Following In A Long Tradition Of Master Craftsmen
Using Our Past Values To Inform Our Changes For The Future
The Manor has enjoyed over a half-century history of fostering a holistic approach to its business, to keep as much of what defines us within our own family of operations. A vital part of sustaining that ethic is our tradition of supporting the work of true artisans and incorporating their talents into all that we do. This may make us a larger business to manage, and a more costly one to operate, but we believe that it also improves the quality and authenticity of the experience we can provide to our guests.
Whether it’s our upholsterer who maintains our antique furniture, our woodworker who custom-builds and repairs the myriad elements and structures of our historic building, our bakers who knead the dough each morning for our own specialty breads produced in our pastry shoppe, or our veritable village of other craftsmen, we benefit greatly from the depths of their talents.
The Knowles family, founders and owners of The Manor, pride themselves on maintaining these traditions. As just one example of the of artisans who have been a part of The Manor’s rich history is our long-time coppersmith, Hans Brueckl, now 88-years old, who had dedicated decades of service to The Manor creating many of the fine copper and silver pots and cookware used in our kitchens. By hand shaping and hammering sheets of copper, in much the same fashion that smiths of prior centuries would, he has created custom pieces of functional art to meet our chefs needs and has even designed elements for sconces, chandeliers, and other decorative pieces.
The family used this history and appreciation of craftsmanship and authenticity to inform and inspire their renovation planning. Their perspective is evident from the importance they placed on material selections of natural woods, stones, and metals, to the look and feel of each design element chosen, as well as the craftsmen they hand-picked to install and build them.
From the fine wooden millwork, to the custom-built iron and brass railings, to fabric paneled walls, decorative plaster and paints, inlays of hand-cast tile, and so much more, the work of artisans and the products of genuine crafstmanship are quite literally built into The Manor and are, as much as ever, a true part of what we are.
