Favorites: Books as Gifts

For lovers of handcraft, travel, design and the decorative arts

I think we can all agree here: Books make the very best gifts. There is really nothing better than perfectly matching a book to its person, a person to a book. When you get it just right, it feels like an act of intimacy— a shared portal of connection and friendship.

My friend Rebecca runs a cafe/gallery/performance space in Detroit called Trinosophes, and this month, I helped her open a bookshop in the gallery—including curating a table of craft and design books. If you are in town, please stop by for a collection of new, used and rare/out of print titles in art, design, fiction, nonfiction, poetry and philosophy.

My pop-up table of craft and design books, and a few special handmade objects, at the Trinosophes Gallery bookshop in Detroit

Another dear friend, Maria, owns a beautiful bookshop in Maine, Angelo Santo. Maria was also an early collaborator/co-conspirator of In Hand. In fact, she came up with the name. Her bookshop in Maine is a physical manifestation of her intellectual and creative generosity. She once told me, “It’s a space for looking for and hopefully finding beauty and love.” That’s Maria. This fall, Maria suffered a serious health crisis (you can read about her surgeries and recovery), and in the midst of this ongoing crisis, her husband was laid off. They are both artists and beautiful souls, as well as parents of young children. A donation, if you are able, will help pay for ongoing medical bills and living costs. Offering complimentary paid subscriptions to anyone who donates; just send me a note.

Below, the updated list of favorite books that skirt the edges of travel, craft, and design (if you’re reading this newsletter, you likely know someone who would be delighted to receive one such book). This list includes the kind of oversized, niche specialty books people tend not to buy for themselves. These picks prove that a book so beautiful you want to display it on your coffee table can also pull its weight as a source of deep knowledge and enjoyment — an object of beauty both inside and out. Since publishing the list last December, I’ve added a few books, which are marked by an asterisk below. I hope you’ll find a small, magical bookshop where you live to make your purchases.

CRAFT / TRAVEL / DESIGN TOMES FOR GIVING

Anni & Josef Albers: Equal and Unequal by Nicholas Fox Weber — Beautiful cloth-bound Phaidon book dedicated to the work, life and history of the pioneering multidisciplinary artists Anni and Josef Albers (weaver and painter, respectively, as well as teachers/deep thinkers). Featuring more than 750 works between them, it has been hailed as the definitive visual biography of their incredible, ahead-of-their time work. Another cloth-bound Phaidon favorite in this series is the sweeping Herman Miller: A Way of Living book (I’m from Michigan, so it’s a bookshelf essential).

*The Farm at Black Mountain College by Ananda Pellerin and David Silver — While you’re at it, this book covers the fascinating overlap between agricultural practice and the pioneering craft/thought by students who spent time at Black Mountain College, including Anni and Josef Albers, Ruth Asawa, John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Willem de Kooning, and Buckminster Fuller. It will be released December 17th, so you’ll have time to nab it for the holidays.

Edith Heath: Philosophies — My bookshop owner friend, Maria, gave me this very special title. If you’re already a fan of Heath, this book needs no introduction. But if you don’t, it’s both primer and inspirational ode to the creativity and life force behind Edith Heath’s pioneering namesake ceramics company and philosophy of making. Interspersed with history (did you know that Heath used to produce buttons and beads?), drawings, exhibitions, tender memories and private snapshots that get you closer to the spirit and guiding philosophy of the artist herself.