Furniture as artistic expression

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A bed isn't merely a bed when a custom craftsman builds it. It's an heirloom invested with history and tradition.

"Art. Function. Heirloom" is the motto of artisan Stewart Crick, whose professional moniker is Stu's Woodworks. Working out of a converted garage in a sublimely forested area of Manassas, he gives full credit to the Arts and Crafts movement for being his technical and spiritual guide. He explains on his Web site (www.stuswoodworks.com) how these words ("three philosophies") embody a value system he assumes his clients share.

The Arts and Crafts movement is associated with early-20th-century American craftsmen who sought a fresh approach beyond the outmoded Victorian styles inherited from Europe, where the movement had its roots.

Its heyday was between 1910 and 1925, roughly between art nouveau and art deco periods, when its denizens sought to integrate machine-made production with individual interpretation in all aspects of domestic design.

In this country, the term often is used loosely to embrace trends still current in some circles in architecture, furniture and decoration.

Mr. Crick and Arnold d'Epagnier of Colesville, both self-taught devotees of the aesthetic -- although in different ways -- are among about 75 artisans participating in this year's Philadelphia Invitational Furniture Show, which takes place this weekend.

The show, an annual event targeted at serious buyers and collectors of custom furniture, is both a display venue and retail store. It differs from other craft shows by focusing largely on a single design field rather than embracing craftsacross the board. Custom-made lamps and pillows are included, for instance, but not jewelry.

One of the largest shows of its kind in the East, the event gives the public a chance to see the latest work of favorite craftsmen and meet new ones as well. Styles on view range from traditional Shaker to more novel contemporary modes.

Mr. Crick has spent the past month preparing for the event by fashioning an original take on a bed design that he calls "Arts and Crafts inspired." It will travel in the van with him to Philadelphia along with some other pieces and be offered for sale at $4,000 or slightly more, a price he considers reasonable by standards of handcrafted work.

The bed is a sturdy queen-size piece made of quartersawed white oak, polished with tung oil and then varnished. Its prototype is a slightly different one Mr. Crick made for his own home and is a design he is happy to reproduce in different sizes on request.