making our own book.

September 13, 2022

I’m the only one in my family not starting a new school year, but I’ve sharpened every pencil in the apartment and cracked a new notebook and after the topsy-turvy unpredictability of summer, I’m ready to hunker down and share a new project of my own. After years of collaborating on projects for this site, Rose Pearlman and I have decided to write a book. It will be a manual and a manifesto and a 300-plus page compendium of our favorite things to make. We’re calling it, tentatively, Making Things: Finding Use, Meaning, and Satisfaction in Crafting Everyday Objects and we’re delighted to say that we’ve found a home for it with editor Jenny Wapner at Hardie Grant.

At its heart, MAKING THINGS will be a celebration of the art and ritual of making things by hand. Through the projects in the book, Rose and I are humbly hoping to encourage a tactile connection to the objects in our homes and in our lives as a conduit to the larger project of envisioning a different kind of future for ourselves and our planet. It’s a lofty goal for projects made of simple materials, but then, of course, that’s the point.

Our goal is to make a book that confronts the challenges of our current moment—to look critically at our consumption, to consider the impact of our consumer habits on people and planet, and to reclaim a sense of connection and groundedness in the face of an increasingly digital world. At the end of MAKING THINGS, we hope the reader and crafter hasn’t just made a few new things, but that they’ve experienced a mind shift—a reset that gives permission to choose creativity over consumption and to celebrate what they can make for themselves, simply.

The nature of books and making things by hand being what they are, this will be a slow grind. MAKING THINGS won’t hit shelves until Spring 2024 but we’ll keep sharing bits and pieces of our process in the meantime and we can’t wait to make something worthy of celebration when the publication day finally comes.

Thanks as ever for all of the encouragement and support we’ve found here over the years. We’re delighted to turn this work into a practical tome; something that can be dog-eared and leafed through and placed in the center of a table for friends to gather around.

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32 Comments

  • Reply Marianna September 13, 2022 at 12:42 pm

    Congrats! This is so amazing and I’m so happy for you. Can’t wait to get the book.

    4
    • Reply ERIN BOYLE September 13, 2022 at 12:46 pm

      thanks so much, marianna!

      2
    • Reply Katharine September 15, 2022 at 7:04 pm

      Congratulations to your both! I loved your first book so much, I’m thrilled there will be a second.

      1
  • Reply Stella September 13, 2022 at 1:03 pm

    Oh wow, can’t wait to order a copy!

    3
    • Reply ERIN BOYLE September 13, 2022 at 1:08 pm

      You’ll be the first to know when they’re ready!

      2
    • Reply Victoria Kerr September 14, 2022 at 11:54 pm

      Congratulations, excited to follow along with the making and be inspired!

      2
  • Reply Lindsay September 13, 2022 at 1:07 pm

    How exciting! I’ve loved your collaborations so far and can’t wait to dig into an entire book. Congratulations!!

    3
    • Reply ERIN BOYLE September 13, 2022 at 1:08 pm

      Thanks so much! We’re so excited!

      2
  • Reply Anna September 13, 2022 at 1:09 pm

    Congrats! Looking forward to the book, and to anything you share about the process along the way.

    2
  • Reply Gina September 13, 2022 at 1:11 pm

    This sounds like a wonderful book! Godspeed to you two with the writing process.

    4
  • Reply Megan September 13, 2022 at 1:14 pm

    As I read Simple Matters for the 3rd or 4th upcoming Autumn, I am very excited for this new book. Also excited to share this with our local store “Maker General” for all things to make handmade things 🙂

    3
    • Reply ERIN BOYLE September 13, 2022 at 1:54 pm

      Oh man! Thank you!

      5
  • Reply Lourdes September 13, 2022 at 1:37 pm

    What exciting news, I’m thrilled for you! Can’t wait! xo

    4
    • Reply ERIN BOYLE September 13, 2022 at 1:54 pm

      Thank you!!!

      4
  • Reply Maggie September 13, 2022 at 1:53 pm

    Big news! What a treat, congrats to you and Rose!!! Learning to make things from a physical book is the very best

    3
    • Reply ERIN BOYLE September 13, 2022 at 1:54 pm

      Agree! We can’t wait for this to take its physical shape!

      3
  • Reply Kristen Johnson September 13, 2022 at 5:24 pm

    Aw this is wonderful news, congratulations to you both! I can’t wait to read it!

    3
  • Reply Anna S September 13, 2022 at 5:35 pm

    Definitely buying this book!
    Congrats!

    3
    • Reply ERIN BOYLE September 13, 2022 at 5:56 pm

      Will include a few words on chess!

      3
  • Reply Danielle September 13, 2022 at 5:55 pm

    How exciting! Congrats!!

    3
  • Reply Kate September 13, 2022 at 7:58 pm

    Congrats, Erin and Rose! I’ll be happy to pre-order when the time comes. Happy collaborating!

    3
  • Reply Bernadette September 14, 2022 at 12:26 am

    I will buy a copy as soon as it’s available because I’ve always appreciated the art and crafts that you both have shared with us. I work in an independent bookstore and will request that our book buyer order copies for our store. Excited for you and will look forward to it!

    4
  • Reply S F September 14, 2022 at 12:40 am

    This sounds so amazing! Congratulations! Can’t wait to order a copy of the book. “Grow Wild” and “Movement Matters” by Katy Bowman are two books that have inspired me to make a life shift into a mindset where my family and I value making and doing more than cheap and convenient. It’s a slow transition, but by the time we are able to make progress down that road, I hope we will be ready to fully utilize your book!

    On a side note, as I too am a resident of the NYC area, I just have to say that I admire greatly how you have created your own community and micro-culture of savoring moments in the midst of the hurtling momentum of the city.

    6
  • Reply Sarah September 14, 2022 at 3:01 am

    Congratulations! Looking forward to your new book, and wishing you both all the best for the process!

    3
  • Reply Terese Blå. September 14, 2022 at 8:08 am

    Awesome. I am looking forward to it.

    3
  • Reply Judith September 14, 2022 at 11:18 am

    Congratulations! And I am so looking forward to cracking open my copy. In the meantime, if you need any project testers, let me know!

    3
  • Reply Erin September 15, 2022 at 7:12 am

    Beautiful news! Congratulations! This is will be such a joy to use and amuse and jumpstart thinking that creativity is at our fingertips.

    3
  • Reply Danielle September 15, 2022 at 2:42 pm

    Absolutely cannot wait to add this to my shelf!!! So so excited!

    3
  • Reply Chelsea September 15, 2022 at 3:26 pm

    YAYAYAYYYYYYYY!!!! I cannot WAIT for this book! Will definitely be pre-ordering. And I second the offer of project testing if need be 🙂 Congrats Erin!

    3
  • Reply Erin September 16, 2022 at 11:16 am

    I was so hoping you two would make a book together! I find myself going back and searching for all of your hand made projects. Especially at the holidays. I’ve recreated a number of your projects for use in our home and we love them. We are a household of makers and creators. Congratulations!

    3
  • Reply Audrey September 16, 2022 at 12:35 pm

    I’ve returned to your first book many times when I’m in need of inspiration and I’ll delighted to do the same when your 2nd book is released. I’m not very crafty at all, but I’m sure it will be an inspiration nonetheless.

    Congrats!!

    3
  • Reply Courtney September 20, 2022 at 2:13 pm

    Congratulations! That sounds like an absolutely beautiful book idea. I can’t wait to see it.

    3
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