Lost Art Press

Your Friendly Neighborhood Publisher & Furniture Maker?

Posted on by Lost Art Press

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My Covington neighbors don’t know what to make of me. Every day, someone from the neighborhood stops by my storefront shop and asks: “What is this place?”

My best and shortest answer: I build furniture and write books about it.

That is, of course, no help to them. During the last 12 months of working in downtown Covington, I’ve been amazed at how many people – working-class for the most part – would love to have the services of a neighborhood furniture maker.

They have furniture that needs fixing. They need shelves cut to size. They need a new top for a metal table. They need a simple kitchen table to fit a small space. They need moulding that matches the stuff in their house. They need corbels for their box gutters. They need a new gate to replace a rotted one.

All the above job offers came in the last 14 days. I honestly could stay busy just servicing the neighborhood residents and its businesses.

And I’ve also become a depository for all things woodworking.

Need clamps? A Work-mate? Old doors? Piles of lumber from a basement? The neighbors are happy to give me these things when they find them.

So I feel weird when they ask me how much my furniture costs. They come in, sit in one of my chairs and ask how much for a chair and a table. The chair is $700. The table is $2,000. Both are fair prices (a bit on the low side – neighborhood discount). They look at me like I’m crazy.

I try to explain why the furniture costs that (It will last forever), but in their minds it should cost the same as what the see at Furniture Fair or one of the other big retailers of rickety pre-refuse.

And then I say: “You know the other option is to make it yourself. I got started making furniture because I couldn’t afford to buy what I wanted.”

We shall see if that tactic bears fruit.

— Christopher Schwarz

A Dumb Way to Run a Corporation

Posted on by Lost Art Press

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One of the reasons John and I started Lost Art Press was because we were crazily enamored with the work of people such as Christian Becksvoort, Peter Follansbee, John Brown and a whole host of other people who built things by the sweat of their brows.

One night about 11 years ago over a few beers, John and I both proclaimed that we wished we could send these people large sums of money to thank them simply for doing what they do – no strings attached. Something like Medici-style patronage.

One problem: John and I were neither rich nor royal.

So we started Lost Art Press as a way for us to support people we genuinely adore. We offer generous terms to our authors (more generous than any other publisher I know of). And we keep their books in print for as long as the authors allow (which we hope is forever).

So this is why we don’t publish books from just any woodworker. Every living author in our stable is someone we know personally. I have seen their work. I have eaten with them and have a sense of who they are. And I’ve developed a strong respect for the way they treat others and the way they approach their work.

I won’t work with someone I don’t want to sit down and eat a meal with.

It’s a hilariously stupid way to run a corporation. We should instead be chasing authors who will make us the most money.

Today Matt Bickford (author of “Mouldings in Practice”) stopped by the Lost Art Press storefront with his entire family (shown above), and their boys roamed free around my shop playing with my vises, lathe and whatever else wasn’t tied down, barbed or electrified.

To see this thriving family that lives off of Matt’s salary as a planemaker was a gas. It’s rare to see a family unencumbered by corporate jobs, mindset and schedules. After a raucous visit, they headed off to see the Cincinnati Art Museum and maybe the Fire Museum. A park? The aquarium? It all makes me tired just to think of it.

So yeah, we want to support more of that.

— Christopher Schwarz

‘Take my Book and Rip Out All the Pages…’

Posted on by Lost Art Press

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Today I went to a book reading by Nick Offerman in support of his latest book “Good Clean Fun: Misadventures in Sawdust at Offerman Woodshop.” Megan Fitzpatrick at Popular Woodworking Magazine bought us tickets, and the price of the ticket included a copy of his book.

I’m going to write a book report on “Good Clean Fun” as soon as I finish consuming it. If the readings Offerman gave today are any indication, I will need to invest in some adult diapers for the experience.

I do want to share one beautiful moment during the program.

Right after Offerman took the stage he told the following to the audience (I’m going to paraphrase because I wasn’t taking steno):

Take my book and rip out all the pages. Roll them into joints. Sell the joints. Take the money you earned from selling those joints and buy every book written by Wendell Berry.

For those of you who don’t know Mr. Berry, he is a literary giant who lives in Henry County, Ky. He’s a Faulkner-esque novelist, poet and agricultural activist who works through the Berry Center. (The book reading was also to support the work of the Berry Center.)

I first encountered Berry’s writing when we moved to Lexington, Ky., in 1993. The first real friends we made in town – Chris and Lee Poore – had graduated from Western Kentucky University and were huge fans of Berry’s work. I’ve been a fan ever since.

I do want to chastise Offerman for one aspect of his call to action. His new book is printed on coated paper, which won’t burn very well. And though I don’t smoke (anything), I suspect that the paper coating will also inhibit the flow of gases.

So if you are going to try this stunt, I recommend ripping up one of my black-and-white books, such as “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” which is printed on uncoated, acid-free paper. Also, my book has more pages, so you’ll make more money.

— Christopher Schwarz

Chippendale Apple Secretary

Posted on by meghanlostartpress

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This is an excerpt from “Mouldings in Practice” by Matthew Sheldon Bickford. 

A Chippendale apple secretary desk and bookcase featuring triple-cusp scrolled returns. Colchester School, possibly Hebron or Lebanon, Conn., 1785-1805.

Dimensions: height: 76-5/8″, width of lower case: 42-1/8″, depth of lower case: 19-3/4″, width of upper case: 40″, depth of upper case: 10″, width of cornice: 42-7/8″, depth of cornice: 11-1/4″.

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Chippendale Secretary, Crown, Perspective
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Chippendale Secretary, Crown

This Chippendale apple secretary desk and bookcase features subtle decoration executed with fine quality and strong lines. The tall and stable straight bracket feet are adorned with triple scrolls, featuring a large lobe, a small pointed return and a second smaller lobe. The graduated asymmetrical returns are a simple but effective design showing awareness of more sophisticated New London County furniture made in the urban centers of Norwich and New London. However, this secretary was made in the Colchester area, likely in the successful farming community of either Hebron or Lebanon. Instead of complex serpentine forms or carved decoration, the cabinetmaker relied on the inherent beauty of native apple. He relied on his skill at creating quality lines and form to exploit the interesting patterns within the material. The irregular nature of the grain in apple makes it a challenge to use in furniture. The reward is the beautiful figuring and warm reddish-yellow tone. The large at panels used in the bookcase display apple at its nest. Two bookmatched sections of apple are used for the two door panels, each with the pattern of striped figuring is set at complementary angles. To accentuate the natural beauty of the panels, the cabinetmaker has created a bold projecting cornice moulding. The layering of narrow and wide sections meets in the front corners with flaring lines pointing back toward the panels. The original owner of this secretary may have lived in a rural farming community, but he was successful enough to own books. Displayed in an 18th-century home, the secretary was a statement that the owner could read and write. This was an important status symbol at the time and was a sign of education, knowledge and success.

— MB

You Can Now Preview all of our Books

Posted on by Lost Art Press

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You can now download an excerpt of all of the Lost Art Press titles in our online store. At the top of the description for each book, you’ll see a link to download an excerpt. Click the link and the pdf will download immediately. No need to register or engage in any silly marketing legerdemain.

Thanks to Kara Gebhart Uhl, our new editorial helper, who made this happen.

— Christopher Schwarz