11 of the best craft books to read now

7 January 2021

Inspiring tomes to brighten up life in lockdown

7 January 2021

A selection of recently released craft books

To help pass the time while we're all stuck at home, we've put together an uplifting edit of the best new craft titles published over the last year. Are you sitting comfortably?

Closed on Mondays: Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Dinah Casson

Closed on Mondays: Behind the Scenes at the Museum

Dinah Casson, co-founder of exhibition design brand Casson Mann, has been toiling in this often-overlooked field for over 30 years. Here she shines a light on this invisible craft while guiding the inquisitive museum-goer through a series of problems that confront museum curators.

By Dinah Casson. Published by Lund Humphries, £29.95 hb

Anni & Josef Albers: Equal and Unequal by Nicholas Fox Weber
Pages from Anni & Josef Albers: Equal and Unequal

Anni & Josef Albers: Equal and Unequal

This biography celebrates the rich output of two creative masters, Anni and Josef Albers. From their formative years at the Bauhaus in Germany to their time teaching at Black Mountain College in the US, it explores the work of modernism’s foremost power couple, who reshaped the worlds of craft, art and design.

By Nicholas Fox Weber. Published by Phaidon, £100 hb

House of Print by Molly Mahon

House of Print

Self-taught textile designer Molly Mahon offers a brief history of the ancient craft of block-printing, from the initial design to the block carving, through the mixing of colour and the printing process. This is a sourcebook of ideas for original designs, ranging from traditional Indian textiles to work by the Bloomsbury Group.

By Molly Mahon. Published by Pavilion Books, £16.99 hb

Design in Asia: The New Wave by Suzy and Philip Annetta
Pages from Design in Asia: The New Wave

Design in Asia: The New Wave

A selection of 100 leading young designers in Asia are brought together in this book, split between the more industrial north and more craft-focused south. It features first-person accounts by each practitioner and a foreword by Aric Chen, curator-at-large at Hong Kong’s M+ museum.

By Suzy and Philip Annetta. Published by Thames & Hudson, £40 hb

Do Make: The power of your own two hands by James Otter

Do Make: The power of your own two hands

Surfboard maker James Otter says we are all born makers, using our inbuilt tools – our hands – all the time. He encourages us to connect with our creativity and environment, while slowing down and becoming absorbed in the joy of craft. There’s a handy guide to making your own ‘handplane’ for bodysurfing.

By James Otter. Published by The Do Book Company, £8.99 pb

Porcelain: A History from the Heart of Europe by Suzanne L. Marchand

Porcelain: A History from the Heart of Europe

‘This is the book on porcelain we have been waiting for,’ enthuses Edmund de Waal on the flyleaf. Coming in at a hefty 544 pages, this scholarly yet impassioned tome explores the history of the material once known as ‘white gold’ in Europe from the 18th century to the present day, and its transformation from coveted luxury to everyday necessity.

By Suzanne L. Marchand. Published by Princeton University Press, £30 hb

Massimo Listri: Cabinet of Curiosities by Giulia Carciotto and Antonio Paolucci
Pages from Massimo Listri: Cabinet of Curiosities

Massimo Listri: Cabinet of Curiosities

This lavish photobook explores eccentric collections where crafted objects co-exist with natural history – think shell sculptures paired with precious minerals, automata with stuffed animals, or carved ivories with taxidermy. Described as ‘a brief cultural history of the miraculous’, it spotlights extravagant 16th- and 17th-century cabinets of curiosity from across Europe.

By Giulia Carciotto and Antonio Paolucci. Published by Taschen, £100 hb

Patch Work: A Life Amongst Clothes by Claire Wilcox

Patch Work: A Life Amongst Clothes

The V&A’s senior fashion curator Claire Wilcox has been immersed in the world of clothing for over 20 years. Her new memoir Patch Work condenses her life into chapters focused on specific fashion items that reveal her own experiences: from an embroidered bag bought while travelling in Afghanistan in 1973, to a hand-knitted cardigan for her baby daughter.

By Claire Wilcox. Published by Bloomsbury, £16.99

Craftland Japan by Uwe Röttgen and Katharina Zettl
Pages from Craftland Japan

Craftland Japan

Taking an immersive approach to showcasing Japanese craft, the authors travelled the country to seek out 25 makers in the rural environments in which they work, from metalware maker Masami Mizuno to indigo farmer and dyer Kakuo Kaji. Lush photography and a foreword by architect Kengo Kuma explore the ways time-honoured traditions persist in today’s world.

By Uwe Röttgen and Katharina Zettl. Published by Thames & Hudson, £24.95 pb

Young Poland: The Polish Arts and Crafts Movement 1890-1918 by Julia Griffin and Andrzej Szczerski

Young Poland: The Polish Arts and Crafts Movement 1890-1918

Ahead of a major show at London’s William Morris Gallery next year, the book examines the arts and crafts movement of ‘Young Poland’, which was born in the late 19th century. This scholarly tome looks at and contextualises the work of its leading lights.

By Julia Griffin and Andrzej Szczerski. Published by Lund Humphries, £40 hb

Painted Pomegranates and Needlepoint Rabbis by Jodi Eichler-Levine

Painted Pomegranates and Needlepoint Rabbis

This exploration of American Jewish crafting traditions takes the reader on a journey through homes, conventions, knitting circles and craftivist groups. Heavily focused on women, it explores craft that is rich with the texture of everyday life, memory, fellowship and Jewish identity.

By Jodi Eichler-Levine. Published by The University of North Carolina Press, $29.95 pb

11 of the best craft books to read now

Read more

11 how-to books for crafting at home

6 craft documentaries to immerse yourself in

Craft podcasts to inspire you at home