RoyCroftCampusCorporation

Shopping Stories

Takes One to Know One

     By now you know I'm quite the antique shopper! I always have my eye out for that special something. The Roycroft Campus is the perfect place for people like me.

     Steeped in history, there is the Roycroft Antiques and the fantastic Copper Shop Gallery. On the Roycroft Summer Festival weekend it had even more shopping opportunities! There were booths of Roycroft Renaissance Artists and antiques dealers across the whole Campus!

     I'm not the only one with an eye for treasures!

      Our Roycroft Campus Corporation President, Doug Swift, indulged in opportunity as well! We spotted him examining a vintage chair from a booth right outside the Copper Shop. He stroked his beard, chatted quickly with the dealer and the chair was his! A look of pride on his face, he briskly carried his treasure away!

     The Roycroft Campus is the place to find that perfect thing that makes your heart race. Stop in the Copper Shop Gallery, open 9-5 everyday. You never know what treasure is waiting for you!

Santa Claus visits the Roycroft Inn

The Roycroft Campus has welcomed  many wonderful guests through the years. The most celebrated guest this time of year is on his way. Elfs and Santa helpers at the Roycroft Campus want your memories with your little ones to be magical.

Come bring your children or grandchildren to see Santa Claus at the Roycroft Inn - across the street from the Copper Shop. Santa will be at the Roycroft Inn on 40 Grove Street, East Aurora on Tuesday December 11 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Mark your calenders.

It is a truly magical time. Don't miss Santa's one and only appearance at the Roycroft Inn. (He is a busy guy this time of year)

Time Changes at the Roycroft but don't Fall Back! Stay Updated with one of our New Volunteers!

Hello Readers and fellow Roycrofters!

I am your Thursday contributer, Amanda.

    I look forward to providing you with updates from the Roycroft Campus! There is so much going on on the Campus now so check back often.  I am also here to learn. Not only through what I research and write here, but from you!

     My educational background is in Art History and English. I have been an antique dealer and I now work as a photographer.  I live and breathe all that is design or history. Dard Hunter and Charles Rennie Mackintosh have inspired me in nearly everything I can do. I love making and collecting beads, pottery and glass.

   Like Sue, I have recently returned to Western New York, a region rich in Arts and Crafts history. Growing up near East Aurora, I frequented the Roycroft Campus, Shops and Inn. I have since traveled extensively in the U.S. and abroad. Now, I return to one of the most amazing treasures I've seen - the Roycroft Campus. Not every town has something this unique to appreciate! "East Aurora is a state of mind", indeed!

The Roycroft is a special place because it's not just full of history, it's full of life once again!  Just this weekend, it was bustling with travelers, scholars, artisans, and people just like you.  The Connection weekend was a great success in learning! I am honored to be part of the Arts and Crafts community, sharing this with all of you. Drop me a comment if you were there enjoying all the Campus had to offer!

     So, come join in! Grab a book, pick up a copy of "The Fra", drop us a comment, stop by the Copper Shop at 31 South Grove St. Stay tuned and learn along with us all!

-Amanda

                                                                                                   (picture: postcard available at Roycroft Shops)

Summer Reunions Bring Visitors to the Roycroft Campus

           Summer is the time for reunions, and the Roycroft Campus is one of the places classmates and families gravitate to.  Whether for nostalgia or a first time visit, the Campus is one of those places in Western New York one must see.

          This family, returning to Western New York for a high school reunion, found a shady spot on the Appian Way to plan their next stop.  Having visited the Roycroft Campus Copper shop they pondered the various choice lunch options before moving on to the Hubbard and Fillmore Museums and, of course, Vidler's famous variety store.

          The Roycroft Campus is the perfect place to begin the East Aurora experience.  Maps and brochures of all the Western New York sites are available in the Roycroft Copper Shop.

          Roycroft Campus Corporation's Copper Shop open 10 am- 5 pm daily.

 

Grandson of Hamilton Redfield Norvell, printer at the Original Roycroft, Makes a Visit and Gift

          John Norvell on a recent visit to the Roycroft Copper Shop made a gift of an original photograph of Elbert Hubbard, signed with a tribute to John's grandfather Hamilton Redfield Norvell, Roycroft printer.  Hamilton came from a newspaper family, his father, Colonel Freeman Norvell, a Civil War officer from Michigan, was the co-owner of the Detroit Free Press and his grandfather, U.S. Senator John Norvell of Michigan, was the founder of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  Furthermore, Hamilton's daughter, Mary Irene Norvell, was Elbert Hubbard's secretary beginning in 1904.

          In 1960 Mary Irene Norvell wrote the following story about how it happened that she was hired for the job by Elbert Hubbard.  Below, with permission from John Norvell, is Mary's story.  "I  was 16 years old [1904] and decided I would have to go to work.  I had no training, but I was smart and quick.  I applied for work at the Roycroft, a printing and crafting establishment in East Aurora.    For $3.00 a week I addressed envelopes; meanwhile I practiced typewriting and shorthand.  One day the boss, Elbert Hubbard came into the office.  I was the only one there and was practicing typewriting.  He was a striking, formidable man and scared me.  He stopped by my desk and said, "Can you take dictation?" I answered truthfully that I couldn't.  Then he said, "Can you type?" He proceeded to pace back and forth talking and I typed it out on the typewriter.  It was easy because he took long pauses and just paced so I could catch up.  An hour later he finished and he told me, "From now on I want you to take all my dictation." This great honor overwhelmed me, but my wages remained the same. "

          Have a Roycroft story to share?  These stories are welcome on the Roycroft Campus.  Stop in the Copper Shop if you have one, we'll find a listener.  Better yet, send one via this blog.

