With woodworking schools opening across the country, we are asked almost every day when we will resume classes here. Here’s the deal.
We plan to wait until there is a safe vaccine for COVID-19. There are several reasons for that decision.
- Classes here can be physically strenuous because of the handwork. Students sweat, huff and puff a lot as they saw, plane and chop. Doing that work with a mask is misery, and the heavy breathing is ideal for spreading the virus.
- Our workshop is compact. Keeping people at a safe distance is difficult, even with small classes.
- Our students come from all over the world. Some of our students are older and therefore more vulnerable to the virus.
- My mother and Lucy’s mom (both local) are both particularly vulnerable to the virus, and we see them several times a week.
- If anyone got sick (or worse) at one of our classes, Megan Fitzpatrick and I would never forgive ourselves.
As soon as a vaccine is readily available, we will open our doors for classes and a long-overdue open day. If you want to be among the first people informed about classes, the best way is to subscribe to our blog. Simply enter your email in the box near the top right of this page by the headline: “Subscribe to the blog via email.” You won’t get spam. We don’t sell people’s addresses or have sponsors/advertisers. You’ll just get an email every time there is a new entry.
We look forward to having some new faces around here. I know Megan must be sick of me and my prattling on about chair design and marsupial trivia.
Until then, stay safe and we hope to see you soon.
— Christopher Schwarz
Did you know there are 12 species of tree kangaroos in Australia? It might also interest you to know that a female roo is pregnant for 21 to 38 days and at birth a Joey can be as small as a grain of a rice or as a big as a bee.
Good call Chris. My wife and I are dealing with the same problems with our mothers.
I could not forgive myself if I wasn’t diligent and passed the virus on to one of them.
Don’t get me started on marsupials. Are you aware that lagomorphs and marsupials are unique among the placental mammals, in that their scrotal position is cranial to the penis?
Trans.: Bunnies and roos have balls in front of their wee-wees, not behind.
I hope I have not violated the LAP code of gentility.
Boy, did I read “gentility” as something else entirely…
You may not have. Pretty sure the marsupials did, though.
Doing it right.
Marsupials. So much trivia to be found. So much horribly not safe for work trivia to be found. It must be a chore navigating such treacherous waters!
Great decision and an abundance of common sense
Kudos. Thanks for taking an approach that keeps everyone safe. Appreciatively, Pat
Sadly, this is the right call. I hope you and your family stay healthy.
I also hope your marsupial trivia isn’t neglecting our own underappreciated opossum.
That’s the smart, and kind, decision.
Chris,
I totally agree with your cautious and very correct COVID-19 approach to reopening LAP for classes. Having been to a class there,you are correct on all of your staying-closed reasons. The great memory of my class will have to suffice for the future interim.
Cheers,
Michael O’Brien
Not that you were looking for anyone’s approval of your decision, but I thought some affirmation was in order. This is the right choice, though the hard one.
Good and prudent call!
Excellent decision, I applaud your foresight.
I’ve wanted to take a LAP Storefront class for as long as you’ve had them, but I also don’t want to kill anybody. This seems like the most reasonable solution.
Right call.
Thank you for saying this. It may not be popular or what some people think, but responsibility comes with a price. A greater price is paid for foolishness
We here in the land down under feel for you and wish you every bit of luck.
We have lost 905 people here to date. It pales in one day but every life has a value and it isn’t expressed in dollars and cents
I can’t open for classes ether, I still get people calling or coming in and asking. I have been doing one on one teaching and repair work. so money is still coming in. I will be so happy when King Inslee lets us open up.
Responsible decision. Let’s all hope for a good vaccine.
Theres no lost art of medicine books? Like wearing a string of garlic on your neck, putting coffee grounds in your socks and serving chicken soup for lunch for the class? I would have that Roubo would have had a solution for this.
That solution probably would have involved leeches and/or some form of animal based fecal matter.
Don’t forget essential bloodletting!
More places and organizations should be this cautious. My province got cocky in August, thinking that since the active cases were near-zero they could open up everything and return to near-“normal”.
Now we’re dealing with over 2,000 active cases and a 6.9% positivity rate. And almost 50 more people who have passed away as a result.
Y’all are making the right choice, for sure.
We are incredibly fortunate that we can do this. We have lots of books to work on and can keep everyone busy. Not every business has this set of circumstances.
Yes, that’s very true, and I certainly don’t mean to impugn any people or businesses that are struggling and faced with what seems like an impossible choice right now. It has been a frustrating year on many fronts.
https://www.ferris.edu/card/Kids_Corner/marsupials.htm
Good call! I applaud your caution and think you are doing it correctly. You are fortunate that your business can live on through this and will likely thrive on the other side. I feel bad for those that have to make a life-changing decision. I wonder if after this people look at their business plans more critically or less critically since this isn’t something anyone could have or would have planned for in the past and it is so unreal, do you say you need to be able to keep the doors open for 6-12 months without full income? Regardless, thank you for all you “guys” at LAP do!
Thank you. Good choice.
I really appreciate both the decision and the choice to explain. Thank you.
Frankenstein never scared me…marsupials do because their fast
I think this is a very sensible plan. I look forward to safely taking more classes someday.
Have you ever considered streaming video?
Yes. But only for instruction at the lathe.
Good for you. We have done the same with all of our music teaching events. It’s just irresponsible to do otherwise, even if others are.
Thank you for being not reckless about those you care about dearly AND others you don’t know yet – your calm and rational appraisal of the risks of teaching one of your classes in person the way it would realistically need to be taught is so refreshing in these days of folks “asserting their rights”. I’ll say no more than again “Thanks” !!
I just heard a news story about a hairless opossum: apparently it was very easy to see their pouch.