we got a bargain on what we believe is a Stickley Brothers #524 rocker. Here is a pic of the same rocker we bought except this one is from the Treadway gallery and is in pristine condition:

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/s/lot-1198677.html

Overall, we thought the shop was excellent. He had some really nice pieces including nice Gus arm chairs and morris chairs. We really liked the three door Limbert bookcase you are making the shelves for. I was really pleased to see a nice shop that is almost wholly devoted to A&C furniture! I wish I could stop in more often! It was also nice to talk to John - he seemed to well understand that at this point I am restricted to buying A&C furniture of the "project" quality - I plan to ask him about more such pieces when I finished with my current projects. Thanks again for the heads up on his shop!

i delivered the shelves later that day. the color was very close. if you dont look too closely, i doubt you would realize they arent original.

my interest now is mainly in getting some side tables and bookcases. i have two unsigned vintage rockers and a morris chair i am making. he has a couple small cases by lesser known makers i would like ot have. see what he has when i have the money saved....

i also like the comfortable feel to the shop. no pressure, lots of information available.

attached is a nice cutout on a tall hall stand/seat.