THE BOOK’S FINALLY HERE! “Gary Larson meets Bob Vila” housing/fort/small house/shack book

THE BOOK’S FINALLY HERE! “Gary Larson meets Bob Vila” housing/fort/small house/shack book

January 14, 2010, 8:23 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized

UPDATE- TO SEE OUR NEW SITE, and MANY OF OUR NEW VIDEOS, ETC- CLICK HERE!

INDIE BOOK: “HUMBLE HOMES, SIMPLE SHACKS, COZY COTTAGES, RAMSHACKLE RETREATS, FUNKY FORTS (AND WHATEVER THE HECK ELSE WE COULD SQUEEZE IN HERE!)” is now out! (By Derek “Deek” Diedricksen)

ORDER DETAILS ARE BELOW… (as is contact/interview/general press info).

NOTE- book is now $17.95 – as the cost of printing it (printer’s fees) have gone up, and since the book has now been added too (a few new sketches/pages since its initial version/release, etc). The $15.95 was, as mentioned, for VERY early orders only (the first month of 2010). Thanks/Sorry.

After well over one year of hand sketches (close to 50 small cabin, fort, cottage, shack, and shelter designs from the basic to the VERY bizarre- and THEN some), my indie/d.i.y. book (from Tiny Yellow House Press) is finally out!

“Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts (And Whatever The Heck Else We Could Squeeze In Here)” is a culmination of my love for ultra-tiny living, and covers some of the small houses and cabins I’ve unprofessionally built. “Lark”itecture is my self-coined/invented term (never seen it used anywhere else) , as I have no professional training, and have instead built my “abilities” off of years of simple and unschooled fort building, chicken coop construction, and small cabin erection.

"THE INVERTED A-FRAME"- one of a few "A's" in the book.

“Humble Homes…” a coffee table sized book, clocks in at 101 pages, and is LOADED with and eye-tiring array of illustrations which took HUNDREDS of hours to draw. In fact, the book is more or less laid out as a “small housing” comic book, which owes in influence to an upbringing on punk rock and hardcore indie-zines. It also owes in part to the inspirational work of Lester Walker (“Tiny, Tiny Houses” was my first housing book- gifted to me by my father Glenn, when I was ten), Lloyd Kahn, David and Jeanie Stiles, Dan Price, and many others.

"The author's cabin in the deep woods of Northern Vermont. From age 22 to the present (age 32), this cabin has been constructed using a good deal of recycled and salvaged materials at a total cost of somewhere in the ballpark of $4000.00"

"The Mini-Shantyboat- a plausible nod to Harlan Hubbard"

So far, some intial reviewers have described the work as “D.C. Beard on Crack”- lol, “The Small House Version of an ultra-busy Building 19 flyer (a MA chain of comedic discount stores)” and “Gary Larson meets Bob Vila”. I’m more than flattered by all these comments.

"The Bort"- A Simple Indoor/Affordable Twist on The Murphy Bed (with a built-in study loft/fort).

In anycase, this coffee table sized book (which costs me a small fortune per issue to print (entirely in thick, durable/lasting, cardstock (67# and #90 paper)) is now available for purchase in an initial run of hand-assembled editions at $15.95 each for a short time. If you buy more than one, I can cut you a deal in some way (a free slice of past-prime bologna in your envelope perhaps, or a colorful array of dryer lint…..kidding.). You can email me at kidcedar@gmail.com and send any paypal payment via senorsell@hotmail.com – although those paypal bloodsuckers take a hefty cut- so check, cash, etc- is prefered- where possible (but if you must, wampum, aboriginal shell-cash, and foodstamps will be considered).

"THE FORTASAURUS"- WHY NOT? It'll be the envy of all other neighborhood kids!

Here’s a little early related press/mentions concerning the book and my past and present art:

WORCESTER PULSE MAGAZINE (30,000 issues around greater Boston and Central MA)  http://www.thepulsemag.com/wordpress/2009/12/1209-musicians-bars-and-absolutely-no-quadratic-formulas

MICHAEL JANZEN (on 2 of the created-from-junk cabins I’ve built) http://www.tinyhousedesign.com/2009/12/24/gypsy-junker/

AND… http://www.tinyhousedesign.com/2009/10/06/derek-diedricksens-vermont-cabin/

Other interest points of the book:

– A large portion of the initial run of these books was paid for by littering losers, during my “one man clean-up” while hiking several trails and conservation areas around Massachusetts. The deposits from aluminum cans paid for the books, related materials, and even the binding machine I utilize.

-There are many hidden animals and objects within the book, serving as a multi-purpose time-killer/activity book for kids, as well as adults. Why the heck not?

-Aside from cabins, forts, and shacks, the book devotes a large portion of itself to “redneck ingenuity”- the construction of solar showers, makeshift bridges, homemade windows, cabin heating, salvage-built shelving, d.i.y. cabin furniture, a shantyboat, the utilization of recycled material within construction, and more.

-The book is not being shipped out and printed utilizing any outsourcing. Unfortunately, this is also one of the reason’s that it costs me close to $10 per EACH copy to create each hand-assembled, thick-papered, edition- nevermind the shipping costs. time, and my labor.  I’ve kept the printing and materials with U.S. companies (mom n’ pop ones!) where possible. Thanks to Michelle, Lisa, and the crew at Copy Inks in Stoughton, MA for all the friendly help!

-If you don’t enjoy the book, its paper is quite flammable, and makes for great kindling! Litter for your gerbil cage might be another option.

Thanks for your time!

Derek “Deek” Diedricksen-

And yes, I’m always open to freelance illustration work and have designed several logos for clients in the past amongst other things.

And one last illustrative peek…..

"Livin' The High-Life- A more-protected/exclusive tree fort."

Over n’ Out…

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