Stickley's new furniture reflected his ideals of simplicity, honesty in construction, and truth to materials. Unadorned, plain surfaces were enlivened by the careful application of colorants so as not to obscure the grain of the wood.
Mortise and tenon joinery was exposed to emphasize the structural qualities of the works. Hammered metal hardware, in armor-bright polished iron or patinated copper emphasized the handmade qualities of furniture which was fabricated using both hand working techniques and modern woodworking machinery within Stickley's Eastwood, New York, factory (now a part of
Syracuse, New York). Dyed leather, canvas, terry cloth and other
upholstery materials complemented the designs. Those ideals – simplicity, honesty, truth – were reflected in his trademark, which includes the Flemish phrase
Als Ik Kan inside a joiner's compass. The phrase is generally translated 'to the best of my ability.' His firm's work, both nostalgic in its evocation of handicraft and the pre-industrial era and proto-modern in its functional simplicity, was popularly referred to as being in the
Mission style, though Stickley despised the term as misleading. In 1903, he changed the name of his company again, to the Craftsman Workshops, and began a concerted effort to market his works – by then including furniture as well as textiles, lighting, and metalwork – as Craftsman products. Ultimately, over 100 retailers across the United States represented the Craftsman Workshops. In 1902, the later world-renowned sculptor
Jerome Connor was hired to head up Stickley's metal work department. Architect
E. G. W. Dietrich contributed his design and accompanying essay titled "The Cottage Quality" to the February and April 1903 editions of
The Craftsman magazine. Then in May 1903, the magazine published the first "Craftsman House" designed by Dietrich in cooperation with Stickley. The article featured a house design and drawings by Dietrich including an exterior view, floor plans, and detailed interior views showcasing Stickley furniture. In May 1903, Stickley hired Rochester architect
Harvey Ellis. Although Ellis died only a few months later, in January 1904, he had an immediate and profound effect upon design of
The Craftsman magazine, its architectural offerings, and the furnishings Stickley was producing, reinforcing the connections between Stickley's work and that of English and Glaswegian designers. During this year, Stickley's furniture evolved from solid, monumental forms to lighter shapes, relieved by arches, tapering legs, and – in a new experimental line – inlay as decoration. Within a year the inlay designs would be all but dropped from production save special orders, but the broader emphasis on less massive forms would remain. In keeping with this new emphasis, Stickley also began offering furniture in willow to complement the heavier oak designs. Furthering the development of his concept of the Craftsman home, in late 1903 he announced the formation of the Craftsman Home Builders Club to provide architectural plans from
The Craftsman to its subscribers. The homes were offered in a number of archetypes familiar to American public – the farmhouse, town house, cottage, and bungalow, among others. Natural materials and soft colors predominated and interiors were invariably prescribed to include simplified moldings, stained wood, and characteristic features such as built-in cabinets and fireplaces with inglenooks for seating. Although these homes were only rarely innovative in terms of progressive style, designs reflected current approaches to open floor plans, economy of function, and use of novel materials for walls, roofs, and surface treatments. ==Craftsman Farms==