he Craftsman style is familiar to us all, and is still with us in a way that the Victorian is not. We are often called upon to apply Craftsman style detail in very un-Craftsman buildings. The Craftsman sensibility endures because it has a humane feel to it, as it retains the visible presence of the hand of the craftsperson (carpenter, mason, metalworker, etc.) that made it.
The Craftsman style started as a reaction to the industrial age, in 1860’s England. Designers called out handmade details that harked back to an earlier era, as a protest against the perceived mechanization of society. It has proved an oddly durable style, and it has survived into the modern era better than has the Victorian. People find it warmer than the modern, less gloomy than the Victorian, and so it has persisted.
We take immense satisfaction in all of our work, exacting as it is, and find that every style has its virtues. These Craftsman details, however, offer particular rewards. They tend to humanize a space, for the owner, for the designer, and for the “Craftsman”, who, as always, gets to leave a little bit of themselves behind, but this time more visible than usual.