Now this is just lovely. We've just taken delivery of a fantastic little book, Conversations on the Coast, which brings together a series of short interviews with artists and craftspeople from around the British Isles.

The book is the work of designer and photographer Nick Hand, who set off in 2009 to travel the coast of the British Isles by bike. Along the way he interviewed and photographed a wealth of local artisans - from flute makers to stone letter carvers, from stickmakers to boat builders. He put the photos and interviews together as soundslides on his site Slowcoast, and this book is a beautifully edited version of those soundslides.

The book arrived wrapped in hand-illustrated tissue paper, with a lovely postcard.

The photography throughout is beautiful, and each of the short interviews is illuminating and touching. As a whole, the book is a wonderful portrait of people doing things they love - not for money, not for fame - but because it makes them happy.

Ace.