I’m afraid you’re stuck with me again for the LAP Open Wire this week (though Chris might pop in from time to time to make sure I’m not telling tall tales).
So let’s hear your woodworking, old house renovation and cat-related questions.
Here’s how it works: Type your question in the comment field. I will post my answer. It is that simple.
Before you ask a question, please read this.
If you could limit the number of questions you ask to one or two, that would be appreciated.
If your question is your first comment here, it will automatically be flagged for moderation. Your question will appear after I approve it.
It’s been a busy week – so I might sleep in and therefore not get to the first questions (or approve new commenters) until a bit closer to 9 a.m. Or possibly 10 a.m. Darn it. I woke up at 7 (which actually counts as “sleeping in” these days).
Comments are now closed. Thank for all the questions!
– Fitz
p.s. For the following two weeks, we have special Open Wire guests!
Because of the extreme financial pressures of the pandemic unprecedented demand from readers, we have decided to offer naming rights to several of the valuable components of our business. With one small payment, you can put your product or service front and center with dozens and dozens of Lost Art Press visitors every year.
Here are a few of the opportunities available.
The Lost Art Press Sanitary Room Until now, we have called our bathroom the “Klaus Skrudland Memorial Sh*$-a-teria.” But seeing as Klaus is not dead, we have decided to offer up naming rights to this essential visitor area in the Lost Art Press headquarters.
What you get: Your company’s name or logo hand-painted on the frosted glass window of our bathroom. Plus, whenever someone in the building says they have to “go to the bathroom,” we will instead say, “I have to go to the Paycor Room to Make a Convenient Paycheck Deduction” (just an example).
What your donation pays for: Hand soap that Megan is not allergic to. New batteries for Mr. Chirpy, our electronic parrot.
Lost Art Press Kitchen Every visitor compliments our tidy kitchen, and woodworking students spend their mornings and afternoons here with coffee and pastries. Currently we have our Lost Art Press logo painted on the floor. But if you are the winning bidder….
What you get: Your company’s name or logo hand-painted on the concrete floor. Plus, any time we offer coffee to visitors we will say, “Would you like a cup of Hot Synergy from our altafiber chamber?”
What your donation pays for: Lots of coffee. Chris’s toothpick collection.
The Electric Horse Garage Yes, you can name the entire Lost Art Press machine room.
What you get: Your company’s name or logo hand-painted on the shop door. Plus, any time we turn on a machine, we will say, “That’s the feeling of power you get from a Dr. Shoal’s Corn Scraper” (again, just an example).
What your donation pays for: New carbide inserts for our jointer. Safety Police jumpsuits.
“Bean” in his previous role as a Soft Wax Spokespuss.
The Shop Cat Bean eats a lot. And so we have decided to offer naming rights to this feline three-legged ambassador. Almost every visitor to our shop is greeted by a sniff from this friendly guy.
What you get: We will shave your logo into his substantial side meat. Also, people say the cat’s name hundreds of times a day. Imagine the brand burnishing that will occur every time we say “Stop licking your butt, Mr. Vlasic Kosher Dill Gherkins!” Or when people get their photo taken with the cat and use the hashtag #SummersEvePuss.
What your donation pays for: New keys to the cellar. A vegetable plate at Christmas.
Olivia and I, checking out the marvelous construction of one of the interactive pages in “The Dream of the Joiner.”
Last summer, a mysterious package arrived for me in the mail. It was from Suzanne Ellison, whom you know better as Suzo, our indefatigable researcher, aka The Saucy Indexer. Inside was an incredible handmade book, written and illustrated by Suzo, “The Dream of the Joiner.” And it was furoshiki-wrapped (see below). Oh, that I had a quarter of Suzo’s imagination – and a scintilla of her amazing ability to construct pop-up books (for lack of a better descriptor for the interactivity…though “pop-up book” seems insufficient for this handmade delight.). Suzo is the best! And I meant to share this long before now. But today, it was quiet enough in the shop that I could record it.
I felt bad about opening this gorgeous package.
With apologies for my attempt at character voices (I fear I forgot which voice went with which character from time to time) I give you “The Dream of the Joiner” in a video reading (and do read the left-hand pages, with information about the illustrations – I did not include that text, because it’s not part of the narrative). The folding/moving/turning parts of this book are even more impressive in person, but I hope this will suffice.
Thank you again, Suzanne, for this amazing gift (which lives on a shelf well out of reach of the cats)!
An interior spread from “A Visitor Comes to Covington.”
Late last month, a package arrived from our researcher, Suzanne “Saucy Indexer” Ellison. I opened the package, saw it was a handmade book, and immediately set it aside. I was in the middle of teaching a chair class, plus my oldest daughter was about to arrive from Pittsburgh for her birthday.
After all the visitors – students, Maddy and her fiance – had left, I sat down with the book so I could give it my full attention. It is, of course, a fantastic document and a good story. It has everything: drinking, cats, a turtle and a mysterious visitor.
Suzanne kindly agreed to allow me to share the book with you via a video reading. If the video doesn’t appear in your mail reader, click this link to watch it.
I hope this story brightens your Sunday. Tomorrow, we’ll post Suzanne’s story about how she made the book, which is just as interesting as the book itself.