This video showed up yesterday. At 1:10 min. into it, they show a photo of Tiny Homes, Don’t know how they got the book so fast, it’s just out. Glad to see they used phrase “tiny homes.…”
We just may have some buzz starting here. Phone has been ringing off the hook, over 50 books sold today…
I’ve been tracking Tiny Homes on Amazon and just now it is #505 in the “Amazon Best Sellers Rank.” We’ve never had a book be this high.
Hmm — 505, isn’t that an old Stones song? I looked it up on Grooveshark — am I the last one to discover this site? Search for and play any song whatever. So (example of how I waste time around here) — I just listened to “Get me on Flight Number 505…” while gloating over the Amazon rating.
Jimmy Reed doing Big Boss Man on Sirius radio right now. Funny isn’t it, how you’ll know a song well enough, but at a certain time you’ll discover it all over, with deeper appreciation? Just appreciating the simplicity of what Jimmy Reed does. It’s what you leave out that counts…
It’s a hard climb up, maybe a few miles, but the downhill is FUN! Curves and speed and vistas, coasting. When I let go of the brakes on this (Stumpjumper) bike, it seems to accelerate. Whoo!
I got about halfway down, going at a pretty good speed and I heard “On your left,” and wild Indian on a bike came flying, I mean flying, past me. My first impression was of the long hair blowing in the wind, this guy was dressed not like a cyclist, but in plain old clothes. Goin’ FAST…No helmet. After he flew past, my jaw dropped even further as he started jumping. Front wheel up, back wheel off ground, rotate in air, lining up so landings were right.
Wild and beautiful, the level of his skill and grace. Never seen anything like it. I screamed a whooo and he answered whooo. This was poetry; athleticism, coordination, daring — and joy.
I caught up with him at the bottom; he and buddies were heading in a car to the local skate park. I followed and watched him on his bike and homie Sam on skateboard just shred the place.
He’s 18 and his name is Trevor “Ratman” Perelson. He said he had a website. I asked the name and he said, “Well it’s a vulgar name…” “What is it?” “Well, I was a lot younger when I named it…” “OK, OK, what is it?” dontshaveyourtwat.blogspot.com The enthusiasm is exhilarating, they’re exploring the world with such zest…
We talked for a while. We had things in common, like him and Sam “…seeking secret spots…” It was really my first solid contact with the teenage generation, looks like a whole new deal. I feel privileged to connect with people so young (almost a 60 year age difference here). Evolution…
This is a special spot where 2 creeks come together, it’s usually bubbling with water this time of year, but there’s barely a trickle. Boy, when the rains come I’m going to go out and run or hike and get wet and breathe deeply and smell the richness in the woods as the water soaks into the soil. It’s a hard climb to the top of this road, a good workout, few cars, great views of the coast and woods.
Apropos not of this, but life in general, the Wispr
vaporizer is brilliant: https://shltr.net/wsprvape. Made in Ireland.
Wow!
“…Some are on wheels, a few float, some are pre-fab, but most are handmade shelters placed in odd corners in cities, suburbs and the country. Their variety is stunning. This large book erupts with a cornucopia of 1,300 photos featuring 150 different tiny homes, showing you how they were built, giving resources and helpful tips of their construction, supplying design solutions and inspiration for others, but also conveying WHY they were built. Tiny though they are, they are much more than mere shelter.…”
This is all the more better because CoolTools is my favorite blog. It’s the electronic Whole Earth Catalog, immensely useful to me.
“Take a look at this conversion located in Inverness-shire, Scotland dubbed “The Beer Moth”. Surpassing it’s intended use as a fire service truck, it now houses guests as a vacation rental. The Beer Moth, which is a 1956 Conmer Q4 rescued by Walter, the current owner and now sits at his … ‘The Inshriach House.’
