Blue Hills Press

10/26/2022

Happy Publishing Day to and !

"The Hachland Hill Cookbook: The Recipes & Legacy of Phila Hach" is now available everywhere fine and distinguished books are sold.

This is a beautiful book about a wonderful and dynamic woman. Phila Hach, who founded Hachland Hill (pronounced "Holland" like the country), has had an important and outsized impact on the Southern Culinary Landscape and we are so grateful her story is being told.

Congrats Carter!

Learn more at our website. Link in bio.

10/06/2022

Now available, The Minimalist Woodworker 2-book combo on sale for a limited time. Get both excellent books by in this series.
Only on our website, link in bio

09/23/2022

In one month we will be proud to release "The Hachland Hill Cookbook" to the world. Containing the best recipes from the life of Phila Hach, this cookbook will be a staple of your kitchen repertoire. Written by Chef Carter Hach ()

Pre-order now available at bluehillspress.com

09/01/2022

These simple stacked blocks represent a revolutionary time in educational history and influenced famous figures such as Kandinsky, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Buckminster Fuller.

Friedrich Froebel's "gifts" were a series of toys for children that would draw out various observations about the world. A structured approach to this play formed the foundation of Froebel's "Garden for children", or as we know it, Kindergarten.

Doug Stowe () has done an excellent job showing how you can make a set of these formative toys yourself in his book, "Making Classic Toys That Teach".

08/02/2022

Happy Publishing Day to !

"Chip Carving" is now available wherever woodworking books are sold or on our website bluehillspress.com

08/01/2022

We are grateful to be working with new author Chelsea J. O'Leary () to bring you "The Wiley Canning Company Cookbook" in March 2023.

Chelsea is the founder of The Wiley Canning Company () where she creates and shares canning, pickling, and preserving recipes. Teaching workshops out of her Nashville home, Chelsea has made educating others a foundational aspect of what WCC is all about.

Not only is she incredibly knowledgeable, she is also a gifted photographer. Using her canning practice as the focus and her light-filled home as the canvas, this book has images that will make this a cookbook you reach for over and over.

We look forward to sharing "The Wiley Canning Company Cookbook" with you soon.

07/30/2022

Kumiko is defined as the Japanese technique of assembling wooden pieces without the use of nails.

Though looking complicated, the method boils down to a hand-full of tools and a couple of jigs that help control the interlocking geometry.

In "The Art of Kumiko" Matt Kenney () walks you through every step, making this intricate art accessible to almost everyone.

07/28/2022

Teaching kids how to use a hammer correctly can be tricky. These illustrations from "The Guide To Woodworking With Kids" () can help.

Help them see that it's all about the angle the head of the hammer hits the nail at. You can even draw a line down the middle of the head to give them something to visualize.

Learn more in the book. Link in bio.

07/21/2022

Our next cookbook is off to the printers!

"The Hachland Hill Cookbook" is a legitimately fascinating collection of stories and recipes of local legend Phila Rawlings Hach. Written and compiled by her grandson and current chef of Hachland Hill, Carter Hach ( ), this book takes us through the incredible life and culinary creations of "The Grand Dame of Southern Cooking".

Look for it October 2022.

06/16/2022

"Chip Carving" by Daniel Clay is now available for Pre-Order!
This is a fantastic book. With a single knife and a few easy-to-learn techniques, you can create beautiful surface designs that will stop people in their tracks.

In this book Daniel Clay teaches you how to create designs ranging from the traditional carving patterns of ancient cultures to wholly modern designs of your own creation.

Armed with only this book and a knife, you'll be able to carve elagant–and seemingly complex–patterns in wood.

06/01/2022

Summer is the perfect time for projects. Fill your knowledge library with 35% off your whole order for a limited time.

05/17/2022

“The generally-agreed-upon story goes like this: Thornton Prince III—a “roamer” according to his grand-niece—came home late one evening, which, in and of itself, was nothing new. Prince was a handsome man, lanky and long-armed, but well put together thanks to the years of manual labor he’d endured as a sharecropper’s son.

