Janel drew this for guests attending a progressive dinner party where each course is held at a different home. Attendees were all apprentices at the Fabric Workshop and Museum and the homes they visited were in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia. She idealizes the somewhat confusing layout of streets and highlights the triangular structure of […]
This drawing hits on all of the best qualities of hand-drawn maps. It includes personal recommendations, can be used for navigation, and has a striking visual appearance. Justin drew it for his friends when they were visiting him in Venice, California. They wanted to spend some time checking out what made the neighborhood unique, so […]
This detailed and accurate hand-drawn map indicates the location of fruit trees and bushes in the Browne’s Addition neighborhood of Spokane, Washington. Though it was drawn over 11 years ago, the map could likely be used today to find the very same fruit trees Amaris identified. Go ahead and try Spokanians…(Spokanites?).
This map, affectionately referred to as good coffee, good bagel, good bye, was drawn by Amy Horst as a guide for Kris Harzinski to find his way out of Bloomington, Indiana. As he left, Harzinski stopped at the Espresso Royal Cafe to get a mocha, his drink of choice at the time, but skipped the […]
Shortly after moving to London, Viviane purchased an A-Z Atlas, the most popular way to navigate the complex city prior to the smartphone. Even with the atlas, she kept getting lost. To help, her friend drew this map indicating, in general terms, the location of her flat, and where she could find food. The friend […]
Amanda received this map from a hotel bartender in Gloucester, Massachusetts who recommended Charlie’s Place for breakfast. She writes, “the gist was to turn left at the hotel [INO] onto the coast road, bear left at the Y-intersection, turn left at a stop sign, and Charlie’s Place was on the left, across from the Stop […]
Nina’s map was drawn by her manager at Haigh’s, an Australian chocolate store. She provided the details in her letter: “I had to go to the Haigh’s office thingy and [my manager] drew a map on a bit of receipt so I wouldn’t get lost on my way to the ‘manual handling training day!!’ It’s […]
Every year, Irene draws a of map of her garden, and, as the season progresses, she adds notes about each plant. In 2011, she sent us this lovely map, drawn in the spring, for her garden plan that year.
Courtney writes, “This is a map drawn by my friend Lindsay Foley. She spent the summer working on a boat in Newport, Rhode Island and was persuading us to go there on a day trip from Boston. The donut hole is where she lived (not to scale). Needless to say, her map was all the […]
Marshall’s richly illustrated map of his local area in Londonderry, New Hampshire captures a community defined by its orchards — oversized apples crowd the landscape alongside churches, farms, horses, and the the everyday activity of small-town life. He noted that some of the buildings depicted have since disappeared to development (and likely even more so […]
Ken who works professionally as a cartographer has recently begun exploring the creative potential of maps. He sent this image, his third venture into artistic surveying. He writes, “I painted this map on a table for use in a new burrito restaurant that is opening down the street from me. The owner solicited the help […]
Rachel sent this map she drew of the cafes in the Hackney area of London. Each cafe is represented as a fried egg, perfect for breakfast. We assume the collection of birds towards the center represents the busier area of the neighborhood. 🍳