This year’s curated list of gift ideas is - in part - influenced by my shifting perspective having recently turned 50. Do you sense a theme? Please enjoy!

EDC

• Relwen Flyweight Flex Blazer ($298) Dress it up or down. and casual, perfect for moving between a site visit, client meetings and drinks out. Charcoal has an army green tinge to it.

• Maven Watch ($215) Vintage military vibe, on my wishlist.

• James Brand Palmer Utility Knife ($59) Because you always need one.

• Playing Cards - Love these MINIM playing cards. Favorite card game: Pitch.

• Ridge One Blade Razor ($49) I prefer a double-edged blade, this one is as functional as it is stylish.

• OLIGHT Flat Flashlight + Laser Pointer ($63) Site visits demand it. Ceilings especially: please fix this holiday…and this one…and…

• BLANK Sketchbook or TRACE sketchbook - trusty favorites designed + manufactured by 30X40

Ephemeral

• Wine. You don’t have to be an expert to appreciate how a nice bottle of wine shared amongst friends connects past + present. It’s impossible not to savor both in the moment. Really loving Cabernet Franc single varietals lately.

• Pair it with this book, Wine Folly The Master Guide for an accessible deep-dive into tasting.

• Experiences. Things wither and fade, the memory of shared experiences persist.

  • To celebrate our milestone birthdays, my wife and I along with some friends splurged on a trip to the French Laundry in Yountville, CA. Touring Snøhetta’s addition to the original structure alone was worth the price of admission.

  • Side trip to Paso Robles for a Cave tasting at Eberle Winery (lower left). With more than 250 wineries and tasting rooms to choose from you won’t leave thirsty.

  • My wife and I love combining shows + travel: Pantera, LoG, Megadeth, InFlames…these are just a few of the shows we took in this year. More in the queue for 2024 as we become empty nesters.

• Die with Zero by Bill Perkins is a great read to accompany this category.

  “The utility of money changes over time, and it does so in a fairly predictable way: starting sometime in your twenties, your health very subtly starts to decline, causing a corresponding decline in your ability to enjoy money. The ability to enjoy experiences based on health is limited as everyone's health declines with age.”

Tech

• DJI Mini 4 Pro Fly More Combo - Integrated screen on the controller is a massive upgrade from the Gen 1 model I started with.

• Procreate - Intuitive, beautifully minimal UI, effortless and so close to the real thing you may throw out your old sketchbooks.

• 11” iPad Pro (128GB) Sketching on glass was hard to get used to. Now, I use it every. single. day.

• Procreate Custom Canvases - Blueprint canvas shown with my custom “Prismacolor pencil” brush

• AOIKTYE Keyboard for Procreate - use with Procreate to speed up your workflow.

• Black Stylus for iPad - Because…black, IYKYK

• Sketchboard Pro - a larger surface for your hand to rest while you’re sketching and allows you to actually sketch to the edge of the iPad rather than zoom/pan. The angled surface improves ergonomics and saves your back, no more hunching over your desk.

• Insta 360 Camera (One X2 shown, $299) Incredible time saver for site walk-throughs and documenting interior spaces at the rough-in stage. Makes it easy to reference later when you find yourself asking, “Where exactly did they run that plumbing line?”

Storage

Smart, beautifully designed storage is my guilty pleasure. I’m sure I don’t need any more boxes or trays to store or organize things in, I just can’t seem to help myself.

• Blomus Borda Tray - White oak shallow trays turn ‘messy’ into ‘curated’. I recommend 3 at a minimum.

• Rubber Coated Black Vanity Tray CB2 - I use these all over my house: bathroom, kitchen, + living room; same principle as above, super versatile. Desk accessories I like are here.

• Yeti Load Out GoBox 15 - I’m a sucker for all things Yeti. I use the Load Out GoBox 30 in my vehicle for storage, and the Camino 35 for site visits.

• Aluminum Dental Instrument Trays - the photograph at lower right shows one of my own trays, inherited from my grandfather, where I keep model building tools. Everyone always asks and I have yet to find this exact tray online, but the linked trays are quite close.

Books

A few favorites from 2023 (architecture + non-architecture):

• Speculative Coolness - Bryan Cantley. Reminds me of Wes Jones, decon, and archi-school in the 90’s. Filled with fantastic drawings + boss models.

• 250 Things an Architect Should Know - I’ll admit some of these were a bit humbling! Great for filling in knowledge gaps.

• Work from Shed (featuring my own LongStudio)

• Four Thousand Weeks - Oliver Burkeman. A stark reminder of just how short our time is (on theme).

• Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity - Peter Attia. Small changes you can make each day to increase health-span (even more on theme). Exceptional book narrated by the easy-to-listen-to Peter Attia himself.

• Audible subscription - I “read/listen” on my daily hike and it’s helped me consume more books than ever. Get your first audiobook for free if you use my link (I suggest: Architect + Entrepreneur - Vol. 1)

Art

Collecting and consuming art always fills the creative reserves and tops my list of things to do when traveling.

• Tom Hegen - Exploring the relationship between man and nature from above. I’m lucky to own one of his framed prints.

• Letterpress Anything - I try to support craftspeople practicing this dying craft.

• I Know Joshua Smith - Miniatures: cool. Urban + industrial decay: cool. Miniatures depicting urban industrial decay = irresistible.

• Architect Cards - Runcible Studios. Sign-up for Marilyn’s newsletter while you’re there, it’s filled with BTS, insider, hard-won, architect-knowledge delivered in an accessible style.

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