This episode features the woodworker, writer and publisher Chris Schwarz. Chris runs the small publishing company, Lost Art Press, which specialises in finely made books on hand-working practices. He uncovers historical texts that show us forgotten ways of working, and also publishes new work, such as The Anarchist’s Design Book, that show the continuing relevance of hand-work today.

We talk about what anarchism means in the workshop, the freedom for workers to own tools in the guilds of the 17th and 18th century, and the relationship between conflict, furniture and modernism, from the Campaign furniture of the British Empire to the Utility furniture of post-war Britain.

Enzo Mari gets a look-in, as is becoming inevitable in this series, and Chris bemoans the decline in the quality of nails available today.

Show notes

• Lost Art Press
• American anarchism
• The Lost Art Press FAQ About American Anarchism
• Book: The Anarchist’s Tool Chest
• Guilds
• Campaign furniture
• Utility furniture
• Danish modern
• Book: The Anarchist’s Design Book
• Enzo Mari: Autoprogettazione
• The first Lost Art Press book you should buy: The Essential Woodworker

This episode will be broadcast on Resonance 104.4 FM on Sunday 6 March. To listen on Resonance, check out the show page.

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This series of Looking Sideways is a Lighthouse production for Resonance 104.4 FM