After years of searching for a space and as a way to organize his treasure-trove of unique artisan goods and ephemera, John Cutrone, the director of the Jaffe Center for Book Arts at FAU Libraries and his husband, Seth Thompson, an IT support specialist, have decided to pull the trigger and open a retail outlet: Convivio Bookworks.
The store, at 1110 North G St. in Lake Worth Beach, will sell hand-embroidered textiles, woodworking, traditional artisan goods, specialty foods, handmade books and more.
“It’s been years in the making,” says Cutrone, who has lived with Thompson in Lake Worth Beach since 2000. “We found the perfect space and this gives us the opportunity to move our inventory out of storage, out of our house and even out of my old bedroom at my mother’s house.”
The perfect space they found is located in an old warehouse district along the Florida East Coast Railway tracks. Neighbors include a roofing company, an A/C repair business and a thrift shop.
Emily Theodossakos, marketing program manager at the Lake Worth Beach CRA, says the city is “excited to have an old-school printing press in town.”
“We’ve known John and Seth many years,” she says. “They’ve worked with us on the city’s Dia de Los Muertos festival since 2016. Their dream to open a store has been a long time coming. They were looking before the COVID-19 pandemic, then COVID-19 hit, so now they have the opportunity to realize their vision.”
“They’re small business owners who live in the city, are invested in the city and have a good business strategy,” Theodossakos says. “I hope they can stay and operate out of that space for many years to come.”
Cutrone, who began his career as a book artist, began selling a catalog and items in 1995 that related to the seasons: “Spring into Summer,” and “Fall into Winter.” That led to making the rounds at seasonal pop-up markets such as the Oktoberfest celebration in Miami and at the German-American Club in Lantana.
“What excites me most about the space,” says Thompson, “is that John and I get to share what we do —John’s work as a book artist and writer and mine as a potter — but also that we can open it to the community as a place for creativity, a place to come learn new skills and make things by hand.”
As on their website, (conviviocatalog.conviviobookworks.com), the brick-and-mortar Convivio Bookworks will sell letterpress and book art, linens and textiles, specialty foods and artisan items such as Shaker herbs and seeds, cuckoo clocks, jewelry, candles, figurines for the Mexican holiday Dia de Los Muertos, handmade German ornaments and nutcrackers for Christmas and Millie’s hand-embroidered tea towels, which sell for $19 and are made by Cutrone’s 97-year-old mother, who gets the proceeds from her handiwork.
They even offer specialty food items such as Swiss chocolate, Nói Síríus milk chocolate from Iceland, a Swedish strawberry rhubarb drink and German hazelnut cookies and coffee.
Cutrone fell in love with Shaker artisanship after a graduate school internship at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Community in New Gloucester, Maine, in 1995. The community, he says, has dwindled down to two surviving siblings, Brother Arnold Hadd and Sister June Carpenter.
While there, Cutrone learned about their way of life and their livelihood of growing herbs, seeds and teas, which he sells on his website and will sell in the new storefront.
Lake Worth Beach resident Nicolel Beatty, 48, an artist and calligrapher and single mom of daughter, Coral, 16, and a son, Lucas, 13, was looking for a letterpress printer to create high-end business cards for her business, Sparrow and Grain. A friend referred her to Cutrone and she was taken by him, the online store and the selection of gourmet food, especially the German coffee and the handmade items for sale.
As an artist specializing in handmade artifacts herself, Beatty, who taught at the Armory Center in West Palm Beach, offered to teach linoleum printing and calligraphy at the store, once the shop is up and running.
“I’m excited for both John and Seth,” Beatty says. “With its international bent, the space will be a beacon to attract different people and cultures together.”
“There are a lot of bars in Lake Worth Beach,” she jokes. “We’re excited to have something like Convivio Bookworks.”
In his day job at FAU, Cutrone hosts a variety of papermaking, letterpress and other workshops, Real Mail Fridays, a letter writing social hour Zoom call that goes out around the world and even a “Stay Awake” bedtime story series for both kids and adults alike.
While the store will be open exclusively on Saturdays for now, Cutrone hopes to encourage community groups to come and visit and will host small workshops and special seasonal events such as Christmas and Midsummer events, and gatherings for other cultural and religious holidays.
“We’re not just a shop, but a community space,” Cutrone says. “We’re a place where people can be creative, find interesting things and bring their good stories.”
“While we are not selling necessities, we are selling items that bring small joys,” he said. “We love Lake Worth and are doing our part to keep Lake Worth Beach quirky.”
Convivio Bookworks is located at 1110 North G Street. The grand opening is on Friday, June 21, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 3:30 p.m. The event has an Old Midsummer theme. Enjoy activities such as printing your own letterpress card, making floral crowns and sampling international food items.