Arden Craft Shop Museum - Blog

We Have A Lot of Stile(s)

1/6/2019

Everyone knows the traditional welcome the Ardens extend to all visitors: “You are welcome hither.” It was chosen by Frank Stephens and carved on the top of the stile sign at the original entrance to the villages. It expresses both the long-established greeting and spirit of the Ardens.

The stile ca. 1910. ACSM00605, Arden Craft Shop Museum Photographic Collection.

Installation of a new stile, ca. 1950s. ACSM01906, Arden Craft Shop Museum Photographic Collection.

The Arden Craft Shop Museum recently received a donation of the top of the stile sign and it joins two other similar objects already in the collection. The latest sign was found by the donor on their leasehold, but they did not have any specific information on its origins. We now have three stile signs and would be delighted to know additional information about any of them.

The first two signs were “found in collection,” so we do not have any specific information on their donors or origins. The first is in very fragile condition, appears to be of wood which has been stained brown. The remnants of carved scroll work remain on the left side and the right side is missing.

Stile sign #1. 2011.002.131, Arden Craft Shop Museum Collection.

Stile sign #1, detail. 2011.002.131, Arden Craft Shop Museum Collection.

The second sign appears to have been painted blue/gray and the lettering may have once been painted red. There is scroll work on both sides, but it is also in poor condition and is in three pieces.

Stile sign #2. 2011.002.132, Arden Craft Shop Museum Collection.

The newest sign does not have any scroll carving, but the letters may have also originally been painted red. All three signs are very alike in the style of the carving, which does appear to have been done by hand. They are also quite similar in size and shape.

Stile sign #3, side one. 2018.034.001, Arden Craft Shop Museum Collection.

Stile sign #3, side two. 2018.034.001, Arden Craft Shop Museum Collection.

We have just begun researching our records for more information about these signs, particularly who made them and how often and when they were replaced. We are hoping, however, that the collective memory of the villages will be help guide us in our search for information. Please stop by the Museum to update us with more details or send an email to ardencraftshopmuseum@gmail.com. We hope to display all three signs later this spring when we have more information.

The Museum is open Sunday afternoons from 1-3 & Wednesday evenings from 7:30 to 9.

--Barbara Macklem

ACSM Closed on December 26th

12/16/2018

The Arden Craft Shop Museum will be closed on Wednesday, December 26th. We will reopen at our normal hours on Sunday, December 30.

ACRA Exhibition Opening and Birthday Party

11/28/2018

The Arden Craft Shop Museum held a fun and festive celebration for our newest exhibition, “They Gave Us Good Leave to Wander: Celebrating 70 Years of ACRA" on Sunday afternoon, October 21, 2018. Together with ACRA (The Arden Community Recreation Association) we opened our exhibition and celebrated with food and refreshments.

A big tent on the Village Green and clusters of red and white balloons topped off the occasion. Everyone had a good time looking closely at the photographs on display and reminiscing about the days they or their children were in the ACRA program.

Since its beginning in 1948, ACRA has offered a mix of artistic, intellectual, and physical activities for residents, especially through its summer program. It also puts on many events throughout the year, including holiday parties, Fourth of July Games on the Green, and pancake breakfasts in the woods. ACRA continues to draw on the talents of community residents to provide inspiring programs and enriching experiences.

The exhibition continues through October 2019.

Post by Sadie Somerville and Liz Jones-Minsinger. Photographs by Sadie Somerville.

ACSM Will Be Closed on Wednesday, November 21, 2018

11/18/2018

The Arden Craft Shop Museum will be closed on Wednesday, November 21, 2018 to observe the Thanksgiving holiday. We will reopen at 1pm on Sunday, November 25th.

ACSM Closed from Sunday, October 7 to Sunday, October 21

10/10/2018

The Arden Craft Shop Museum will close on Sunday, October 7, so we can install our new exhibition, "They Gave Us Good Leave to Wander: Celebrating 70 Years of ACRA." The museum will re-open on Sunday, October 21, at 1pm for the opening of the new exhibition. We hope you will join us then!

Fun Had by All At The Pickin' Picnic

7/24/2018

The Arden Craft Shop Museum partnered with Arden resident Jeff Martin to put on a Pickin’ Picnic on the Village Green on Sunday, July 15, 2018. Everyone brought their favorite summertime dish to share and it was quite a feast. The Museum opened the Bernie Schwab Room for use by the picnicking folks. It rained early that morning but the Green was dry by the afternoon when volunteers set up for the event. All sorts of games were played on the grass, including a full setup for volleyball.

The country bluegrass band, FY5, from Colorado, played two sets in the Frank Stephens Open Air Theater. The music that filled the summer night was very much enjoyed.

It was a friendly, relaxed affair for all ages to enjoy. All you had to do was bring food, a donation for the band, and a playful attitude! Thanks to Jeff for the brilliant idea and pulling it all together.

--Sadie Somerville

ACSM to Co-Sponsor 'Grass on the Green: A Pickin' Picnic

7/2/2018

‘Grass on the Green: a Pickin’ Picnic

Sunday, July 15th from 4:00 PM to 8:30 PM –ish.

Location: Arden Green.