Here in the states it would be quite easy to acquire an old military vehicle similar to this with a canvas back and perform a similar restoration as The Beer Moth to make nice little tiny house on wheels.…”
Going to Hong Kong in November to print this book was the last stage of a 2-year project. I felt like I’d roped a steer, and was hanging on until it was down — until the book rolled off the presses. Now it’s done, and has arrived (all the way by water, up the Mississippi to Gulfport, and thence only a few hundred miles by truck to the Tennessee warehouse). Whew! Two things:
Review Copy Dept.: If you are interested in a review copy, write us, giving type of media it might be reviewed in (newspaper, magazine, blog, website, etc.), and indicate readership. For electronic media, indicate daily viewers and page loads. Plus yr. address.
Note 1: We also have a spiffy electronic copy (the entire book) available for reviewers.
Note 2: Please give us email addresses of anyone you know who might write a review.
Shameless Commerce Dept.: You can get the book from us for a 25% discount through January 31st: https://www.shelterpub.com/_tiny_homes/tiny_homes_book.html
Also, you can get any 3 or more of our building books for a 40% discount: https://www.shelterpub.com/_ad/TH-sale.html
Proud Papa Department: this book has a glow, an aura, if that’s possible. The printers (Paramount Printing, Hong Kong) did such a beautiful job. It’s slowly sinking in that it’s not only done, not only printed, but in bookstores. I gotta say I’m proud, being able to show the creativity and joy unique designs of the 150 or so builders in this book.
Above: Crystal River Treehouse by Stephen A. Novy, AIA, Green Line Architects, pp. 150-151, TINY HOMES: Simple Shelter
I just finished reading the book (on my iPad, natch) and it really moved me. In the personal realm , I never knew what a prick he so often was, but the extent of his involvement in design is staggering. He refined and refined and was pretty totally insane about producing insanely great products. Hard on people, yes, but oh those designs!
I’m typing this on my 11″ MacBook Air at Cafe Roma in North Beach (San Francisco) early this morning and as I’ve probably mentioned, it’s my favorite tool in the world right now. Brilliant elegance.
What’s stayed with me from the book is Steve’s unrelenting refinement upon refinement. It’s made me look at a lot of things I’m doing and think of ways to improve. Rewrite the paragraph one more time. Get my carpentry tighter. Streamline my backpacking gear. It’s looking at everything I do with an eye to improvement, it’s looking at my work through a filter of excellence — well, say rather, improvement.
I did a bunch of solo backpacking in the ’60s and ’70s — the Sierras, Yosemite, Big Sur, Utah — but not in recent decades.
I’ve decided to get back into it, because the rewards are so great. Also because I’ve quit competitive running.
Thus, I set out with small Sierra Design tent, my new (wonderful) Western Mountaineering made-in-USA sleeping bag, plus various odd assorted items, and spent Saturday night on a remote beach.
Well, I’m a bit out of practice. Too much weight, forgot flashlight, and worst, as I got the fire ready to light, to barbecue one of our small bantam chickens and bake a potato in foil, I had no matches, or lighter. Fuck! It’s an hour and a half walk back to where matches might be obtained, total 3 hours for such stupidity. Oh man, I’m not gonna be able to cook any food, won’t be able to stay warm on this cold night, can’t sit around staring into embers…Wait a minute, I’ve got a tiny Primus stove with self igniter, voila…Got fire started just before moon came up. Chicken roasted over coals, even had butter and salt for potato. Plus, heh heh, a flask of Don Pilar Agave Azul tequila…
Even if for one night, it’s good for me to get away from electricity and all the comforts. No one for me to talk to, or blog to. Ulp! A jolt of solitariness. Refreshing. The fire is my TV, the stars part of my night, Orion in its lovely articulation rising and moving across the ocean horizon…
(And so glad to get back home.)
The reason we now have such a nice chicken coop is that it was built by Billy Cummings and not me. All I did was put on the exterior siding, The chickens absolutely love the place. They have a big yard outside (with surround aviary wire — going down into the ground at perimeter) and a cozy rat-proof room in which they roost. Concrete floor, covered with straw. The roof is filling in nicely.
The weather has been blue-skies, clear, warm during day, which I find a bit creepy. The woods are dry. The aquifers need replenishing.
“Really love the rain, against my window…” –Toots in Memphis. Fabulous album, 1988, with Muscle Shoals backup, I swear Toots in channeling Otis here.
Saw first episode of new season’s “Shameless” last night. Wicked!