Lost Art Press

When I make things for sale – chairs, hammers, tool chests, workbenches, whatever – I struggle with when to let the things go out of my hands and into the world.

Sometimes I think I have two choices:

1. Perfection first. I first need to get all the details perfect no matter how long it takes. Then I’m going to get faster and faster at it.
2. Speed first. I need to get this project done so it makes money and is acceptable to a customer. Then I’ll achieve perfection as I get better and better at it.

I’ve found the truth is something entirely different. When I make an object for the first time or the 10th time, getting it “just right” is impossible because I have no conception of how good the thing can become in the end.

For example, when I started making lump hammers in our shop, I made them slowly and to what I thought was a high standard. The problem was that my eyes couldn’t conceive of what a really good hammer looked like. So my first hammers were made slowly and weren’t anything like they look like today – to my eye. (Note: Even my early ones were good. I’m not asking to be swamped with returns.)

Same with chairs. When I invited Peter Galbert over for dinner one night I had to look him in the eye and say: I can afford to own only my early and prototype chairs. These things horrify me. Please don’t judge me by them. He smiled broadly and nodded. (I know in my heart he was judging me.)

I’ve concluded that speed and quality are not mutually exclusive. You don’t have to choose one over the other. Instead, I start with neither and end up with both. It just takes time at the bench, the lathe or the belt grinder.

This week I have this Irish chair prototype (above) sitting around the shop while Chris Williams teaches two classes stocked with experienced chairmakers. I honestly wanted to hide the chair somewhere. It’s a mess. But Lucy and I are moving house right now and there is no place to stash it.

Though it pains me to look at the chair, its presence also forces me to see it and develop an eye for what it can become. And that’s the first step to getting it right.

— Christopher Schwarz

I thought having sponsors would be easy – wear their T-shirts and cash their checks. Sadly, we’ve have had a bumpy relationship with both Hold Harmless clamps and Malodorous Mallet. (We, ahem, have a couple gross of Malodorous-brand mallets to give away at the next open day, FYI.)

Thanks goodness for CTS Co., makers of the Tenonitis (TM) Joinery Saws. To celebrate, we’ll be putting their new line of Joint Ripper saws through their paces in our shop in the coming weeks.

Several years ago, Kelly Mehler closed his much-beloved woodworking school in Berea, Ky., to tend to his health and family. A lot of us (former instructors and students) wondered if Kelly would ever open the school’s doors again. Or if it was gone for good.

This week I received a piece of good news. Berea College had acquired the school and is reopening it this summer with Kelly Mehler teaching its first class July 22-27. The school is holding its second class taught by Andy Glenn, who runs Berea College’s woodcraft program.

The school is called The Woodworking School at Pine Croft and is housed in the same building where Kelly ran his school for many years. You can read details about the school and the two new classes at the school’s website.

I’m thrilled that Kelly is returning to teaching and that his school – a warm and welcoming facility – will prosper under the wing of both Berea College and Andy Glenn.

I don’t have any more details. But I’ll report them when I hear them.

— Christopher Schwarz

When visitors to the workshop help us clean up, most of them are amazed at our brooms. Not just their workmanship, but how well they corral debris and dust. And so we’re regularly asked: Where can I buy this broom?

The answer: We get our brooms from two places, Berea College Crafts and the Pleasant Hill Shaker Village. These are handmade brooms. They last a long time and are a joy to use because they are so lightweight.

They are so nice that students don’t mind sweeping so much.

If you need a broom for your shop or kitchen, I cannot recommend these too highly.

— Christopher Schwarz