Toto Tvalavadze

Hi, I’m Toto—software engineer, fine-art photographer, gallery curator, and independent interface researcher.

This is my working notebook exploring photography processes, handbound books, creative systems, and humane interfaces—a place to log experiments, publish essays, and ship tools.

Newsletter

The Flâneur is an even more meandering version of this website and perhaps the best way to follow me — Instagram is also a-okay too.

Projects

A few projects I’m proud of and focused on. See all 17 projects.

Plaintext Commons
Plaintext Commons – Manifesto for keeping long-form knowledge in durable, human- and agent-friendly files.
project-humane
Arrowhead CLI
Arrowhead CLI – a plain-text search engine and agent bridge for Obsidian vaults
project-humane
Unbound Notebook System
Unbound Notebook System – an analog notebook system that is friendly to thinking and exploration
project-humane

Notes

November 2025

  • Traveled to Fukushima for a weekend trip photographing autumn foliage and visited Sazaedo Temple, known for its double-helix spiral staircase architecture.
  • Published Plaintext Commons and open-sourced Arrowhead CLI for plaintext note management.
  • Open-sourced Stamp, another tool for the Plaintext Commons ecosystem.
  • Started development on Backlog (TBA), an Anki-style spaced reminder system for plaintext notes.
  • Launched a redesign of ttvl.co with refreshed homepage.
  • Good prograss on photo book.
  • Made custom bone folders at bookbinding class at Marumizu-gumi.
  • Visited Mike Brodie’s exhibition A Period of Juvenile Prosperity at Gallery Ether.
  • Finished reading A System for Writing by Bob Doto.
  • Added thee photobooks to my collection: A Woman I Once Knew by Rosalind Fox Solomon, Uncommon Places by Stephen Shore, and one from the exhibition.
  • Began discussions about converting Jinny Street Gallery into a NPO.

It’s been a while since I was sick for this many days. Headaches and a sore throat lingered for over ten days, which derailed a few things, but I still managed to accomplish a lot in the first two-thirds of the month.

The book project is progressing well, though I’ve realized I’m short on images. I’ll be shooting more over the next three months and getting back into a regular photography schedule.

Get In Touch

Best way to reach me is via email.

For following: newsletter, then RSS, then Instagram, then Mastodon.