Prince’s rampant carousing had aroused the ire of his girlfriend(s) before, but this time it sparked a fire he couldn’t contain. His girlfriend at the time had heard it all before: the excuses, the fact-fudging, the flat-out falsehoods. Finally she decided enough was enough, and began to hatch a plan that would focus his wandering eyes.

Exhausted by it all, and bent on revenge, she set about her kitchen, eyeing the options. Knives were a no-go. But there are other ways to hurt a man, we can imagine her thinking, and if the way to a man’s heart is indeed through his stomach, then maybe it was high time to make his burn.

There’s an old axiom that revenge is a dish best served cold. Prince’s girlfriend took the opposite tact. Sometime the next morning, she made him his favorite, a fried chicken breakfast. Only she knows exactly the process she went through to spice the bird to the point where it caused pain worthy of a punishment, but suffice it to say that it involved a heaping helping of cayenne pepper. The goal was to light him up, make him feel as red-hot as her heretofore-repressed rage.

Then a weird thing happened: He liked it. He loved it, in fact. He loved it so much that he immediately set about attempts to replicate it.”

From “The Hot Chicken Cookbook” by Timothy Charles Davis

05/09/2022

Here’s more important maker self-care advice from . This time on managing the stress in our hands.

”Don’t mess with these puppies. Take breaks and stretch often.

The number of ligaments, tendons, and muscles working in beautiful union just in your hands alone is nothing short of extraordinary.

Hydration helps to keep these moving fluidly.

STRETCHES
■ Four fingers down ( #1)
■ Four fingers up ( #2)
■ Roll wrists in each direction ( #3)
■ Praying pose with fingers up ( #4) and fingers forward/down ( #5)”

Taken from, “The Handcarved Bowl” by Danielle Rose Byrd, published by Blue Hills Press

05/07/2022

"Vinyl is making a resurgence lately, but storing it can be a challenge. In the old days, you could score a few milk crates and be done with it. Newer milk crates don’t fit albums, however, so don’t risk jail time stealing them. And fear not; you’re a woodworker who can make your own.

The crates here are made from pine so that they patina nicely and are inexpensive to make. It’s also easier to find wide boards in pine than it is in other species. Choose 3/4"-thick 1"x12" stock that is as straight as possible to reduce the amount of flattening you’ll have to do.

These crates are not just good for albums of course, you can use them for anything, really. I like them in the shop—they’re a low-tech container that can hold things like clamps or power cords. You can even label them using card holders to make it easy to figure out what’s in them. These crates even have a design feature that allows you to stack them if you want.

You may think that using a dovetail is a bit of overkill, and you’re probably right.

These dovetails are unconventional as the pins are cut into long grain as opposed to end grain. This makes the crate extremely strong. And, of course, using dovetails in this project is a great way to practice cutting them."

From "Projects From The Minimalist Woodworker" by

05/06/2022

Here's a quick tip on how to make a misplaced mortise disappear from "Essential Joinery" by Marc Spagnuolo ()

"There’s a reason this book places so much emphasis on joinery layout: no one likes making mistakes. Even with potentially obsessive precautions, anyone can occasionally misplace a mortise either through complacency or a measuring error. In this example, the mortise is just slightly off-target. The fix entails filling the mortise and re-cutting the joint in the proper location.

1. Cut a patch to fit. this mortise was cut with a router, so the patch has to have the edges rounded over to match. An end-grain patch is easier to cut, but a long-grain patch will look better. You’ll see the long- grain patch in this example.

2. Insert the patch into the mortise with glue and tap it home. Once dry, saw off the excess with a flush trim saw and plane or sand the surface flush.

3. Re-draw the mortise layout in the proper location and re-cut it. In this case, the tenon shoulder doesn’t completely cover the flaw; however this long-grain patch makes the fix very hard to spot."

Find this book at the link in the bio

05/05/2022

Take a maker break with these stretching tips from

"Working with tools can be very taxing on the body. Some basic steps can be taken to make sure you don’t wear yourself down unnecessarily. A lot of these are simple and obvious, and I think that’s why they can be so hard to put into action consistently.
That being said, my neck is my biggest trouble area, and almost every time the scalene muscles are the issue. Maybe you don’t know their names, but you’ve probably heard them screaming at you at one point or another, especially when attempting to turn or bow your head after a lengthy carving session.

