Every month I send out a list of 5 Things I'm Digging where I curate everything from design to music to architecture and more. These continue to be my most-clicked emails and most-loved emails.
Here's a summary from 2019:
Design
- Perfectly-executed branding for the Brass Onion by Tad Carpenter
- Major design crush on MSDS Studio, an interior and industrial design studio
- Great color palette and typography for these Dorsia city guides
- This new identity for the city of Oslo works so well across all mediums
- Details Furniture is one of my favorite Instagram accounts
- Simple, fresh branding for Walker Brothers Kombucha by Makebardo
- Clever packaging and design for Rare Harvest Honey
- Delicous branding for Freyja a croissanterie in Budapest
- This visual identity for Retrograde Coffee by Perky Bros is exceptional
- Cako typeface by VJ Type is gorgeous
- Quirky, eye catching branding for Signl by Siotes and Trevor Basset
- Due Brothers by Mubien is the best branding by for a construction company I've seen.
Watch
- I had no idea this is how rubber bands are made
- The youngest “Master Penman” in the United States
- This video of a puff pastries rising is oddly satisfying
- Finally someone came up with a new way to pop balloons
- This gif designed by Joshua Jenkins is mesmerizing
- The Sapporo Dome in Japan transforms from a baseball stadium into a soccer stadium in a crazy way
- Who knew cookie decorating could be so satisfying to watch?
- These iPhone photos by Austin Mann are proof that the iPhone is really an incredible camera with a phone feature
- Free Solo is a great documentary will make your palms sweat
- A pretty accurate visual explanation of parenting
- This is how drywall was installed in the 1950s
- These kinetic characters by Lucas put a smile on my face
- Someone made the world's smallest cup of coffee
- The animation for the opening credits of The Morning Show is so well done
- Inside Bill's Brain was an inspiring look at all of the amazing work that Bill and Melinda Gates have been doing
- This video Why You Never Have Enough Time really resonated with me
Architecture
- This renovated indoor-outdoor mid-century house in California is beautifully done
- These Black cabins in Quebec would be the perfect retreat
- This unique minimalist cottage in Nagano, Japan uses five platforms to divide up the space
- Little House by MW architects makes me think I could live in 400 sq ft.
- The Wuehrer House in East Hampton, NY looks idyllic
- This cabin located on the island of Stokkøya, Norway is stunning
- The sloping roof of this Triangular house in Kyushu, Japan makes for incredible views
- This beautiful house in Austria designed by Jochen Specht is literally built around the old existing structure
- The interior of this Chocolate cafe in Kyoto, Japan designed by Fumihiko Sano Studio is drool-worthy
- This AirBnb in New Zealand is at the top of my list for places to stay someday
- The Ranch Mine in Phoenix, AZ is major #housegoals
Read
- Company of One by Paul Jarvis about why staying small is the next big thing for business
- Restorative Kitchen is all about how food can prevent and reverse chronic disease and autoimmune disorders
- I resonated with this article from the CEO of East Fork about questioning why we want to scale and grow our businesses
- Perennial Seller by Ryan Holiday is one of the best business books I've read in a long time
- The Goodnewsletter is such a breath of fresh air in a world full of anxiety-inducing, negative news
- Atomic Habits by James Clear is all about how making tiny changes can lead to big results
- A Kids Book About are making beautifully designed kids books about important topics
- This post by Paul Jarvis about selling is spot on
- Anything You Want by Derek Sivers is a great short book to re-read each year
Eat & Drink
- These lollipops are ridiculously good
- Gjusta in LA is the perfect combination of bakery/cafe/deli/coffee shop
- The Malvern Buttery serves amazing food and coffee and is my favorite local spot to work from here in PA
- Misfits Market is a subscription box that delivers ugly, but otherwise perfectly edible fruits and vegetables
- Askinosie Chocolate is some of the best bean-to-bar chocolate and has a really cool backstory too
- Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is still my all-time favorite ice cream (get the Salted Peanut Butter with Chocolate Flecks)
- Some of my favorite coffee roasters: Passenger, Methodical, Elixr, Huckleberry
Listen
- Bon Iver's new album is a masterpiece and my favorite album of the year (their live show was incredible too)
- I am Easy to Find by the National
- Weather by Tycho is some of the best music to work to
- A great interview with Johnny Cupcakes, who was one of my original inspirations back in 2008 when I started Ugmonk
- The HeyDad Podcast is honest and candid discussions about parenthood and has had me laughing out loud
- Typology is a great podcast by Ian Morgan Cron that incorporates the Enneagram (this has been incredibly helpful for me personally)
Products
- I love my Stagg EKG Kettle for making pour over coffee at home every day
- This Sonicare toothbrush will make you never want to use a regular toothbrush again
- This minimal Kinto Tumbler goes with me everywhere I go
- These modern, super-hard jigsaw puzzles by Better Co. are fun
- These handmade shoes by Quoddy are still the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned, even after 5 years
- The Manual Coffeemaker No3 is my new favorite way to brew coffee in bigger batches when we have friends over.
- The Letterfolk Tile Mat is fun to change up throughout the year
- Our new Ugmonk Essential Tees are the best tees I've ever worn (but seriously, people are loving them!)
If you found this list useful, share it with your friends or let me know on Twitter :)
