Putting the ‘Art’ in Artisan

We tip our hats to our fellow makers, enthusiasts, and advocates at Covington’s Lost Art Press.
Images Julie Kramer

Ask just about any writer, editor, print designer, or proofreader about their career progression, and you’re likely to hear a common refrain: Working in publishing is risky business.

It wasn’t always that way, of course. There was a time not too long ago when Amazon was still known primarily as a bookseller. The internet existed but it wasn’t essential to our daily lives. Ridesharing meant standing on a corner and hailing a cab. We waited in line at the bank and paid for things in cash. We sort of knew how to text and email, but a lot of us preferred a phone call—or better yet, a meetup. And most of what we read was printed on paper.

All that started to change around the turn of the last century, and for those of us working in publishing things changed fast. The jobs we’d trained for and the programs we used became obsolete. Libraries, newspapers, and magazines began digitizing their collections. Print versions got thinner, and names disappeared from mastheads one by one.

Now we recognize it as the natural progression of things, and we in the publishing field have become accustomed to creating so-called content for mostly digital platforms. But it was wild for a minute there, watching with a mix of curiosity and trepidation as the industry we loved took shallower breaths.

History Repeating

In the early aughts, career publisher Christopher Schwarz was one of the internet’s thousands of would-be causalities. He was editing Popular Woodworking magazine for F+W Media, the now-shuttered, Cincinnati-founded producer of numerous titles beloved by artists and makers worldwide.

For more than a century, F+W had seen key acquisitions and steady growth, with offices across the U.S. and a major hub in Cincinnati. But the rise of web-based content put the publishing giant on the ropes. In 2018, the company slashed its workforce by 40%. The following year, F+W filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and many of its publishing assets were sold at auction to various buyers.

Schwarz saw the writing on the wall long before all that. A lifelong woodworking aficionado and practitioner, he knew firsthand how an entire artform—a passion, an industry, a livelihood—can be marginalized to virtual extinction. He’d already carved a reputable niche at the intersection of publishing and carpentry, so as F+W’s demise grew imminent he teamed up with fellow woodworker John Hoffman and set out on a new venture that would combine both. In 2015, the pair secured a neglected building with sturdy bones on a quiet tree-lined street in Covington, KY. They scaled a stud-to-steeple renovation and hung a sign on the door that told a long story in just three words: Lost Art Press.

“Chris is very good at getting people excited for what’s next,” says Megan Fitzpatrick, a longtime F+W colleague who served as the first woman editor of Popular Woodworking after Schwarz’s departure.

Fitzpatrick’s decades of experience in writing, editing, teaching, and—you guessed it: woodworking—made her a natural fit for Schwarz’s new venture. When her position at F+W went away, she started freelancing for Schwarz at Lost Art Press, helping grow the business and her own workload until a freelance relationship no longer made sense. In 2017, she came on as LAP’s first full-time employee, writing and teaching around familiar areas of expertise—the best hand-planer techniques, building furniture the Dutch way, how to use a dovetail saw. She’s famous for the latter, which earned her the nickname “Dovetail Queen,” much to her modest chagrin. “Almost everything I teach has dovetails,” she chuckles. “The project I’m working on now has 52 of them, so it’s kind of an inside joke.”

Crafting Community

If it seems odd to be reading a story about tenacious editors and woodworkers in a food magazine, rest assured the connection goes beyond a shared affinity for really well-made cutting boards. Aside from our personal connection—Edible Ohio Valley editor Bryn Mooth is another F+W alum—there’s a philosophical one.

In essence, Schwarz and his small team do for home woodworkers what Edible aims to do for home cooks. Their mission is to celebrate the art and craft of woodworking by helping everyday people learn the essentials, embrace the process, and feel empowered to create something amazing.

LAP started out in publishing, and that’s still their bread and butter. They currently produce about 60,000 books each year by authors as nearby as Covington and as far away as New Zealand. Schwarz keeps the emphasis on quality by offering authors royalties that are two to three times higher than the industry average, and at least half of proceeds from book sales go back to the authors. Doing it this way helps woodworkers stay financially independent in an industry still widely viewed as a hobby or side gig.