STRETCHES:
To loosen these muscles, sit on a chair or the floor while holding the chair or sitting on your hand, and stretch your neck away from the side with pain, (photo 1) hold for 20 seconds and slowly release, then tilt your head forward slightly while applying light pressure down on your head. (photo 2)

Strap Assist
An alternative method is to tilt your head toward the painful side, apply pressure down where your shoulder meets your neck (and where the scalene muscles attach) and slowly repeat the previous two stretches. A strap can also be used for the same effect (photo 3), or a tennis ball can be placed under the strap to apply direct pressure in specific spots. (Photo 4)

Tennis Ball on a Wall
Muscle tension in the neck leading into the shoulder can be a hard area to address with the right pressure. Pushing down on your shoulder yourself, in a way that would provide relief, is almost impossible without creating more tension elsewhere. Take a tennis ball and place it near the corner of a wall. Slide your feet away from the wall and press your shoulder into the ball. Slowly lean forward to apply the necessary amount of pressure. (photo 5)
To provide relief to the back of your neck that has been extended while looking down all day, look up at the ceiling and allow your head to slowly fall back and rest on the top of your shoulders if that’s comfortable. Slowly return to an upright position, using your hands to assist if needed."

From, "The Handcarved Bowl" by Danielle Rose Byrd from

04/28/2022

The LL BALANCED APPROACH to FOOD

“Cooking isn’t a rote set of steps to follow. It is a daily adventure; one that doesn’t require airfare or jet lag. The temperature, time of day, age of your spices, seasonality of your ingredients — each time you cook, all of these factors and more come into play. And I do mean play.

We live in an age of instant gratification, of science and technology and fact, and we’ve come to expect that in every aspect of our lives. But any true home cook will tell you that cooking often defies rules and logic, requiring instead intuition, risk, and experimentation. And that is the absolute real joy of the cooking experience. I have worked hard to create dishes that can be easily replicated, but embrace the concept that your versions will have their own nuances and characteristics.”

- Chef Laura Lea, from “The Laura Lea Balanced Cookbook”

We’re proud to get to work with Chef Laura Lea () to make cookbooks with an ethos like this.

04/26/2022

This is an excerpt from “The Art of Kumiko” by Matt Kenney ():

“Certainly, in terms of technique you can do things to improve precision, but even the best technique falls short if you are not patient, and do not give your work attention. In this way, making kumiko is no different than making furniture (and many meaningful activities we undertake in life).

What does it mean to be patient? I think it’s allowing the work that you are doing to dictate the pace of work. There’s a cadence, a rhythm, to all the work we do in the shop. To be patient with your work you must consider each individual task and distill it. You must see its essential components, so that you understand where you can work quickly and where you must slow down. Patience means always moving at the correct speed for the work you’re doing.

Attention is just as important, and it’s not only a matter of being focused on the work at hand. You also must have a clear mind. If you’re thinking about how your mother-in-law always smells like cabbage, your thoughts and the actions that flow from them will be muddled. When you are paring angles on the infill pieces of the asa-no-ha pattern, there should be nothing on your mind except your hand and how it holds the chisel, how it pushes the chisel through the small part beneath your fingers, the resistance the wood gives or doesn’t give, the sound made as it slices through the wood, etc. That level of attention enables you to notice the smallest hiccup in the process, to notice minute blips that affect the precision of your work.

However, there is one thing more important than patience and attention: You must never fear failure in the shop. Don’t worry if your first h**p leaf turns out less than perfect. Just make another one. And then another. Keep working. Your technique will improve. You’ll become more patient, and your focus will improve. Soon enough you’ll be making beautiful kumiko and enjoying every minute of it. So don’t just read this book. Take it into the shop and get to work.”

Find this book on our website, link in bio.

04/21/2022

We’re hard at work this week preparing this book for printing. It’s REALLY GOOD. has done a really amazing job and the projects inside definitely stand out from the rest.

