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.
If you hate oversharing, close this page now and go on your merry way.
Always match your boot to your cat; the hair stuck in the Velcro won’t show as much.
Still here? OK – you’re about to read about what a wuss I am, because with just one weekend’s exception (and it was probably a mistake), my woodworking has been limited to reading, writing and editing about it. Oh – and this weekend, I’ll get to talk about it a lot (I’m guessing).
As you likely know by now if you follow this blog, our substacks, my Insta, the Lost Art Press Insta etc., I slipped on ice and broke my right ankle in three places on January 14 (1 out of 10, do not recommend). On January 21, after the swelling had subsided enough, I had surgery to insert a long cannulated (good word, that!) screw into my fibula, and to have a plate screwed to my tibia. (No, the screws are not slot heads. No, the screws are not clocked. Yes, I wish they were. Yes, I will likely set off airport metal detectors.)
The soonest I will be able to drive (and it’s iffy) is April 16. So I’ve been mostly working from my couch with my right foot elevated above heart level. This is comfortable only for my cats, who like having a constant lap handy for naps.
This picture was taken in real time, as I wrote this post. Toby does not make it easy to type! (And I hope my doctor doesn’t see this…pretty sure I’m supposed to keep the boot on.)
I knew most of my work would be of the sedentary type (good thing I have lots of it!) – but I had SUCH BIG PLANS to scoot down to the basement on my butt (the easiest way to navigate stairs) to work at my bench down there for at least an hour or two most days. Heck – I even borrowed an ATS (all-terrain scooter) from my buddy Aaron for that purpose, one with large tires that can navigate the horse mat in front of my bench, and easily roll over sawdust.
The view from the bottom stair: What an embarrassing mess. I should at the very least try to clean off my bench enough that I _could_ do some woodworking on it…
But you know what happens to plans – we make them and the gods laugh.
The only other time I’ve broken a bone was more than 25 years ago, and it did not require invasive surgery – just a closed reduction and a few months in a cast. Healing this time around has been much harder work – and it is requiring more naps than I’ve taken since pre-school. (Most things are more difficult at 56 than at 30, even without a broken ankle…and I have finally been forced to accept it.)
The only “woodworking” I’ve done since my accident was demonstrating a few operations (and not terribly gracefully!) in a February 7-9 Dutch tool chest class. It is difficult to maintain the proper sawing stance while balancing on one foot…oh wait…that is not a proper sawing stance. If my friend Jake hadn’t come to town to help out – and do most of the work, as well as drive me back and forth to the shop – there is no way I could have taught that class. And being upright (even in a wheelchair) for three days straight likely set me back as far as healing. Still, it was worth it. I was so happy to make even a few shavings and a small pile of sawdust.
But apparently not happy enough to do it at home.
Jake is on the far right. Thank you again, Jake! And thanks to everyone else for putting up with the weirdness.
So here I sit on my couch, foot in the air, marveling at those who every day overcome physical challenges, challenges that don’t stop them from picking up a woodworking tool, from modifying a workbench to accommodate a wheelchair, from lowering a table saw to a safe working level, and myriad other modifications that simply allow them to make things. I feel rather ashamed when I think of folks like Michael Rogen, who hasn’t let a degenerative disease keep him down. Or Steve, aka Wheelchair Woodworker, whose spinal cord injury can’t keep him away from the lathe. Or John Furniss, aka The Blind Woodsman, who uses a full complement of power tools.
There are so many woodworkers who don’t have it as easy as me; I do know how lucky I am. I will heal. I will be back working in the shop before too much longer – and without needing to modify anything. In the meantime, I can afford to be lazy. I can afford to be a wuss. And I am thankful beyond measure that I can afford – in every sense of the word – to be so.
But I am at least thinking about woodworking; I’ve come up with a long list of projects to get 90-percent done, per my usual MO.
The following is an excerpt out of “From Truth to Tools” by Jim Tolpin and George Walker; Illustrated by Andrea Love. It features some of our tools that you may recognize (Crucible Sliding Bevel and Crucible Brass Bevel Monkey) and explains why we make them and find them so useful.
This comb-back stick chair is designed for dining and working at a desk. Leaned back just enough, this chair is comfortable to sit in for hours at a time.
I’m offering it for sale for $1,400 via a random drawing. The price includes crating and shipping to your door anywhere in the lower 48 states of the U.S. Details on the sale are at the bottom of this entry. First, here’s more about the chair.
This chair is made from soft maple (seat and arm bow) and red oak (legs, stretchers, sticks and comb.) The legs and stretchers begin octagonal in shape then round into the taper. The through-tenons on the stretchers are cut flush with the legs – as with the stick tenons on the arm; Giving this chair a sleek look.
All joints are assembled with animal glue and wedged with red oak wedges.
This chair sits 17” above the ground, a comfortable height for most sitters. However, the chair can be lowered if desired. The overall height of this chair is 39-1/4”.
Due to the difference in color of wood species, I decided to paint this chair. The chair is finished with two coats of “Linen” by General Finishes “Milk Paint.” The off-white color has a matte finish that I believe will age beautifully.
This chair was my fifth chair build overall and my first chair of 2025. Made mostly by hand tools, the occasional tool mark or imperfection may be noticeable. I made this chair to the best of my ability and am proud of the outcome.
How to Buy the Chair
The chair is being sold via a random drawing. If you wish to buy the chair, send an email to lapdrawing@lostartpress.com before 3 p.m. (Eastern) on Friday, March 7. Please use the subject line: “White Chair.” In the email please include your:
U.S. shipping address
Daytime phone number (this is for the trucking quote only)
If you are the “winner,” the chair will be shipped to your door. The price includes the crate and all shipping charges. Alternatively, the chair can be picked up at our storefront. (I’m sorry but the chair cannot be shipped outside the U.S.)
Well it took longer than I expected, but we now have all four volumes of “The Woodworker” back in stock and ready to ship. If you order before April 30, you can get all four volumes for $100 with free domestic shipping. That’s $39 off. Plus the free shipping.
Here’s the link to the page. The books are also available for sale individually.
These four books are the backbone of a complete education in handwork. A team of six people (including some extra helpers) worked for eight years to read, organize, scan, design and produce these four books from the articles written and edited by Charles H. Hayward.
As editor of The Woodworker magazine from 1939 to 1967, Hayward oversaw the transformation of the craft from one that was almost entirely hand-tool based to a time where machines were common, inexpensive and had displaced the handplanes, chisels and backsaws of Hayward’s training and youth.
Our massive project distilled the thousands of articles Hayward published in The Woodworker. This is information that hasn’t been seen or read in decades. No matter where you are in the craft, from a complete novice to a professional, you will find information here you cannot get anywhere else.
The books have 1,492 pages total, with thousands of hand drawings and photos. The books are printed in the USA and are designed to last decades. The sewn bindings will lay flat on your bench. The uncoated paper is easy on your eyes.
For more information on the project, including a complete list of all the articles in the books, click here.
