Registration for Christian Becksvoort’s All About Dovetails one-day class is now open. (If you don’t get in, do sign up for the waitlist.)
Note: Some people are having trouble signing up for the waitlist – we’ve checked everything we can think of to check (and googled the problem). We cannot replicate the issue. So, if anyone else has trouble, send an email to covingtonmechanicals@gmail.com and I’ll manually register you for the waitlist in the order I receive said emails. Sorry.
Christian Becksvoort’s new book, “Shaker Inspiration” is hot off the press (if you’ve already ordered, look for it in your mailbox soon) – and he’s making the trip from Maine to the Lost Art Press Shop in Covington, Ky., for a book release party on Jan. 12, from 7-10 p.m. (plus he’ll be in and out during the Lost Art Press open house that day).
Christian will give a presentation on his work, and a short reading from his new book (and sign copies of it and his other books if you like!), and we’ll feed and water you (snacks, beer and wine, and non-alcoholic choices).
If you plan to come to the “Shaker Inspiration” book release party, please send me an email at covingtonmechanicals.com. You are welcome to bring your family – just let us know how many people will be coming.
And, Christian is teaching a one-day class on Friday, Jan. 11: All About Dovetails. Registration for that goes live at 10 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 3. Note that if you’re one of registrants (six only!), we’ll ask that you bring a check or cash for Chris ($190) to the class – so with no pre-payment to help hold you to it, we’re trusting you’ll show up! (If you get into the class on Monday but later find you can’t make it, please send me an email (to covingtonmechanicals@gmail.com) right away, so we can offer it to the first person on the waitlist.)
— Fitz
If you have wanted to take a class from me in making a stick chair, your best bet is to sign up for a class on the topic in 2019 at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking.
The class, which runs Sept. 9-13, 2019, will have as many as 18 students. That sounds like a lot, but the staff and assistants at the school are awesome. Plus, I hope to convince John (the other half of Lost Art Press) to also assist me. He’s a talented stick chair maker. In fact, we took our first chair class together in 2003.
Registration for the class opens on Dec. 3. You can read the class description here. More details on the school and registration can be found in the school’s brochure here.
The Marc Adams school is incredibly well run. And Marc has greatly expanded the school’s buildings in the last few years. There’s now a huge cafeteria, plus a glass studio and a makerspace with the CNC stuff.
— Christopher Schwarz
My latest chair – based on an original on display at St Fagans National History Museum in Wales – is available for purchase and immediate shipment.
It is made from American red oak, assembled with hide glue (for long-term repairability) and is finished with garnet shellac. The seat is 22” wide and about 12-1/2” deep. The seat height is about 17” off the floor.
The lightweight chair is very comfortable and will look in place in a traditional or contemporary setting.
This chair is ideal for simply sitting and relaxing. The pitch of its back sticks pulls your back against the armbow, which intersects your lumbar. The top of the four back sticks supports your upper back. This chair can be used as a dining chair, but it is ideal for lounging, watching the fire and conversation.
This chair is based on one of the chairs on display at St Fagans that I photographed in October. Like the original, the seat is not saddled. (Because this seat is unsaddled, the price includes a sheepskin for the seat.) Also, this chair has an undercarriage – an H-stretcher that is low to the floor. The original chair had an undercarriage that is long gone. I created this undercarriage based on extant examples from St Fagans and the remnants of the existing undercarriage.
Price: $630 plus shipping. Pickup or delivery within 100 miles of Cincinnati is free.
On Shipping
The price includes a custom crate. Shipping is via LTL. Shipping costs vary depending on your location and the details of how it needs to be dropped off. Costs can be $90 to $300 depending on your location and how much assistance you need to unload the crate.
— Christopher Schwarz
We’ll be announcing classes for the second half of 2019 in January (and we still have a few slots available during the first half of the year). Plus, I’ll be posting next week about a semi-last-minute addition to our January offerings (sorry for the tease, I’m just waiting on images from the instructor).
To help you navigate to these (and the upcoming new ones) we’ve added some easy-to-find links to classes from the home page: at the top in the menu bar and on the right at the top of the right rail. Click on either, and you’ll be whisked away to the listings on Eventbrite (the service we use for booking).
And if you have any questions about them, you can always email me at covingtonmechanicals@gmail.com. (Please do send class questions to me at that address, not to the Lost Art Press help desk – why? Read on).
“Why can’t the help desk help?” These classes are not really through Lost Art Press; in effect, each instructor is an independent contractor who is merely renting the space from Christopher Schwarz for the weekend (or week, in select cases). I handle most of the scheduling and logistics for visiting instructors (Chris and Brendan do their own), so I will likely know the answer to your question – and if I don’t, I can and will immediately get it to the right person. Meghan B. handles the LAP help desk (questions about books, orders, etc.), and she is busy enough without having to forward stuff about classes to me.
“Why don’t I get an invoice right after I sign up?” Because each instructor does her or his own invoicing, and that comes directly from said instructor. I usually give it a couple of days for spaces to fill up after we launch a class, then I send the class list to the instructor. He or she will send an invoice using his or her preferred service (Paypal, Square, check…). I do not handle the payment side of things (except for my own classes, of course).
“What is the cancellation policy?” Each instructor sets her or his own, and that is typically included in the class description.
“I tried to sign up right when classes went live, and didn’t get in. You suck!” I’m sorry. Please see below.
“Should I bother signing up for the waitlist?” Yes! We do have cancellations – and when that happens, I trigger a note from Eventbrite to the first person on said list, who then has 24 hours to register. And if that person can’t make it, on to the next, and so on. I estimate that in about 70 percent of classes, at least one person from the waitlist gets in (and often two people).
“I’m coming from out of town; where should I stay?” Check out this blog post, which has suggestions not only on where to stay, but where to eat and non-woodworking-related greater Cincinnati attractions.
“Will you offer a class in X?” Possibly. Send me an email, and if we think there would be enough interest, and we can find the right person to teach it, we will consider X topic.
Other questions? Here’s that email again: covingtonmechanicals@gmail.com.