Back to the grindstone!

04/14/2022

No Diet. No Dogma. Just Good Food.

From Chef Laura Lea (), "The Laura Lea Balanced Cookbook", is where the rubber of old-fashioned home-cooking meets the road of new healthy food.

With over 120 delicious and easy-to-prepare recipes, this first cookbook from the creator of the popular LLBalanced.com website reaffirms that balance is possible: you can find the joy, relaxation, and healing of cooking for yourself, family, and friends during these frenetic times.

All of the recipes are approachable, familiar and no-fuss. Many of the recipes come together in thirty minutes or less, will appeal to kids and adults alike, and can be modified for picky eaters or served proudly at a dinner party.

The food isn’t dogmatic: a little of everything is used and flexibility is the key. With a focus on quality and moderation, the healthy aspects don’t hit you over the head. They just make you feel good.

Read more at the link in the bio

04/14/2022

With a Handful of Essential Joints, You Can Build Anything…

From the workshop of Marc Spagnuolo (), creator of The Wood Whisperer website and host of its popular YouTube channel, “Essential Joinery” teaches the time-tested methods for creating woodworking’s most fundamental joints.

Whether it’s a simple box or an 18th century highboy, the foundation for successful woodworking can be boiled down to a collection of essential joinery skills. Once learned, these techniques allow a woodworker to build just about anything.

Rather than working solely by hand or machine, Spagnuolo teaches woodworkers how to choose the most sensible joinery method for the task at hand while providing some additional techniques and styles for each joint. With the expert instruction and easy-going style of "Essential Joinery", beginners and pros alike can take their joinery skills–and their woodworking satisfaction–to the next level.

Learn more on our website. Link in bio.

04/14/2022

In “Simply Laura Lea”, Chef Laura Lea ( )America’s leading holistic chef and the creator of LLBalanced.com, offers over 130 delicious, balanced, and healthy recipes based on the food she eats every day.

Unlike diets that prescribe food restrictions that are neither attainable nor desirable, Laura Lea promotes a realistic approach to cooking and eating healthy for life. All of the collected recipes follow the LL Balanced Approach to Food:

- Focus on whole, fresh foods that make you feel great.

- Ditch any preconceived idea of what you should eat, and listen to your body; it is your best wellness guru.

- Indulge in moderation, and occasionally, not in moderation!

- Have fun and don’t take yourself, or your food, too seriously. Enjoy food in a relaxed atmosphere and in the company of dear ones.

- Above all, practice self-love and patience in the kitchen.

Inside, you’ll find familiar dishes that make cooking dinner for your family easy, sustainable, and even fun. With ingredient lists comprised of a limited number of easy-to-find items, recipes are approachable and easy-to-follow for new or seasoned home cooks. As Laura Lea likes to say: “No diet, no dogma, just great healthy food.”

Learn more on our website, link in bio

04/14/2022

Introduce children to the craft of woodworking and watch their executive function skills thrive.

“The Guide to Woodworking with Kids” is a culmination of craftsman Doug Stowe’s () four-decade career in woodworking and nearly twenty years of working with students K-12 in his Wisdom of the Hands woodworking class at the Clear Spring School in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

This comprehensive guide offers step by step instruction for teachers, parents and grandparents to offer safe woodworking opportunities to their students and kiddos as a way of developing a wide range of valuable life-skills. Based in part on the philosophies of Froebel’s Kindergarten and Educational Sloyd, this book illustrates the importance of doing real, hands-on activities in school and at home that enable students to:

1. Think things through for themselves
2. Develop skill, originality and inventiveness
3. Explore their own self-interests
4. Plan, organize and execute meaningful work
5. Prepare to profitably employ leisure time
6. Be handy and resourceful
7. Develop both character and intellect

Create useful beauty to benefit family, community and self “The Guide to Woodworking with Kids” is more than a woodworking book, it’s gives parents, grandparents and teachers the confidence, encouragement, and the insight needed to safely engage children in life-enhancing creative arts.

03/24/2022

03/17/2022