          The Copper Shop of the Roycroft Campus Corporation is open daily from 9 am-5 pm.

Cherokee Oklahoma Remembered Elbert Hubbard

          A recent visitor to the Roycroft Campus shared an interesting family story about Elbert Hubbard.  The event took place in Cherokee, Oklahoma about 1905.  The Talley family had just built a beautiful new home which brought compliments and admirers.  "Grandma" Talley (Isabelle) noticed a man walking slowly past their new home and recognized him immediately as Elbert Hubbard.  It was his manner of dress which at first made him stand out, the big Stetson hat, loose fitting trousers, boots and his trademark flowing tie.  He looked over the property and then walked up to the door and knocked.  The family was excited, thinking he was going to compliment them on their beautiful new home but discovered instead that he had been admiring their haystack and asked if he might photograph it.  Permission was granted and perhaps somewhere there is a photograph of that haystack.  The visit by Elbert Hubbard was the talk of the town of Cherokee for months to come.

          The Rochester, NY area family who shared this story are descendent's of "Grandma Talley" and suspect the interest in the haystack had to do with the then current artistic interest in haystacks.   

          If you're looking for Cherokee, Oklahoma it is on the Acheson,Topeka & Santa Fe (AT&SF)Railroad line in Alfalfa County, just south of Ingersoll near the Kansas border.  (How Ingersoll got its name might be an interesting tangent to Hubbard's story.)

          Share your Elbert Hubbard stories and visit the Roycroft Campus Copper Shop.  Hours now daily 10 am to 5 pm.

Visitors to the Roycroft Campus Come From Across the Country

          On a recent summer Sunday afternoon at the Roycroft Campus the guest book was signed by many visitors from across the United States.  Represented that day were folks from Massachusetts, New York, Colorado, New Jersey, California, Ohio, Indiana, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and Missouri.  If you've not visited the Roycroft Campus put it on your itinerary for your summer travels. 

          The Roycroft Copper Shop is open daily 10 am- 5 pm with extended hours on Wednesday and Friday until 7 pm. The Roycroft Inn just across South Grove street is open 24 hours and 365 days.    Added attractions to your visit to East Aurora and the Roycroft Copper Shop may include the Millard Fillmore House, Roycroft/Hubbard Museum, Fisher Price Toy Museum and the Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass windows at Baker Memorial Church.  All this and more when you visit East Aurora during the summer.   

Roycroft Campus Corporation Begins Training Program for Volunteers

         

          Clare Root, Associate Director of the Roycroft Campus Corporation, met with her first class of trainees.  These volunteers will be welcoming you and others to our Roycroft Campus.  Several of the volunteers are seasoned docents at the Roycroft Inn, the Roycroft/Hubbard Museum and the Millard Fillmore Museum.  In addition there are a few new faces but the classes are designed so that the entire staff of volunteers will be 'on the same page' with the Campus as the focus.

          During the upcoming tourist season you may be greeted by one or more of these volunteers, each doing his or her part to make your visit to East Aurora and the Roycroft Campus a pleasant, satisfying learning experience.  We all look forward to your visit to the Campus and the Copper Shop, open daily 10 am- 5 pm.

Dr. Narciso Menocal Visits Roycroft Copper Shop with Graycliff's Board President

                                                Dr. Narciso Menocal, author of Louis Sullivan: The Poetry of Architecture, Architecture as Nature: The Transcendentalist Ideals of Louis Sullivan and editor of Wright Studies I: Taliesin 1911-1914 & Wright Studies II: Fallingwater, was in Buffalo speaking at one of Graycliff's Major Lecture Series.  Here from Wisconsin,  Narciso was making his first visit to East Aurora and the Roycroft Campus.  Photographed here with Diane Chrisman, president of the Board of Graycliff, the summer home Frank Lloyd Wright designed for Mr. & Mrs. Darwin D. Martin.  For Dr. Narciso it was the start of a busy day visiting the many architectural treasures of the Buffalo area.

          With so much here to see, Dr. Menocal commented that he'd certainly have to come again.

          You too will find much to see when you come to East Aurora and the Buffalo area. The Roycroft Copper Shop is open daily 10 am-5 pm.

Roycroft Campus Copper Shop Accepts Membership to the Roycroft Campus Corporation

           They come from as far away as Illinois just to visit the Roycroft Copper Shop on the Roycroft Campus in East Aurora, NY.  Tony  knows a good investment when he sees it and made the decision to become a supporting member of the Roycroft Campus Corporation.  He walked away with that good feeling, down to his toes in those Hitchin'Post, genuine leather slippers, for supporting a good cause.

               You too can become a member, receive the latest copy of The Fra,  discount on all your purchases, and that good feeling you get when you support the restoration of a National Historic Landmark.  Visit our website at www.roycroftcampuscorporation.com for details on becoming a member.