Artist Background

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Artisans of the Valley is a unique father and son company specializing in period furniture reproduction and restoration, custom built-in woodworking, and unique sculptural folk art.  A wide spance of specialties, but these two eccentrics enjoy testing their skills across the woodworking spectrum.

Master Craftsman Stan Saperstein, the father, and founder of Artisans of the Valley, enjoys whittling and folk art in his spare time. Now retired from the furniture side of the business run by his son Eric, he has perfected his own unique variety of traditional civil war era hand made walking staffs, creating a twist on a nearly lost art form. Each stick is a signed one of a kind, offering an individual the opportunity to choose their own personal statement by the staff they carry. Through creativity and dedication, it is his desire to maintain the tradition of cane carving, by offering his skills to members of fraternal organizations to create unique and personal staffs fit to depict their lives.

Custom insignias can be carved, whittled, sculpted, painted, or burned into the finished stick including family trees, favorite designs, fraternity letters, business logos, or other endless options. Stanley specializes in producing a walking stick that contains as many personal distinctions as possible. Staffs are commonly topped with a whittled sculpture. Options include, bear heads, eagles, and wolves to the likeness of Lincoln, Lee, or Grant.

Collectors whom boast to have one of Stanley's staffs in their possession include the famous author and walking stick collector George H. Meyer, author of "American Folk Art Canes." Around the country, the popularity of cane collecting is a growing hobby; Forbes Magazine has recently reported a great art investment, American Folk Art Canes. These pieces of 1800 – 1930 Americana have soared in value in the past few years. This leap in value sparked a new interest in handmade canes, both antique and new.

Stan Saperstein is a historian and reenanctor, a member of the Sons of Union Civil War Veterans, a previous officer and continuing member of the Camp Olden Round Table & Museum, he now servers on the board of directors of the Swan Foundation, a group dedicated to preserving the history of the American Revolution through education. Stan is the last of the breed of formally trained Master Craftsman, approaching 30 years of experience in cabinetry, furniture design, joinery, & woodcarving. Now retired, he enjoys his role as a mentor and teacher to his son Eric, the new owner of Artisans of the Valley, assuring that a 400-year lineage of craftsman reaches the next generation.

Custom wood canes are available with anything the customer wishes on the cane. The investment is very reasonable, considering the current upswing in value of collectable crafts, and you will own a conversation piece that never goes out of style. Artisans of the Valley is available by commission to provide custom fraternal furniture, or to provide restoration services on existing antique works.