Inspiration is never neatly packaged in one place, it's everywhere. In people and their stories, old garments, scraps of fabric, photography, an overheard conversation, objects, films, and of course - inside books. 

Although you can find anything you like on the internet, there's nothing nicer than putting your phone out of reach and sitting down with a book (and maybe a glass of wine). 

Books are often the starting point for us, so we keep our eyes open and try to look broadly, connecting the dots across different sources. 

A colour pallet from a travel book. A product detail from a niche craft book. A photoshoot idea from a scrapbook. 

There’s a steady stream of books arriving at our studio every week, and admittedly, we’re running out of space. But we don't mind because the more we can take in, the better.

Today, we wanted to share some of the books we’ve been enjoying recently, just incase they spark something for you too.
 

La Cuisine Est Un Jeu D'enfants 

This is a book we picked up on our neighbourhood book swap. It's a French children's recipe book. Neither of us can speak French. But the graphics and illustrations are so beautiful. We plan to cook some of these classics soon.

I Like to Eat Right On The Dirt

One of our favourite photography books. Part memoir, part photo book, this is a raw and personal look at Danny Lyon’s life and work. It mixes photographs, writing, and notes to tell the story of someone who always chose immersion and independence over the mainstream.

 

Tokachi Millenium Forest 

A detailed look at the garden designer Dan Pearson’s work on the Tokachi Millennium Forest in Japan. It explores how landscape, ecology, and long-term thinking come together in a living project.

Les Petits

A stunning, quiet and poetic book that explores the complexity of becoming a parent, building relationships and how family dynamics change as we grow up. Through surreal drawings and minimal text, Marion Fayolle captures the strange, tender, and sometimes uncomfortable moments beautifully.

 

Goos as old: Une collection de vêtements embellis par le temps

A collection of clothes shaped by wear and repair. The book treats fading, mending, and patina not as flaws, but as the marks that give garments their character and make us more attached to the things we own.

 

Tessa Hunkin's Hackney Mosaic Project

This book documents the incredible work of the Hackney Mosaic Project, a long-running community art initiative in East London run by Tessa Hunkin. It’s a celebration of collective making, local stories, and art created for public spaces.

 

Ambiguous Ambassador by Tseng Kwong Chi

In this series of staged self-portraits, Tseng Kwong Chi appears at famous landmarks dressed in a Mao suit and dark glasses. The work uses humour and performance to question identity, power, and what it means to belong.

 

Good Work - The Chairmaking Life of John Brown 

This is the story of Welsh chairmaker John Brown, one of the 20th century's most influential chair makers, whose life and politics were inseparable from his craft. The book shows how making, writing, and activism came together in his commitment to independence and honesty.

 

Craft Land. 

James Fox looks at the history of craft in Britain and why making things by hand still matters. Moving from the Arts and Crafts movement to today, he connects craft to class, politics, and how we value work. This book makes you want to put it down and learn a new skill.