now

Some of the things that are inspiring my work right now in the studio: tools, books, YouTube channels, podcasts and more.

The venerable, always witty, **Field Notes**

A year-long subscription to Field Notes Quarterly Releases would make a really sweet gift for any architect/designer/stationery junkie you know. I gifted one to myself in early days of 2020’s lockdown. Each mailing comes with unexpected surprises, like the “Stay-shut” Band of Rubber and a tiny custom printed golf pencil. Easter eggs abound in their mailings and they provided just the right kind of joy that 2020 seemed to be lacking. Also, don’t miss the beautifully curated short films they create for each release.

How did it take me so long to discover Allan Wexler’s work ?

Things I’m consuming

Is it still considered reading, if you’re not actually reading? I’ve subscribed to Audible now to increase the number of books I’m able to ingest.

If you’re new to Audible, join and you can get my audio book for free by clicking here.

A Guide to the Good Life - An in-depth look at Stoicism.

Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink + Leif Babin. Leadership from an entirely relevant discipline completely different to my own experience.

Also, deeper research into filmmaking:

Ode to Desolation Endeavoring to be this good.

Sensitive Observation Seminar Series

Podcasts I’m into

Christoph Niemann on Creative Live. A favorite artist dispensing creative wisdom. His routines, struggles, and mannerisms are a template for my own.d

Modern Finance - NFTs, crypto, DeFI. Bitcoin never interested me, but Ethereum? Smart Contracts? What an incredible opportunity for creatives. This podcast is a new one by Kevin Rose and it’s spurred me to invest in ETH.

Cool Tools Show 252 - Daniel Schaefer - Listening to someone nerd out on their favorite tools never gets old for me. I only wish Kevin Kelley didn’t rush him at the end. I confess to never having bought a $110 flashlight. Yet.

On a related note, the What’s in my bag posts are fascinating.

A recent episode led me here: Manufactum

Courses I’m taking

Since I’m once again stuck at home, I figured I might as well be learning something, so I’ve signed up for Skillshare Premium ($69/year) it helped that one of my design heroes had a few classes I couldn’t pass up. Here’s a few that I’m taking now:

Design Great Stuff: How to make merch with Aaron Draplin (do you sense a theme here?)

Documentary Photography : Capturing Places + People with Ami Vitale, photographer for National Geographic

Cinematography Basics: Introduction to Lighting Techniques with Zak Mulligan

TRACE sketchbooks

A new limited edition design to pair with the BLANK sketchbooks. This one is a steno format and the interior pages are a luxe 93g vellum, with a white reticle printed on the back face. It has an ultra-smooth surface and takes pencil, ink + markers with zero bleed (!) It’s unlike any sketchbook you've ever used. The first run has just arrived at our warehouse in Austin and I expect to begin shipping them the third week in May (2021). Based on previous releases I expect these will sell out quickly.

Reserve Yours