New Arts & Crafts Website adds timeliness to its vibrant, user-friendly format Creator Bruce Johnson is founder of the country’s largest A&C gathering

By Ann Jarmusch

The virtual village where Arts & Crafts lovers dwell got a little cozier at the dawn of this decade, and you’re invited to be part of it. That’s because Bruce Johnson – Arts & Crafts expert, author, craftsman and founder of the nation’s largest Arts & Crafts gathering — has launched a vibrant, user-friendly Website (artsandcraftscollector.com). It was born on Jan. 1.
“It was an exciting New Year’s Eve,” the energetic Johnson said happily during a recent phone interview. As he spoke, he was preparing for the annual Arts & Crafts Conference (arts-craftsconference.com) and antiques show, which he directs, to be held Feb. 19-21 at the historic Grove Park Inn in Asheville, N.C.
The New York Times has called the conference “the most important weekend of the year for Arts & Crafts collectors.” Educational presentations on furniture maker Leopold Stickley (emerging from his brother Gustav’s shadow), potter George Ohr, secrets of art pottery glazes and portraits of the Arts & Crafts home and garden are among this year’s scheduled highlights.
Johnson, a recipient of the “Als ik kan” award from the Gustav Stickley Craftsman Farms Foundation in 1999, expects 2,000 to 3,000 people to attend this year’s conference and show.
When he founded the Arts & Crafts Conference in 1988, Johnson writes, he had “just one person in mind: “the typical Arts & Crafts collector.” Now, 22 years later, he’s extended his target into cyberspace, with a Website and directory named accordingly. The handsomely designed site is free, an open forum and your 24/7 stop for all things Arts & Crafts.
In addition to components you might expect (events calendar, directory of dealers, craftspeople and services), the site is anchored by news articles and columns such as “Collectors’ Guide” and “Around the House,” which kicked off with tips on keeping a finish on your front door .
“Everything for Your Arts and Crafts Life” is the site’s subtitle, a telling reflection of the founder’s devotion to the movement as a philosophy, not a style.
Initial response to artsandcraftscollector.com has been positive among collectors, businesses and institutions, Johnson said, although the site was so new at the time of this interview that he hadn’t checked how many hits it had gotten. “In the first week, we went from being national to international,” he noted, citing a listing for Titus Omega from London dealer John Featherstone-Harvey.
San Diego’s Save Our Heritage Organisation preservation group offered up the first historic museum listing, which advertises the 1905 Marston House & Gardens in Balboa Park.
“This Website is just the thing for Arts & Crafts aficionados. Bruce Johnson has pulled together many facets of collecting and myriad resources, as per his usual style genius,” said Alana Coons, SOHO’s events and education director. “While it is brand new, you can see its massive potential.”
Johnson’s “genius” partly lies in anticipating and fulfilling the public’s hunger for expert knowledge and practical information on collections and the homes that hold them. Skilled in woodworking and antiques restoration, Johnson has written numerous books on collecting, furniture and refinishing, the latest being “Grove Park Inn Arts and Crafts Furniture” (2009, $35). A former high school teacher, he has toured the country giving lectures and appeared on PBS, HGTV, the Discovery Channel and the DIY cable network, where he has hosted such shows as “Do It Yourself Woodworking.”
This respected and charismatic expert lives with his family outside of Asheville in what he calls “a 1973 Arts & Crafts ranch house.” It’s remodeled with Arts & Crafts interiors, suitable for his vintage collections, but remains a ranch (complete with horses) on the exterior. And Johnson’s shingle is still out for his Knock on Wood Antique Repair and Restoration business.
Several Websites for Arts & Crafts magazines, societies and dealers already exist for information sharing and promotion, so why did Johnson think there is need for one more?
“What I felt each was lacking is up-to-the-minute news,” Johnson said. He highly regards magazines such as Style 1900 and American Bungalow, and has contributed to both (he answers readers’ questions in Style 1900’s “Collectors’ Counsel” column), but they lag behind the news by three to four months, he said. Timely reports on auction results, exhibitions, books and collections — “that’s what’s going to keep me interested,” he said. “There’s no shortage of news.”
“I also wanted to create an independent news source,” Johnson added, drawing on his journalism background. “What I didn’t want to create is a shallow attempt to lure in advertising.”
While the Arts & Crafts Collector site is dependent on advertising to a degree, Johnson and his team purposely kept the rates low, at least for an introductory period. A collector wanting to sell a piece of furniture or art pottery can run a classified ad for 30 days for a sliding fee of $10 to $25, depending on the price of the item. Display ads that appear for a month cost $98.
The more time you spend on the site, the more topics and helpful guides you discover. “Tips for Smart Buying” appears when you click on “Wanted to Buy.” A reference “library” and encyclopedic directory of shopmarks by furniture makers, potteries and others are being compiled, with the help of readers. And there’s advice on setting a price if you want to sell an object. Once the site has more entries, Johnson said they’ll add a “search” function, which will make it even faster and easier to use.
Johnson spent five months studying Websites to come up with this format, which relies on handsome color photographs, ads and graphics to catch the eye. Blue Ridge Solutions designed and implemented the site.
The goal is to build the Website so it becomes indispensible to anyone interested in the Arts & Crafts movement.
“I grew up in a small town in Illinois that lost its weekly newspaper,” Johnson said. “A town without a newspaper quickly deteriorates. My hope is that this site functions as a community newspaper, with news, features, classifieds.”
And there’s another essential ingredient.
“The only way artsandcraftscollector.com will succeed,” Johnson added, “is if we have a lot of  (online) activity, so let’s get everybody involved.”
Ann Jarmusch writes about art, design and historic preservation for local and national publications. She can be reached at ajarmusch@gmail.com