November 1902 Edition

Welcome to my house

by Deborah Upshaw

Professional social media advocate. Devoted pop culture geek. Passionate travel lover.

November is the time of awareness. Awareness of our surroundings and our place is what makes a house our home. This edition is complete with the usual affairs of fashion and craft. It is about creating beauty from the work of your hands. It is about embracing a time of arts and crafts. Our world needs more awareness. It needs more of your beauty.

I have the honor of reading through the articles. I imagine how it was when this magazine was first published. There is a sense of adventure that more is possible. It is about sharing ideas and beauty. I first look at the house renderings. There are many images of wonderful furnishing designs. These also help in getting into the finer details of ornamentation. And then there is the ever knowing assumption that you know what you are doing. It's OK to spent time and being thoughtful in your art. This is the meaning of awareness.

This magazine was first published in 1902. It was the peak of the arts and crafts movement. People's interest in the applied arts has remained strong. People are still tinkering away in their garage or workshop realizing ideas. The pages in this magazine are full of ideas. These are yours to create, build from or inspired by. It only takes one idea, part of a sketch or the spark of an idea to get your next project underway. We are also here when your project is on hold. You may have had to put a project off to the side because it needed more work. I call this the mid-project blues. We can help you get your project underway again. Diving back into these pages will remind you of why you took the project up in the first place. A fresh approach can get your project out of the corner and into your house.

Our sense of story continues to evolve through these pages. We started looking at the decline of Art Nouveau in furniture styles. Trends from the Continent continue arrive in the English house. The English furniture style is adapting. Ornate embellishments are disappearing. The modern form is neat and structured. Straight lines and functional fit are the new order. Thomas Sheraton comes straight to mind. Sheraton displays an inviting table and settee set. It is functional and beautiful. There are endless building ideas. Our sketches are as inviting and inspiring as ever.

I get asked if these articles are exact reproductions of the original magazine. I am always upfront with my response. The articles here are heritage reprints but not exact reproductions. The nature of publishing has changed from November 1902. The changes take many forms but are in keeping with the original writing. Modern publishing demands a new approach. Hyperlinking is an obvious example. Our editors add hyperlinks where it enhances the material. There are obvious format changes to suit the dynamic pagination of digital devices. Articles will have stronger changes to maintain currency with the dominant search engines. Search engines will ignore many articles if they do not meet arbitrary criteria. I will endorse these changes to keep our articles search-enabled. We love this magazine, feature articles and copious sketches. Our changes will keep this magazine fresh.