FAQ

Q: Do you use "real" linen or is it a blend?
A: We only use 100% natural linen from the flax plant.  We looked all over the world to find an extremely high quality linen.  For our pillows and runners, we wanted a wide weave with slightly varrying sized fibers, using the Russian "crash" linen that Gustav Stickley used as a model.  We found a mill in Belgium that could produce exactly what we wanted.

Q: The embroidery looks too regular...is this machine made?
A: We follow Gustav Stickley's belief that machines should be used to do repetitive tasks when they don't reduce the quality and workmanship of the final product.  We use a very heavy Rayon thread with modified commercial embroidery equipment to produce a high-quality product that looks great and wears well and is affordable.

Q: Do I have to dry clean my pillow?
A: No.  Linen is extremely rugged and our Rayon thread is colorfast.  You should clean the pillow like a sweater by washing it in cold water and tumble drying.  Be sure to remove the pillow form and wash it separately.  If you have an ink or some other pretty serious spill, consider dry cleaning.

Q: What is Rayon?  Was it an Arts & Crafts period material?
A: Rayon is a man-made material consisting of cellulose derived from wood pulp.  During the Arts & Crafts period, Rayon was referred to as "art silk" and was more prevalent than silk in hand-embroidery kits.  A common item found is the Royal Society embroidered item under the "Celesta" name, which was all Rayon.

Q: Do you offer wholesale?
A: Yes.  We sell to brick & mortar retail stores, online retailers, antique shops, and dealers in antique malls.  You must have a tax ID for your state, be a legitimate retailer, and meet certain other criteria. 

Q: Can I get a custom pillow and/or runner?
A: Yes, we do custom work as time permits.  Pricing is based on type of work to be done, quantity of finished product,  complexity of design, and other factors. 

Q: Do you offer quantity pricing?
A: Quantity pricing is at our discression and depends on your needs and our current workload.  Quantity pricing typically starts at 10 pieces.  We welcome requests from owners of Bed & Breakfast, Hotels, and others who may have needs for quantity.

Q: I have allergies...can I get a pillow that doesn't have feathers in it?
A: Sure...this is a very common request.  We will gladly replace the down/feather pillow fill with a polyester fill.

Q: What is applique?
A: Rather than paint or use heavy stitching to fill large areas, a piece of material is sewn in place on top of the primary material and stitching is applied to form lines around this piece.  We used a dyed linen for all of our applique.

Q: What is a "width"?
A: When measuring material for curtains, everything is based on the bolt, or large roll, of linen.  Our Belgian linen comes in a bolt that is 52 inches wide.  A curtain that requires a 40 inch wide piece of material will require the same amount of material to be cut off of the bolt as a piece that is 50 inches wide so the material is sold by the width.  We round our length pricing up to the nearest quarter yard.

Q: What is an envelope back?
A: To allow easy removal of the pillow fill for cleaning, our pillows have a flap in the back that overlaps like an envelope.  This give the look and feel of a vintage pillow unlike something with a zipper.

Q: Where did you get "that" design?
A: Our designs come from a variety of sources.  We have an extensive collection of period embroidery catalogs, a large collection of period embroidered items, period stencil designs, pottery and porcelain designs, and period design elements.

Q: What is the "10 mil polyester film" that your stencils are made of and is this a period material?
A: Polyester film has been sold commercially as "Mylar" and is extremely durable.  It is used in everything from heat transfer backing in t-shirt shops to overhead transparencies.  Polyester film is resistent to almost every solvent you may use to remove paint and won't tear.  The mil is roughly a millionth of an inch and is used to describe the thickness of paper and other small items.  A typical stencil is made of 3 mil and sometimes 5 mil film.  As with our other products, we overdo it so it will last longer than is probably necessary and will hold up to abuse.  It also supports our most detailed designs well.  This material was not available during the A&C period.  Period stencils were made for a one time use, usually of oiled cardstock paper.

Q: Are your stencils made in America?
A: Yes.  We manufacture all of our stencils one at a time in our shop in Arlington, Texas.  Each stencil is cut with a carbon dioxide laser.  Most stencils you will find in stores are die-cut in China or India.  Since we do everything in-house, we offer custom sizing and custom stencils.

Q: I have an old stencil on my wall or I have a stencil in this old book that I would like reproduced.  Can you do this?
A: We do everything in-house.  If you can supply a quality picture of what you need, we can likely reproduce your stencil.  We can even work from sketches.  Please contact us for pricing and possibility of the stencil you have in mind.

Q: How can I view the status of my order?
A: Go to the Customer Service, Account Information page. This page lists all your orders. Click the date of the order whose status you wish to view.

Q: What are your shipping costs?
A: You can view an estimate of shipping costs by viewing your cart. However, final shipping costs will be displayed on the Invoice you see before confirming your order.

Q: Do you support the interior design trade?
A: Yes we do and do often.  Our embridered linen products are in use in quite a few higher end hotels and resorts in addition to smaller B&B's.  Our posters hang in office buildings all over the US and even in some embassies abroad.  Our travel posters are timeless and work for many styles of decor and are perfect for businesses as it provides the statement that your client supports and appreciates our American heritage while remaining apolitical.  You will find our posters in professional buildings, doctor and dentist offices, and even a political think tank in Washington DC!  Of course, these adorn the walls of many homes.  Please submit a query todavid.ford@fordcraftsman.com to discuss your requirements.  We can provide custom sized images for larger quantity projects, just posters, or fully framed posters delivered straight to your customer.

Q: I'm an illustrator/artist and I love travel posters.  Do you hire artists?
A: Yes.  A number of artists have worked on our projects and we like vary our style a bit with different view points.  We provide a standard set of specifications as well as a few pre-built components for the WPA posters.  Contact us at david.ford@fordcraftsman.com with fee requirements and samples of your work or a link to work references.