Sneak Peek: What We’re Working On This Summer
Photo by Molly DeCoudreaux
We’re delighted to be collaborating with some amazing people — florists and designers, artists and chefs — to create books that inspire and delight. Today, we would love to introduce you to three of those talented creatives, and give you a peek at what we’re making together.
Françoise Weeks
Photo by Theresa Bear
Light filtering softly through the trees; the sweet smell of dank earth underfoot; lacy, spring-green moss clinging to an ancient trunk. Is there anything more transporting, more magical than a walk in the woods? Inspired by a love of nature born on childhood trips to the Swiss Alps, Belgium-born, Oregon-based floral designer Françoise Weeks makes wondrous arrangements using ferns, foliage, moss, and seed pods to create living art pieces that evoke that woodland magic. Over the years, the designer has shared her unique style of botanical design with students around the world, from Canada to Mexico, Iceland to Australia.
We’ve long admired Françoise’s gorgeous woodland art, and we’re delighted to be producing her upcoming book, The Wonder of Woodlands. In this volume, out fall 2023 from Clarkson Potter, Françoise will teach readers how to look at the world around them with a designer’s eye — seeking eye-catching shapes, colors, and textures — and to turn the natural elements that they forage into gorgeous botanical art.
To see Françoise’s beautiful work, and start daydreaming of the wild woodland pieces you’ll create, check out her Instagram, @francoiseweeks.
Photo by Theresa Bear
Viola Buitoni
Photo by Molly DeCoudreaux
For as long as she can remember, Viola Buitoni’s life has gravitated around food. Born in Rome to a family with deep roots in food-making — in the 19th century, her family brought Buitoni pasta to cooks and eaters worldwide — Viola grew up in the Umbrian countryside, eating meals made from ingredients produced in her own backyard. Today, she carries on that proud culinary legacy as a cooking instructor, teaching Italian cooking to students in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Napa Valley, and Puglia, Italy. I had the good fortune of meeting Viola through the San Francisco community cooking school 18 Reasons. (She was kind enough to share one of her show-stopping recipes, Big Night Timpano, in Feed Your People.)
We’re proud to be agenting Viola and guiding her through the publication of her book, Italy by Ingredient. In this deeply personal project, which will be published by Rizzoli in fall 2023, Viola will share the stories behind a selection of her favorite essential Italian ingredients, from peppery extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and Parmigiano Reggiano to bottarga, bacalao, and salumi. In addition to providing practical and personal context on each ingredient in the book, Viola will share original recipes built around these iconic ingredients, from traditional to surprising.
For current food-spiration, follow Viola on Instagram, @violabuitoni.
Photo by Molly DeCoudreaux
Leslie Bennett
There are almost as many philosophies of garden design as there are green spaces. Leslie Bennett, garden designer, plant whisperer, and author of The Beautiful Edible Garden, believes that a garden doesn’t have to be just one thing. Some people dream of having a garden bursting with flowers of every color, shape, and size, their blooms filling the air with sweet scents. Others, meanwhile, fantasize about their garden as an outdoor sanctuary, with shrubs and trees dividing the space into a series of “rooms” to relax in. Still others prefer that their green space produces a bounty of fruits, vegetables, and herbs — a harvest to nourish both body and soul. Leslie believes that a garden can do all those things and more. For the past decade, as the owner of Pine House Edible Gardens, Leslie has worked with clients to help them turn their home gardens into glorious outdoor wonderlands: spaces where they can connect with nature, memories, loved ones, and themselves.
We loved The Beautiful Edible Garden, and are delighted to have agented Leslie’s upcoming book, in which she will share the secrets of her creative process — along with actionable tips to help readers create gorgeous gardens of their very own. The book will be published by Ten Speed Press in 2024.
To see Leslie’s latest design work, check out @pinehouseediblegardens on Instagram.
Photo by Caitlin Atkinson
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