This book opened my eyes to what a small team can do in a short time if they are dedicated to the mission and masters of their craft. It’s an inspiring read for anyone who’s interested in the history of technical innovation in aerospace or in learning more about the Skunkworks philosophy.
Sister book to Lightness, this is also an inspiring consolidation of ideas on structural optimization, but this one focuses solely on transportation. If you also share a passion for sustainable transportation, this is the book for you. You’ll likely only be able to find this book used, but it’s absolutely worth the effort!
An inspiring consolidation of ideas and technologies around the subject of structural optimization in many fields — primarily architecture. Though difficult to find and somewhat challenging to read (you’ve never seen captions like these!), this book will be an absolute inspiration for anyone interested in the pursuit of structural purity and performance.
With our singular focus on NPD, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the same tools we use to develop new products, packages and medical devices have been used by the most innovative organizations on the planet to inspire some of the greatest achievements of humanity. The Art of NASA is a powerful and inspiring reminder of how powerful are the tools of design.
If you’re interested in a brilliant coffee table book with rich visuals and a tangible reminder of design’s power to inspire intellectual and scientific greatness, click here to buy this title on Amazon.
It’s no overstatement to say that this book is life-changing. I had been screwing around with bread baking for years with almost zero success. When this book was recommended by Allez Bakery owner Thomas McKenna, I had essentially given up on ever being able to bake an airy, crusty, delicious loaf of bread. This book taught me to think of bread-making as a fermentation process. (And as someone who regularly makes 3 - 5 gallon batches of homemade kimchi and home-brewed beer, this revelation was mind-blowing!)
Perhaps equally important — and unlike other cookbooks I’ve read — Flour Water Salt Yeast is written to truly educate its reader rather than provide rote instructions. For just one example, ingredients are listed in such a way as to allow the reader to compare recipes at a glance and to develop an understanding of how the proportions of each recipe — combined with temperature, humidity and time — can be adjusted to achieve different results. (it sort of reminds me of how tables of offsets are used to describe boat hulls.)
If you’ve always wanted to make amazing bread, pick this book up immediately. Click here to buy on Amazon.
Sister book to Lightness, this is also an inspiring consolidation of ideas on structural optimization, but this one focuses solely on transportation. If you also share a passion for sustainable transportation, this is the book for you. You’ll likely only be able to find this book used, but it’s absolutely worth the effort!
An inspiring consolidation of ideas and technologies around the subject of structural optimization in many fields — primarily architecture. Though difficult to find and somewhat challenging to read (you’ve never seen captions like these!), this book will be an absolute inspiration for anyone interested in the pursuit of structural purity and performance.
With our singular focus on NPD, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the same tools we use to develop new products, packages and medical devices have been used by the most innovative organizations on the planet to inspire some of the greatest achievements of humanity. The Art of NASA is a powerful and inspiring reminder of how powerful are the tools of design.
If you’re interested in a brilliant coffee table book with rich visuals and a tangible reminder of design’s power to inspire intellectual and scientific greatness, click here to buy this title on Amazon.
It’s no overstatement to say that this book is life-changing. I had been screwing around with bread baking for years with almost zero success. When this book was recommended by Allez Bakery owner Thomas McKenna, I had essentially given up on ever being able to bake an airy, crusty, delicious loaf of bread. This book taught me to think of bread-making as a fermentation process. (And as someone who regularly makes 3 - 5 gallon batches of homemade kimchi and home-brewed beer, this revelation was mind-blowing!)
Perhaps equally important — and unlike other cookbooks I’ve read — Flour Water Salt Yeast is written to truly educate its reader rather than provide rote instructions. For just one example, ingredients are listed in such a way as to allow the reader to compare recipes at a glance and to develop an understanding of how the proportions of each recipe — combined with temperature, humidity and time — can be adjusted to achieve different results. (it sort of reminds me of how tables of offsets are used to describe boat hulls.)
If you’ve always wanted to make amazing bread, pick this book up immediately. Click here to buy on Amazon.
This may be the most important piece of equipment in our shop. It was one of the first pieces of office equipment we purchased when we started Pixel & Timber, and it’s been reliably cranking out outstanding espresso ever since.
I really can’t recommend this machine highly enough. This device is so awesome, I picked up a second one when the pandemic forced me to work from home.
