Whether searching for those on your gift-giving list or looking for something to inspire your own endeavors, there are some new books from Brooklyn authors filled with photos, projects and tips to provide some creative inspiration.

From crafting a thoughtful interior to nurturing an indoor garden, we’ve rounded up four books that should provide the spark for some projects in 2023.

AphroChic: Celebrating the Legacy of the Black Family Home. Copyright © 2022 by Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House

AphroChic: Celebrating the Legacy of the Black Family Home
Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason, photography by Patrick Cline

Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason bring the world of AphroChic to a new book, showcasing 16 homes that illuminate the diversity of the Black experience. The essays explore the issues affecting Black home ownership, such as redlining and gentrification, while the tours take a look inside apartments and houses across the country, including a few in Brooklyn.

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Black Girls Sew by Hekima Hapa and Lesley Ware. Published by Abrams 2022

Black Girls Sew
Hekima Hapa and Lesley Ware

Aimed at beginners, this project-packed volume from the nonprofit Bed Stuy Black Girls Sew offers practical tips and advice to create a foundation of skills while inspiring young sewers to express their own creativity and identity. Woven in between the projects are essays highlighting “Hidden Figures of Fashion” such as Black supermodel Donyale Luna and designer Zelda Wynn Valdes.
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Thor Rinden Holiday Cards: 1962-2009. Photo via Levelers Press

Thor Rinden Holiday Cards: 1962-2009
Photos by Johan Marolakos, edited by Maggie Levine

For over 45 years the late artist Thor Rinden crafted handmade Christmas and Valentine’s Day cards to share with his wife, Jane, and mail off to friends. The couple were early brownstoners in Carroll Gardens, renovating an 1870s townhouse that included a studio space. These miniature works, executed in a mix of mediums from woodblock prints to collages, were photographed and recently published in this slim volume. The book is only available online via Levelers Press. The original cards have stayed in Brooklyn, where they are now part of the collection of the Center for Brooklyn History.

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You Grow, Gurl! Plant Kweens Lush Guide to Growing Your Garden by Christopher Griffin. Harper Collins Publishers, 2022

You Grow Gurl! Plant Kween’s Lush Guide to Growing Your Garden
Christopher Griffin

Richly illustrated with photos both practical and fanciful, You Grow, Gurl! dispenses some plant wisdom from Christopher Griffin, the creator behind Plant Kween. Whether you are starting from scratch or are trying to bring an ailing plant back to health, the chapters delve into fundamentals like choosing the correct soil and containers plus offering tips on propagation. Also included are bios of some popular houseplants with specific info on their likes and dislikes.

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