One of the biggest benefits of leaving my job at Popular Woodworking Magazine – the best job I’ve ever had – is that I don’t have a 45-minute commute each day to the office.
I have not squandered that dividend of time. I have spent almost every minute of free time during the last 44 weeks in my workshop, building stuff or trying stuff.
Since December, I’ve been focused on finishing this Campaign Secretary for an article in Popular Woodworking. Yes, I see the irony. But the truth is that I couldn’t get much woodworking done while sitting in traffic. So I welcome the trade-off. Heck, I embrace it.
As I shot this short video this evening I couldn’t feel the irony, the fatigue or the loss. All I could feel is gratitude. It sounds sappy, but without the support of the 4,000 Lost Art Press customers I’d be heating up cans of beans by the railroad track.
So to everyone who has bought one of our books since 2007, let me say thanks. You are the ones who have given me an extra 165 hours of time since June 2011. And your dollars have also gone to directly support the craftsmanship of Robert Wearing, Jennie Alexander and Peter Follansbee.
So this video is for you.
— Christopher Schwarz