Lost Art Press

Category: Anthe Building

‘Blems’ – Available Only at Our Anthe Storefront

Posted on by fitz

Our new storefront is fully up and running these days – and one of the benefits of visiting us in Covington is the opportunity to shop our Seconds Shelf (which is the Boarded Bookcase from “The Anarchist‘s Design Book“).

On it go all of the books and tools that aren’t quite perfect – items we can’t sell at full price. Maybe we spilled coffee on the pages. Maybe a cover was put on upside down at the bindery, or a few pages got folded incorrectly at assembly. Or the post service damaged the book in shipping. Or we dinged a hammer head while seating the wedge. This is all good stuff – readable and usable…just a wee bit blemished.

As a result of this less-than-perfection, these books, tools and accouterments are priced well below their usual retail price…and you have to visit us to get them. We can’t ship them. We’d lose money if we did…and not only because of the packing and shipping cost, but the human cost in keeping on top of online listings and the like. There is usually no more than one or two of any given title/item, and it would be prohibitively person expensive/time consuming to deal with listing them online.

So I’m afraid you’ll have to come to 407 Madison Ave., Covington, Ky., 41011 to partake. Bonus: You get to see us, and hang out for a while in our beautiful river city!

Store hours are currently Monday-Wednesday-Friday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

– Fitz

p.s. About those store hours: I regularly receive emails with special requests to come in early/late or on an unscheduled day. I beg you to please stop sending those. While we might change the hours in the future, for now, these are the hours. In our other hours, we are writing/editing books, building something in the shop, making tools, spending time with friends and family, communing with our cats….

Anthe Entrances – There are Several

Posted on by fitz
The front of the Anthe building, at 407 Madison Ave., Covington, Ky., 41011. Both front entrances will be unlocked and available for use.

Planning to join us for the Anthe Open House this Sunday (March 9) from 2-5 p.m.? We hope so! It’s our public celebration of the new Lost Art Press editorial headquarters, storefront and warehouse – and it’s been a lot of work and a long time coming. We are glad to be done. (OK…done for now. It’s a century-old building; the work is never actually done.)

The building front – and its two main entrances – are at 407 Madison Ave,. Covington, Ky, 41011. While facing the building (as shown above), the door on the left leads directly into the new storefront. The double doors on the right lead into the stairwell; to get into the storefront, it’s the first door inside on the left. Both of these entrances will be unlocked and operational on Sunday.

But so as to avoid a bottleneck in the front, we’ll also have unlocked the back door at the back right side of the building, which leads directly into our warehouse area.

The back entrance, the green door, is not as picturesque. And please watch your step.

And if you have mobility issues, please park on the loading ramp (off of West Fourth Street) and knock on the roll-up door at the top of the loading ramp. (Please do not use this option unless it is truly necessary; save it for those who need it, because parking is extremely limited on our ramp.)

Regardless of which entrance you choose, someone from LAP will be there to welcome and direct you.

See you Sunday, I hope!

– Fitz

p.s. Public parking is available on Madison and surrounding streets. The area is flat and walkable.

Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event in Covington (plus our Grand Opening of Anthe)

Posted on by Lost Art Press

We are hosting a free Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event at our Willard Street workshop on March 7-8, 2025. In addition to all the Lie-Nielsen tools and our books, the show will feature planemaker Matt Bickford, author of “Mouldings in Practice.”

If you have never been to a Hand Tool Event, here’s what it’s like. You get to try every tool that Lie-Nielsen makes in a completely low-pressure environment. The staff is there to help educate you about woodworking techniques, including sharpening, planing and sawing. 

We will be there with all our books, tools and apparel, and we are happy to answer questions, sign books or give you a tour of the shop. And Matt will have his moulding planes and will be there to show you how to put them to use at the bench.

Covington is an ideal place for these events (in my opinion). There is lots of good food within walking distance from our front door. Plus the city of Cincinnati (eight blocks away) is awash in museums, cultural events, good food and family entertainment (a world-class zoo and aquarium). So bring the family.

Plus, on the day after the show (March 9), we’re holding the grand opening event for our Anthe Building, which is our new retail store, fulfillment center and editorial offices in downtown Covington. If you donated to the restoration of the building, you’ll hear from us in the coming month about a special event for donors. If you just want to see the place, we’ll have it open to the public from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on March 9, 2025, at 407 Madison Ave., Covington, KY 41011.

Hope you can join us.

— Christopher Schwarz

Storefront In-person Sales on Pause for a Few Weeks

Posted on by Lost Art Press
Soon our storefront will be open at 407 Madison Ave.

Our new storefront was supposed to be open by Jan. 1, but it’s still not done because we are waiting on the cabinetry that was supposed to arrive before Christmas.

We are not gritching. Delays happen. But until we can get the new storefront at 407 Madison Ave. up and running, we have to suspend in-person retail sales. Here’s why.

Megan broke her ankle and is laid up at home for a bit. And right now we are moving operations to 407 Madison Ave. (the “Anthe” building, pronounced ANN-thee). So Kale and I are running back and forth between the workshop at Willard Street and Anthe. And we are not reliably in any one place right now.

Today our cabinetry vendor promised that our order would be loaded on a truck on Monday or Tuesday. If that happens, we will get the new storefront up and running by the end of the month. But until then, our in-person retail operation is on hold.

Apologies for this. And I hope we will have some good news soon.

— Christopher Schwarz

A Video Tour of the Work at our HQ

Posted on by Lost Art Press

We spent the last couple months of 2024 working hard on our building at 407 Madison Ave., an old woodworking tool factory that we are restoring as our fulfillment center, retail store and editorial offices.

In addition to the staff and sub-contractors, we brought in Zach Haynes of Haynes Carpentry to help do some of the difficult and detailed work. Zach finished up the drywall, helped get the offices separated from tool assembly and did a lot of work getting the storefront ready. Thanks Zach!

On Tuesday, I did this quick video tour of the building. Lots more work ahead this month. Our cabinets should arrive for the storefront (there’s no way I could build these in time or for the price we’re being charged). And work has already begun on fixing up the old factory bathroom on the second floor. 

Right now, I can’t even show you a photo of the bathroom because I think it would break some laws it’s so scary.

Stay tuned. We’re doing this for a reason. 

— Christopher Schwarz