It’s a business model that won’t make Schwarz a rich man anytime soon, especially since LAP is also committed to using the highest quality materials. Each hardcover, stitch-bound volume is designed and manufactured to last at least a century. But Schwarz has found ways to monetize his team’s expertise and keep the lights on. In addition to publishing and bookselling, LAP sells a small line of tools and furniture, with many pieces handcrafted in house as part of the team’s extensive editorial research. They host about 20 classes per year at their Covington storefront, inviting select authors to sign books and lead workshops that run the entire woodworking gamut.

Lost Art Press has grown substantially since the days when Schwarz recruited friends and family to fulfill orders around his kitchen table. They recently hired two more full-time employees and expanded their roster from 55 authors to 58. In May, Schwarz and Hoffman purchased the historic Anthe Building at Fourth Street and Scott Boulevard in Covington, a second location that will soon house LAP’s new headquarters and some operations.

Fitzpatrick lives across the river in Northside, but she’s deeply embedded in the community LAP has forged in Covington. “I can see two other woodworking shops from our window,” she says “There are so many creative people who live and work around here, so many great restaurants and spots to grab a drink. Having that mix of supportive neighbors really lends a good vibe for any type of creative endeavor.”

The Finer Points

Given his editorial background, it’s no surprise Schwarz is himself a prolific writer. In an interview with Fine Woodworking, he was characterized as “the most published woodworker of all time.” He’s penned more than 5,000 entries for the Lost Art Press blog and 14 books about woodworking, with a 15th on the way.

Schwarz’s specialty is chairs, but the focus of his writing ranges from straightforward instruction to guru-level meditations on the craft, reflected in titles like The Stick Chair Book, The Anarchist’s Design Book, and Ingenious Mechanicks: Early Workbenches & Workholding. His latest endeavor explores the history of “peasant pieces” from a time when woodworking was such a common pursuit that the work of skilled peasants rarely entered into mainstream conversations.

“There are some incredibly cool examples of pieces that escaped classic literature,” he says with palpable excitement as he points to a series of—undeniably cool—wooden boxes. They’re from Eastern Europe, he explains, and each is engraved with folkloric spells meant to protect their owners, their contents—or both—from evil spirits.

If this all sounds too cerebral or intimidating for the novice home woodworker, it shouldn’t. At their core—and very much like purveyors of local organic food—the experts at Lost Art Press are all about education, exchanging the type of knowledge and advice that makes life more enjoyable. In his busy schedule, Schwarz even finds the time to write and edit a Substack called Modern Peasant, whose tagline, “furniture for the 99 percent,” testifies to his passion for reminding folks they don’t have to settle for mass-marketed goods.

“It’s about being practical if you want to have nice things,” says Schwarz. “Our ethos is treat everyone the same, so it doesn’t matter if you have years of experience or you’re just someone who’s tired of buying cheap furniture from big-box stores. What matters is that you have the curiosity to learn something new and the desire to improve your space.”

For Fitzpatrick, it’s all about fostering a supportive space where everyone benefits mutually. “When I started at Popular Woodworking, I expected to stay there three years and then go teach Shakespeare somewhere,” she says. “But there’s really nowhere I’d rather be than here helping Chris find the time he needs to devote to what’s next. The goal has never been to grow really big. We want to be able to feed ourselves and our families, of course—or in my case, my cats. But it’s more about providing information for people, and I can’t imagine any job I’d want to do more.” 

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Raiders of the Lost Arts

Aside from the occasional commission, Lost Art Press intentionally produces very little furniture for sale—they’d much rather teach you how to create your own. But that doesn’t mean you can’t reap the benefits of LAP’s signature craftsmanship and community vibe. Visit LostArtPress.com to find these and other great gifts for the woodworker in your life.

Classes Schwarz, Fitzpatrick, and select authors lead a wide variety of workshops for woodworkers of all skill levels at their Covington storefront. Courses last anywhere from one day to a full week, and since the curriculum is designed for small groups, classes fill up fast. Keep an eye out for schedule announcements in February and September at blog.lostartpress.com.

Crucible Tools Lost Art Press’s exclusive line of wood bench essentials features dovetail templates, center squares, pencil gauges, protractors, and much more. Each hand tool is designed and forged by LAP professionals using proven materials for maximum reliability.

Pocket books Measuring just four by 6.5 inches, these small-but-meaty guides pack a ton of useful info on woodworking essentials, tool sharpening, and workshop wound care.

Apparel They say dress for the job you want—and no woodworker’s wardrobe is complete without a Lost Art Press-branded hoodie, T-shirt, hat, or apron.