Why To Make Things

A collection for Paul Kirwin based on this prompt: “I’m a retired custom woodworker. I find community in the writings of others that have found satisfaction and comfort and value in the crafting of things. I’m not looking for ‘How-To Make Things’ books but more like ‘Why To Make Things’ books”

Alex Dobrenko

The Practice

Seth Godin • 7 highlights

amazon.com

The Arc of the Practical Creator

Lawrence Yeo moretothat.com

Flow: The Psychology of Happiness

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi • 52 highlights

amazon.com

Cover of Flow: The Psychology of Happiness

The Genius of Japanese Carpentry: Secrets of an Ancient Woodworking Craft

Azby Brown

Avoiding Kits | andrewlb.com blog

andrewlb.com

Blending these two notions, carpentry entails making things that explain how things make their world.

Ian Bogost • Alien Phenomenology, or What It's Like to Be a Thing (Posthumanities)

Making ceramics requires patience and is an exercise in delayed gratification (or dissatisfaction). There are so many ways to fuck something up, so many stages to the process, and entering that cycle of hope, expectation, and either failure and trying again or ecstatic satisfaction added a new dimension to the rhythms of my life.

Marian Bull • When a hobby becomes a job

Extending the metaphor of carpentry, it’s first necessary to be able to saw wood neatly and to drive nails. Later you can bevel the edges or add elegant finials, if that’s your taste. But you can never forget that you are practicing a craft that’s based on certain principles.