Borrowing from such thinkers as William Morris and John Ruskin in England, Gustav and Leopold Stickley strove to oppose the tide of cheaply made and mass produced furniture of the Industrial Age by returning to the fundamental principles of furniture construction.

However, unlike many of the purists of the time, Gustav and Leopold believed that they could achieve these ends by placing the power of industrial technology in the hands of skilled and knowledgeable craftsmen.

Today Stickley Furniture continues to live by this Craftsman ethic in the furniture it builds, in the treatment of its employees, and in its relationship to those companies selected to represent its product. They have also expanded the products it offers to include traditional 18th-century designs to more contemporary styles often borrowing influences from its own “Mission” or Arts and Crafts styles. Stickley produces its own line of fine upholstery and leather furniture. Finally, this family owned and operated business has revived such other fine furniture companies as John Widdicomb and Nichols and Stone.