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

January 2026

  • Traveled to Hong Kong and Macau for New Year’s—my first time exploring the city. It has become one of my top five favorite cities.
  • Returned to Tokyo and set up Hank, an OpenClaw-based local AI assistant running on Mac Mini with TRMNL display integration and WhatsApp interface. I’m rethinking how computer UI should feel.
  • Experimenting with the Ralph Wiggum Loop—an interesting concept, but I’m not sure going back to waterfall is the right way to do software again.
  • Set up an LPL DS-4 copy stand with Leica Bellows-R (16860) system for ultimate scanning setup. I use simplified VNS adapter for it.
  • Created three new Unbound notebook covers, I’m getting really fast at making those.
  • Had a productive Book Program call with Greg Girard—feeling more confident about the project direction.
  • Opened Michibiki Vol. 3 exhibition at Jinny Street Gallery.
  • Went on a ski trip to Urasa, Niigata.
  • Admin meetings with various lawyers and tax accountants for new business setup in Japan, targeting launch by Sept-Oct.
  • Published my first long-form piece on LinkedIn about AI and software development. Somehow I still find LinkedIn one of the oddest places to publish anything.

January felt like hitting the ground running after the holidays. Between Hong Kong explorations and diving deep into AI assistant experiments, the month had a good balance of travel and tinkering. The FotoFilmic sessions with Greg continue to be a highlight—finally feeling like the book project has real direction. Most weekends were split between studio work and wedding prep, which is starting to feel more real now that invites are going out.

I’m still waiting for the Japanese visa renewal. It’s been close to four months—and all for the one-year visa.

Get In Touch

Best way to reach me is via email.

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