“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” — Wizard of Oz
Back in May I spent a couple of days in Cincinnati Ohio on my way down to Harrodsburg Kentucky for the EAIA Annual Meeting and a quick stop in Covington Kentucky on my way home to visit with some of my woodworking friends in the area.
My first stop was at the Popular Woodworking offices and studio to see Megan Fitzpatrick and David Thiel who graciously showed me around.
The office building while nondescript from the outside contained an interesting space on the inside. A mixture of office space, editing bays, studio/soundstage and a woodworking shop.
I visited the shop area with backdrop you may recognize from several woodworking videos. The timber framer in me wants to push up that simulated plate and add some braces. 🙂
In the warehouse space you could see several projects from Popular Woodworking and American Woodworker magazine. If only we had room in the car to buy one and bring it home.
In the studio area I was able to see another F+W project video being recorded.
Out in the woodworking shop I felt right at home. There was a large machine and bench room. In the corner I could see Megan’s workbench and the windows you may recognize from many an article and post from Popular Woodworking over the years.
I was too busy talking David’s ear off and didn’t take a picture of him to include in the post, but I’ll make sure to take one next time I am in town.
On the way home from our trip I also stopped in Covington KY (right across the Ohio river from Cincinnati OH) to visit Chris Schwarz at the Lost Art Press storefront. The storefront is a nice historic building that used to be a saloon in a part of Covington that reminds me a bit of Brooklyn — lots of history, artists, hipsters, good restaurants etc.
After watching the build out via many of Chris’ blog posts it was neat to see it in person and to see several of Chris’ recent pieces in person.
You may recall the Aumbry above from the cover of a Popular Woodworking issue earlier this year and from the Anarchist’s Design Book.
The weekend I was there Chris was working on his “Danish Campaign Chest.”
I had fun talking shop with Chris and Megan and checking out some of the recent bits of hardware he picked up.
The adjustable swing out seat he added to his bench was a nice addition I’d love to have on my own bench someday for carving and other detail and design work on the bench.
This was my first trip to Cincinnati and I had a great time exploring the city. In fact I’ll be in the area again in September for Popular Woodworking in America.
A big thank you to Chris, Megan and David for showing me around and a big thank you to my wife Alyssa for wrangling the babies while I geeked out with fellow woodworkers.
Take care,
-Bill
For more information on the Lost Art Press you can check out their website here.
For more information on Popular Woodworking you can check out the magazine’s website here.
For information on Popular Woodworking in American 2016 you can check out their site here.
Rainford Restorations 
What? You came to town and didn’t call me to have a beer? lol
Im sory, I didn’t realize that was home for you too. A 2 day car ride from NH with two screaming babies can do that to you. Will you be at WIA? I already signed up for the beer tour event. 🙂
You know, I’m kind of a jerk when it comes to WIA. It’s almost always in my backyard, but the only one I have ever attended was the first one in Berea, Ky. It’s actually dumb for me not to go, but I can never find the money to attend. I do go to the Marketplace on that Friday. Maybe we’ll run into each other there.
One thing to mention about WIA is that is being held the same weekend as Oktoberfezt Zincinnati so getting a hotel room will be tough if you haven’t already done so. However, it makes for a great weekend as after the sessions are over, you can go across the river and drink a ton of craft and local beers. Cincinnati’s Oktoberfest is the largest in the country and comes in second in the world behind Munich Germany’s.
I’ve wanted to go in the past but things never worked out with timing or finances etc. Thankfully I booked my hotel and flight already and heard some things about Oktoberfest from Chris and Megan. As a kid I loved going to the German Alps Festival on Hunter Mountain in NY — my mom is very proud I won the Hummel look-a-like contest in my lederhosen as a kid, so I am really looking forward to this event and trying those local beers. In our town in NH — Merrimack we have a Bud brewery — I’m not a big fan of their beer, but they have a german village and the clydesdales that serve the east coast which are fun to visit. Hopefully we’ll run into each other at the Marketplace on Friday.
You’ll love Oktoberfest. They moved it down to The Banks this year to expand it. My mom was of German heritage so I’m allowed to drink a lot of German beer. Haha