Author: Lost Art Press

Some readers have gritched about our upcoming chore coat. I had to delete a couple of the profane comments (we don’t do profanity here), but the gist of the comments was that the coat is a fancy thing, and it will be expensive.

Here’s my reply: The coat will be exactly the same quality as the books we make and the furniture we build. It will be made in the United States from quality materials. It is designed to last – and is worth repairing if need be. And it is made for work.

Today I received a prototype of the jacket to evaluate the fabric, stitching and the fit. It still needs some tweaks here and there, but we are ready to place the order for the fabric.

We’re shooting for a retail price of $185, and after handling the article I think you’ll find that price a bargain – if you are a rational human being. By that I mean it’s difficult for me to understand people who build quality furniture, use good tools but are perfectly happy wearing things that were made in a sweatshop and won’t last a year. And when these clothes do wear out, they cannot be repaired.

(Conversely, I also cannot understand people who spend huge sums on clothes they wear a few times and then donate to a sketchy charity.)

I own one pair of boots, from Trask. They cost me $225 and were made in the USA but can easily be resoled for $50 – I just picked them up from the cobbler today and they are sporting new Vibram soles. Because the leather uppers are already broken in, these boots are now better than any new pair out there.

I own one rain jacket, a Barbour. I’ve had it since 1997 and have repaired it twice for wear and rips. During the repairs, the factory extended the arms a bit so that my sexy wrists are now obscured from view. Again, any new jacket would be a downgrade.

If you don’t like our chore coat, don’t buy it. We’re fortunate that we have choices in our market economy. But don’t call it expensive or fancy because that’s just ignorant and thoughtless.

— Christopher Schwarz

The Oregon garment factory has just produced our first chore coat prototype using the Japanese cotton that Tom Bonamici has selected. Tom wants to make a couple small adjustments to the way the collar will sit, but he is almost satisfied.

That prototype is on its way to Kentucky for us to inspect the workmanship and evaluate the cloth. Tom says the fabric is so good it feels like “unicorn butter.” That’s worrisome because we were after “centaur mayonnaise” for the hand feel.

Meanwhile, other details of the jacket are coming together. One of the important aspects of this garment (for me) is that it not be a piece of marketing. Like a traditional French coat, there will be only two details of the maker: The buttons will be debossed with “Lost Art Press” in tiny letters. You’ll have to look closely to see them. And the inside pocket will be embroidered with our skep logo.

There is still a lot of work to be done, including getting the price nailed down and finalizing some of the sizing.

The way we are going to sell these is going to be a little different than your typical clothing store. We’re going to publish very specific sizing guidelines so you can determine which size is for you. We’ll open up the ordering for a month. Everyone who orders one will then get one.

This will do two things: Greatly reduce waste and therefore help us keep the price down because we won’t have to account for garments that don’t sell.

If everything goes smoothly, the jackets will ship in March.

— Christopher Schwarz

We are actively working on four books this month. Here’s a quick update.

Richard Jones’s book on timber technology (we’re still fussing with the title) has been fully laid out. Kara Gebhart Uhl and I will give it a final edit this month and it should be to the printer in early January. That means it should be released in February or March 2018. (This assumes nothing goes haywire in the process.)

Jögge Sundqvist’s book “Slöjd in Wood” is almost ready for the designer. Megan Fitzpatrick has been sorting through both the translation and notes from Jögge and Peter Follansbee, who is assisting with the editing. This book has taken a lot longer than we hoped (and cost thousands of dollars more than we planned). But the result will be worth it. Look for it in early spring.

Christian Becksvoort has just turned in the materials for his new book with Lost Art Press. The book needs a title, but it’s going to be outstanding. It will feature plans for some of Becksvoort’s best projects from his career, plus advice on the craft and how to make a living at it. We are just beginning the editing process on the book, but it should go quickly. We hope for a summer release.

Finally, there is my book, “Ingenious Mechanicks: Early Workbenches & Workholding.” The writing will be complete by the end of 2017 – I have only about 1,000 more words to go. As always, as I get to the end of a book I have found at least 30 untrodden paths before me that I could go down. This book could easily consume another 20 years of my life – and still be incomplete.

Luckily, I have worked with authors who allow themselves to be sucked down the path of researching “one more detail” and then “Oooo, one more thing.” It can go on forever, and the work becomes blurred, ill-defined and all-consuming. You have to know when to cut bait or fish.

I’m ready to fish.

Look for “Ingenious Mechanicks” to be released by May at the latest.

— Christopher Schwarz

P.S. I forgot to mention Joshua Klein’s book on Jonathan Fisher. It’s in the good hands of designer Linda Watts and should be complete in the next couple months. Apologies for neglecting this important title – I have too many chainsaws in the air…. It’s late and it’s been a long day.