I recently spent time with friends who mounted a 36-inch by 200-foot kraft paper roll with a steel dispenser and cutter at the end of their work table. It’s surprisingly useful. Pull out a few feet for messy art projects, cover a table for a party, or tear off sheets for gift wrapping. The cutter gives clean tears across the full width. — MF

One of my favorite newsletters for creatives is Jane Friedman’s Electric Speed. Jane is a publishing industry expert who generously shares her wisdom and recommendations. Every two weeks, she sends out Electric Speed, offering digital tools, resources, and advice for creative professionals, especially writers. Each issue feels hand-curated, personal, and encouraging, and I always find something useful. Here’s a link to her archive. — CD

I especially enjoyed The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing by Adam Moss, a book that inspects the work processes of world-class artists. The artists range from painters, to poets, to musicians, screenwriters, comedians, photographers, and so on. Adam Moss is my favorite magazine editor; he gets the diverse artists to let him watch them work and through his firm questions best understand exactly how they create, including their detours, and mistakes along the way. The book is innovative in its layout and a work of art itself. — KK