How to: Ideas

At Good and Basic Manufacturing, we started with one printer and worked our way up from there. We deeply believe that anyone can and should be able to produce their own wants and necessities. If you're interested in fabricating your own products, then this page is for you.

*Note: The products we mention below are affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something we recommend, we get a commission through Amazon. It doesn't increase the price on your end. Also, all of the products we recommend here we either own or use personally.*

Thinking about Self-Sufficiency

Beautiful Corn, Anthony Boutard
Anthony Boutard combines memoir and nonfiction in a glorious treatise about corn: what it is, how to grow it, and why growing it local matters. Watch our interview with Anthony Boutard.

Flight from the City, Ralph Borsodi
Joseph also recorded an audio version that he posted to YouTube. Listen for free!

Through the Eye of a Needle, John Paul Flintoff
What happens when John Paul decides to outsource his life, and also what happens when he decides to reverse that process. A great memoir about self-sufficiency and home-learned skills. Watch our interview with John Paul Flintoff.

Clarkson's Farm
Jeremy Clarkson, known for his appearance on Top Gear, decides to run his own farm for a year. A true look at the life of the modern farmer.

Billions in Change
An inspiring documentary about Manoj Bhargava and his work to make the world better, one invention at a time.

Thinking about History

Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years, Elizabeth Wayland Barber
Farmer Buckley's Exploding Trousers, Stephanie Pain
Consider the Fork, Bee Wilson

Thinking about Business

The Black Swan, Nassim Taleb
Zero to One, Peter Thiel
Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered, E.F. Schumacher