Pasadena Heritage, the 35-year-old nonprofit organization dedicated to historic preservation in and around Pasadena, Calif., will host its 21st annual Craftsman Weekend from Friday, Oct. 19, to Sunday, Oct. 21. The weekend’s offerings will include tours of significant Craftsman-era residences, a variety of neighborhood bus and walking tours, workshops, a silent auction, lectures, presentations, exclusive evening receptions at historic sites and a Craftsman Exposition Show & Sale with more than 70 exhibitors offering Craftsman-era antique and contemporary furniture and decorative arts.
On Sunday, guests will be able to attend the always-popular Craftsman House Tour, which will feature a selection of five privately owned residences that exemplify why Pasadena is a destination for Arts and Crafts enthusiasts from across the country.
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For a detailed lineup of Craftsman Weekend events and to download a registration brochure, visit pasadenaheritage.org/craftsmanweekend.
Freeman House Open to Public
A highlight of the weekend will be an exclusive Saturday-evening reception tour of the historic 1913 James Allen Freeman house, which will be opened to the public for the first time. Designed by Arthur and Alfred Heineman and completed in 1913, the house was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places.
With influences from the English Arts and Crafts Movement inside and out, including flat stucco walls with pseudo half-timbering and leaded-glass casement windows, one of the house’s most striking features is the wave-patterned wood-shingle roof, which wraps over the eaves to mimic the thatched roof of an English Cotswold cottage.
The house also features a variety of interior and exterior examples of tiles by Ernest Batchelder and art glass from the Judson Studios. The interior of the house has multiple fireplaces, a grand second-floor gallery and hallway, coved ceilings accentuated with corbels and beams, and beautiful built-ins and woodwork.
A reception with wine and hors d’oeuvres will be held in the exquisitely landscaped garden.
For those who have a special interest in woodworking details and the structural aspects of Craftsman homes, contemporary master woodworkers Jim and John Ipekjian will lead a separate behind-the-scenes tour of the Freeman house that will include areas of the house not available for viewing during the Saturday-evening tour. The Ipekjians were instrumental in restoring the House and will give guests an up-close and personal look at the design intricacies of woodwork, metal craft, art glass and ceramic tile that are unique to this home.
Featured Lecturer: Stickley Historian Mike Danial
Mike Danial, the Stickley Company’s corporate historian and restoration specialist, will be this year’s featured lecturer. With more than 30 years of experience as a woodworker and finisher at the company’s Manlius, N.Y., factory, Danial has worked in every department, including rough mill, fine mill, sanding, cabinet room and finishing.
Danial will present two lectures. In “Marketing and Advertising the Arts and Crafts of Stickley,” he will take a close look at the mechanism of retail furniture selling at the turn of the 20th century, when the Stickley Company was facing new competition from Grand Rapids, Mich., including new offerings from Albert Stickley and his brother John George.
In his second lecture, “Stickley, An Insider’s Look,” he will share stories he has collected over his 37 years at Stickley regarding identification, value, care and restoration of original Stickley pieces. He will also reveal many of the unique construction variations that distinguish the newly reissued Mission Oak pieces from the earlier originals.
For those interested in the finer points of furniture care, he will also demonstrate his easy-to-learn technique for paste waxing fine furniture.
Walking and Bus Tours, Workshops and More
Other activities for Craftsman Weekend include docent-guided bus and walking tours through historically significant Pasadena neighborhoods and a bus tour of historic Glendora, incorporated in 1911 some 20 miles east of Pasadena.
In the “House Detective” workshop, a practical, hands-on session, historic architect William W. Ellinger III and David Gaines, a licensed civil engineer specializing in structures, will give participants the opportunity to explore the details of the exterior and interior of a residential property to successfully uncover its past and explain how to trace the evolution of a house using permits and physical clues. They will also show how to “do no harm” while improving livability on a limited budget and explain how to reverse changes using architectural forensics and research.
Small-Group Workshops
New to this year’s activities will be small-group workshops held at the Lincoln Clark III House, a Pasadena Cultural Landmark, designed in 1907–08 by Frederick Roehrig. Careful restoration by the current owners makes this museum-quality house the perfect setting to learn skills of modern craftspeople who are inspired by the artists of the Craftsman Movement.
Workshops will include “Arts & Crafts Embroidery,” led by Ann Chaves; “Craftsman Restoration,” led by Ben Gonzalez; “Craftsman Tile-Making,” led by Sarah Moore; and “Craftsman Research and Photography,” led by Tim Gregory and Dennis Hill.
Craftsman-Era Gardens Presentation and Tour
Designing and implementing a Craftsman-era garden in 2012 takes creativity and knowledge of appropriate plantings, landscaping, historic design and architecture. This presentation, in a garden designed by landscape architect Rick Fisher and featured in Paul Duchscherer’s book Outside the Bungalow, will highlight important considerations such as the climate of the area, native plant materials, the architecture of the home, using water elements and creating outdoor living areas. After the presentation, participants may drive themselves to two other gardens that incorporate Craftsman-era elements, where landscape architects will give short presentations on each design.
Photo Credits: Tavo Olmos
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