For more than 20 years an Arts & Crafts Conference has been held each year at the Grove Park Inn in the mountains of Asheville, NC and will occur again this year beginning on Friday February 18, 2011. If you are passionate about the Arts and Crafts Movement, this is the conference for you. As the New York Times stated: “[The Conference is] the most important weekend of the year for Arts and Crafts Collectors.”  

Bruce Johnson founded the conference in 1988 and continues to be the Conference Director.  With a focus on education, the 3 day conference is usually a sell-out with over 1,500 attendees, featuring 3 selling shows, the Arts & Crafts Antiques show, the Contemporary Craftfirms Show and the Books, Magazines and More show.  There will be 8 major seminars, small group discussions and 125 exhibitors.  Dealers not only show their wares, they also present lectures and lead small group discussions, sharing their knowledge with attendees from novice to veteran collectors.  Attendees and collectors alike, see and learn more about the Arts & Crafts movement in 3 days than most see or learn in a year and will leave with an increase in knowledge and appreciation for the Arts & Crafts movement. 

The Grove Park Inn where the conference is held is the perfect venue for the event.  Opening its doors in 1913, it was splendidly decorated and furnished entirely in the Arts & Crafts style with Roycroft furniture, mica lamps, Roycroft copper, Heywood-Wakefield wicker rockers and Old Hickory rocking chairs.  Today the Inn has been vastly added onto including a fantastic spa and additional modern wings.  The original part of the Inn has been lovingly restored to the original 1913 furnishings and decorative touches as much as possible and is much like a museum in many ways. 

For details, tickets & contact information, go to the conference website

For additional information about  Bed and Breakfast accommodations, Vacation Rentals or Cabin Rentals contact Oakland Cottage and Vacation-In-Asheville, 866 858-0863.