Help us complete the final phases of this project. We need your help for post production on this important film. Our team has been given unprecedented access to private collections, family archives and stories, objects and imagery rarely seen. We have traveled to locations in five states and nine cities to capture the history and the people associated with this remarkable story.
About the Film:
Gustav Stickley was much more than just a furniture maker, Stickley founded perhaps the first truly American style at the turn of the 20th century. His furniture, along with his innovative ideas about materials, craft, workmanship and natural beauty combined with the ideals of pride in creation and a deeper connection to nature, were revolutionary in the early 1900’s. Yet his ideals remain relevant today. The creation of an all-encompassing lifestyle that was harmonious with nature was masterfully managed by Stickley through his seminal magazine, The Craftsman, his furniture line, his home blueprints, his New Jersey farm and his radical Manhattan retail store, which eventually led to his business’ decline and failure in the face of World War I.
His remarkable life, the subject of many books, museum exhibitions and scholarly research over the years, has never been told on film, until now. Gustav Stickley: American Craftsman will be the definitive portrait of an amazing American icon, and this campaign will help with moving the project towards completion. With unprecedented access to private collections, family archives and top scholars on both Stickley and the arts and crafts movement, the film will take viewers deep into the world that Stickley created, and will explore the lasting legacy of his vision on the American psyche.
Stickley’s legacy is more important now than ever, thanks to the resurgence of the “maker” movement, which celebrates the handmade object and appreciation for natural materials. American ingenuity is again at the forefront of a return to the appreciation of craft and a rejection of the mass-produced, disposable object. In addition, the current farm-to-table movement has revolutionized the restaurant industry, but these same principles were utilized by Stickley when he operated the restaurant in his Manhattan building with product from his farm in New Jersey, 100 years prior. Stickley was a visionary, and an advocate for values and ideals that were long ahead of their time.
What We Need:
We need $40,000 to go toward post production work. The funds raised will go 100% towards the cost of post production including editing, image rights, etc.... We anticipate completing the editing of the film in 2018 for release.
What Happens if Our Goal is Not Reached:
We will continue to work on the film as funds become available. If we are not able to fully fund this campaign, we will be exploring other funding mechanisms such as grants . We have had great support from the Arts & Crafts community, as well as the Stickley family, and hope that you will want to be included in the list of supporters wanting to see this story on film.
Impact of your contribution:
We hope to debut the finished film in 2018, which will be the 160th anniversary of Stickley’s birth. Our image rights and editing process will take the next 6-9 months to complete.
We are deeply committed to telling this story on film, and will do so thanks to the support of the incredibly passionate arts and crafts community and other generous supporters.
We Want Your Help!
We hope that you will be able to assist the project with a cash contribution, but if you are unable to there is another way to support the project, you can help spread the word to anyone you know who would be interested in our film. Gustav Stickley’s story is a true American tale of success; a first generation immigrant who followed his passion and created a unique set of ideals that envisioned a greater lifestyle, that in harmony with nature that appreciated the value and beauty of handmade items. He was a visionary who created and promoted an entire way of life and envisioned trends, that we are still enjoying today
