Handmade Utopia Back-to-the-Land Architecture in Northern California (signed)

Publisher: Editions Patrick Frey / D.A.P Books Authors: David Jacob Kramer, Michael Schmelling Year: 2026 Format: Softcover, 496 pages, 704 color images Edition: First Condition: New An epic journey through Northern California, along hidden dirt roads and into redwood forests, Handmade Utopia uncovers handmade homes that have remained concealed for decades. Schmelling’s photographs document these structures today, while Kramer’s oral histories with 38 back-to-the-landers recount how they came to be, accompanied by archival materials, historical texts and locally produced publications from the movement’s heyday. Never built with resale value in mind, these homes are anti-capitalist to their foundations — and rapidly disappearing. Their makers taught themselves to farm, embraced alternative ways of living and developed architectural approaches that would influence wider building practices through imaginative design, ecological materials and energy efficiency. In pursuit of a different way of life, they reimagined what a home could be. Few remained after the Summer of Love. Now in their seventies and eighties, their makers leave us with a pressing question: what will remain?