Gustav Stickley was more than a furniture maker, he was one of the people who helped redefine American design. He believed furniture should be simple, honest, and built to show what it was made of, rather than covered up with unnecessary decoration. Through his furniture, his magazine The Craftsman, and the broader Craftsman movement, Stickley helped bring the Arts and Crafts philosophy into everyday American homes and laid the groundwork for what we now recognize as American Craftsman design.