The Delonghi Magnifica is the answer to the coffee/convenience/waste conundrum. It makes an amazing cup of espresso with a nice head of crema, at the press of a button. You can use whole beans from your local artisanal roaster, so you’ll never be limited to the junk you can buy in pods or at the supermarket. The coffee this machine produces is 100x better than a Keurig, with less waste and greater convenience.
Does the machine cost more? Sure. Quality costs money. And I don’t want to hear any more nonsense about how the one cup convenience of a Keurig or Nespresso is worth the waste. This thing produces better coffee from better beans without the packaging waste. Just do it. Working from home? Sounds like an office expense to me. Click here to buy on Amazon.
I refer a lot of new inventors to this book. It’s been on and off my shelf for a decade (the old edition, anyway), and I’ve lent and lost more than a few copies to students and clients. This book is an essential resource for entrepreneurs assembling their pitch decks. It includes a handful of useful tools for new and experienced entrepreneurs, including an outstanding set of pitch deck templates. And that’s just the 1.0 edition! The new version has been updated with all kinds of new content, including a section on crowdfunding! This book is an essential resource for all new product entrepreneurs. Click here to buy on Amazon.
How entrepreneurship and a midwestern work ethic changed the course of human history. Click here to buy on Amazon.
A comprehensive and accessible book on the subject of Tenkara fly fishing. Like the philosophy that underpins many of the books in this list, Tenkara celebrates the idea that "the more you know, the less you need." In this short text, Yvon Chouinard unpacks this simple fishing technique and the tools and techniques that make it beautiful. Click here to buy on Amazon.
Unlike the growing body of writings that belabor the romance and nostalgia of making things by hand, Craeft explores the history and meaning of the concept itself. In it, Langlands describes the concept through the lenses of several ancient crafts (of which he is an actual practitioner) and from his perspective as an experimental archaeologist. This book has the depth and intelligence of Richard Sennett's The Craftsman but with an historical scope that spans millennia. Click here to buy on Amazon.
Nick Offerman uses Gumption to tell the stories of the 21 historical figures who have inspired him to grow into the Ron-Swanson-esque human we all know and love today. Throughout the book he weaves historical anecdotes with light hearted humor to reveal hard truths such as the fact that it's incredibly unlikely that a young George Washington could have chopped down a cherry tree using nothing but a hatchet and an abundance of youthful energy. It's a fun, thought provoking read that finds a way to draw parallels between seemingly unlikely bedfellows, like Ben Franklin and Yoko Ono. Plus, this book is heartily loved and endorsed by every member of P&T — so read it already! Patagonia is a company that P&T admires for a number of reasons, to say nothing of their amazing products. This book brings their most admirable achievement — the globally responsible business of Patagonia itself — to the forefront. While not exactly a manual for how to run any business the way Patagonia does, it makes a great case for why one should try. Plus, the simple rules of thumb for culture and decision making, paired with examples of their genuine success are always motivating to return to when the day's events have you feeling down. Click here to buy on Amazon.
Couched in a long and uncomfortable narrative, this book conveys probably the best description of Quality I've ever read. For better or worse, you can't just skip to the quality part. It's part of the ride. Click here to buy on Amazon.
Good products teach their user how to use them. For books — traditional teaching tools — the bar for great teaching is higher. In addition to providing a fantastic written guide to making traditional and modern sails, including the fundamentals of sail design, broad-seaming, and sewing, this book guides the reader through a "Ditty Bag Apprenticeship" during which he/she completes a simple project that conveys many of the basic skills. Click to buy on Amazon.
This book puts into words thoughts that every designer has had around the subject of interconnectivity and elevates them to include science, art, religion... everything. It's typical E.O. Wilson brilliance but applied to an idea that will change the way you think about design. Click to buy on Amazon.
This shiny little book provides ten easily digestible guidelines around Maeda's philosophy of simplicity in product design. It serves as a great reminder (and loaner) for those of us who sometimes find it difficult to describe to others the beauty and benefits of simplicity. I've lent this to students more than any other book. (That is, I've had several copies. You know who you are.) Click to buy your own copy on Amazon.
A comprehensive and accessible book on the subject of Tenkara fly fishing. Like the philosophy that underpins many of the books in this list, Tenkara celebrates the idea that "the more you know, the less you need." In this short text, Yvon Chouinard unpacks this simple fishing technique and the tools and techniques that make it beautiful. Click to buy on Amazon.
