The Summer 2024 Drift + Focus non-fiction book box was curated around the theme CREATE. There were so many directions we could have taken this lovely big topic. Here's where we went.
Book One
See What You're Missing by Will Gompertz
A delightful romp through the work of thirty-one diverse artists designed to help you see their work, and the world, anew by delving into how they look at the world and express that vision through their creativity. Our subscribers will be familiar with many of the featured artists but Gompertz also includes plenty they may not have heard of who might become new favourites.
Book Two
Monsters: What Do We Do With Great Art By Bad Men? by Claire Dederer
If you've ever grappled with the discovery that a favourite artist has a monstrous private life, this book will help you work out what to do about it. Dederer examines the lives and works of a range of artists whose work is loved but who have behaved monstrously in life. She doesn't shy away from asking and answering difficult questions, often with great humour, to help you find your way through this moral maze.
Reading Notes
As usual, both books were packaged with fold out notes providing background about the authors, where our subscribers can find more of their work and things to think about as they read.
Magazine
This quarter's edition of our exclusive 28-page subscriber magazine explored the creative theme with lots of great ideas, recommended reading and contributions from three artists who live creative lives.
The image above shows all eight magazines we've sent to our subscribers since launch. This quarter's edition is at the front. The cover image is an assemblage of found objects by artist Jules Anson.
The Extras
This quarter's gifts were chosen to send a clear message that creativity is about more than producing 'great' works of art. It's about allowing ourselves to be creative in our everyday lives.
First up was a back issue of Upper Magazine, a gorgeous ad-free publication produced in Canada that's aimed at the creative and the curious. Each issue focuses on an aspect of art, craft, design, illustration and typography, showcasing work by a range of creators at all different stages of development.
Our second gift was an exclusive set of three postcards featuring images that encapsulate the lives of three fantastic, creative women: painter Sophie Abbot, writer Leonie Charlton, and illustrator and printer Jules Anson.
Digital Library
And finally, our subscribers got access to a Digital Library of extra content via the QR code on their welcome note. This time it included two great playlists supplied by Sophie Abbot that she listens to while she paints in her studio along with a selection of creative podcasts. We also included a slideshow of artworks feature in Book One, to help our subscribers to get the most out of their reading.
And that was it for Summer 2024!
You can subscribe now for our Autumn 2024 box, which dispatches in mid-September. We only make up as many boxes as we have orders for, so make sure you grab one while you can. Orders close on August 31st.
If you'd like to know what the next box theme is, join our email list to be the first to know and receive a discount code for 10% off a subscription. Join our newsletter list below.