All the Ardens are welcome hither for a family-friendly, covered dish picnic on The Arden Green followed by two sets of Americana, folk, & bluegrass music at The Field Theater. Music will be provided by the award-winning, quintessential Colorado front-range bluegrass band, FY5. Come and enjoy fun, food, fellowship, and foot-stompin’ music with your neighbors on the beautiful Arden Green. The Arden Craft Shop Museum proudly co-sponsors this event with Jeff Martin.

This event is free to all; however, donations will be collected to support the band. The recommended minimum donation is $10.00 per person. The band will receive 100% of all donations.

Due to the capacity of The Field Theater, “reservations” are required for the music portion of the evening. You may also RSVP to the Arden Craft Shop Museum by email (ardencraftshopmuseum@gmail.com) or via our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Arden-Craft-Shop-Museum-104328559601614/).

Please be prepared to walk to and from this event. Parking on The Green is not permitted. “Carpooling” or “Shuttling” your belongings to and from The Green, dropping-off, then parking elsewhere and walking back to The Green may be worthwhile.

The Fun: Bring your frisbee, your bocce balls, your croquet set, or the lawn game of your choice. Games, and perhaps volleyball, start about 4:00 PM with food following as folks bring their dishes and the buffet tables get set up.

The Food: We ask that everyone prepare and bring a covered dish, serving utensils and beverage (other than water). Also bring lawn chairs or a blanket to sit on to eat. Plates, cups, napkins, and eating utensils will be provided, along with water.

The Music: The concert will feature the preeminent, quintessential Colorado bluegrass band, FY5. Music will begin by 6:30 PM and should be done by about 8:30-ish. Donations will be collected to support the band, and 100% of donations go to the band.

Colorado’s FY5 proudly swim in the deep currents of American music, playing new songs, well informed of country and bluegrass traditions, but not bound to them. Featuring thoughtful arrangements, strong singing and musicianship, the band strives to connect to listeners with stories of common struggles and big ideas. While their sound evokes timelessness, it is decidedly contemporary, well-traveled 21st century sensibility that informs their songwriting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em14lufFHXs

Bring your dancin’ shoes and join our neighbors for a fun, foot-stompin’ evening. Can’t wait to see y’all there!

*This is a SHINE ONLY event. In the event of rain, snow, or tornado, ‘Grass on the Green will be cancelled.

ACSM Closed on Wednesday, July 4, 2018

6/29/2018

The Arden Craft Shop Museum will be closed on Wednesday, July 4, to observe the holiday. We will be open again on Sunday, July 8, from 1pm to 3pm.

ACSM Celebrates Shakespeare

6/6/2018

This summer the Frank Stephens Memorial Theatre will once again resound with the Bard’s immortal words as the Shakespeare Gild presents Twelfth Night this month. At the ACSM we are also celebrating this entertaining comedy, as we present our summer exhibition - A Baker’s Dozen of Twelfth Nights. In researching this exhibition, we have found at least 12 previous productions of this particular play. There are shows as varied as The Young Actors Showcase, The Delaware Play Festival in the 1950’s, a performance in the Moonlight Theater, and a number of early efforts from the 1920’s. We have gathered together programs, artifacts, and drawings to celebrate this fun-filled Shakespearean tale.

The Museum will be open an hour before each performance held in the Field Theater. We invite all play-goers to get your tickets, save your seat at the theater, and then come over to the Museum for a look at the many other productions of Twelfth Night. It is exciting to know that this merry band of 21st Century players come from a long tradition of Shakespeare in The Ardens.

Our current exhibition Finding a Home in the Ardens is still open and contains many photographs and remembrances of the places we call home in The Ardens. The Museum is open Sunday afternoons from 1-3 and Wednesday evenings from 7:30 to 9; please stop in for a look – you will feel right at home.

Upcoming Lecture by Thomas A. Guiler on Arts & Crafts Communities

4/10/2018

The Arden Craft Shop Museum proudly presents...

"'This Isn't Hull House': Life at Arts and Crafts Communities in the Long-Twentieth Century"

A lecture by Dr. Thomas A. Guiler, Assistant Professor of History and Public Humanities at the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library.

Sunday, April 15, 2018, at 4pm at the Buzz Ware Village Center in Arden, Delaware.

In response to the trauma of industrialization and urbanization in the late-nineteenth century, the Arts and Crafts Movement took America by storm. Art exhibits, factories, workshops, and societies dedicated to handicraft, worker dignity, and the promulgation of beautiful art to the masses sprouted from California to Boston. Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead, Elbert Hubbard, William Lightfoot Price, and Frank Stephens were so enamored with the movement that they decided to build entirely new worlds—intentional communities—dedicated to pursuing those ideals. Arden, Rose Valley, Roycroft, and Byrdcliffe not only produced beautiful handcrafted furniture, ceramics, textiles, and books, but also created a vibrant community-life, involving lectures, costume parties, classes, theater, and even baseball, where big personalities fell in love, clashed bitterly, and strove to form an alternative way to live in an industrial society. This presentation will examine the social and cultural lives of these communities, the individuals who inhabited them, and, in some cases, how these communities interacted with each other. But Arden, Rose Valley, Byrdcliffe, and Roycroft are not time capsules frozen in the early-twentieth century; they continue to be lively places for art, craft, and community. As such, this lecture will examine the long history of these communities to demonstrate how that history and spirit lives on in the present.

This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. Donations to the BWVC are gratefully accepted.

ACSM00031. Fiske Warren, Eleanor Stephens, Inky Stephens, Will Price outside the Founder's House, ca. 1910s.