I Love Hooks!
Published August 25, 2025 · 1:26 · 75,073 views
About This Video
Van Neistat counts roughly 50 hooks in his studio and considers them the chief instrument of organization. In 86 seconds, he makes the case for why a hook is the first thing any room needs and the last thing most people think about.
The tour is fast. Four, eight, twelve, sixteen, twenty hooks on one wall. A set from Japan that fits magnifying glasses perfectly. A porcelain hook Tom Sachs made and stamped with his NASA insignia and signature. A stainless steel set from Amazon with mounting holes spaced wide enough to anchor into drywall. And at the end, a hand-drying towel Van made from a restaurant napkin, hanging on a hook that will never hold anything else. God help you if you come into this studio and drape your coat over the back of a chair.
The video is 1 minute and 26 seconds of pure object appreciation, and it says more about Van's approach to tools and craft than most 10-minute tutorials. Organization is not a system you impose. It is a hook you put on the wall before you hang anything on it.
What Van Uses: Japanese specialty hooks, Tom Sachs porcelain hook (NASA stamp, signed), Amazon stainless steel hooks (drywall-anchored), magnifying glasses, restaurant napkin hand towel. See more on Van's curated list.
Related: Van's five principles of organization · Custom coat hooks Van built
FAQ
How many hooks does Van Neistat have in his studio? Van counts roughly 50 hooks in his studio. He considers them the chief instrument of organization and expects anyone entering to use them rather than draping a coat over a chair.
What is the Tom Sachs hook? Artist Tom Sachs made Van a porcelain hook stamped with his NASA insignia and signed. Van displays it in his studio alongside hooks from Japan and stainless steel hooks from Amazon.
Why does Van Neistat love hooks? Van sees hooks as the most fundamental organizational tool. The first thing you do when entering a room is hang your coat. Hooks make that possible before any other system is in place. He also loves ladders, bicycles, extension cords, and twine.
Transcript
There's a bunch of things that I love. I love ladders. I love bicycles. I love extension cords. I love twine. I love
hooks. I love hooks because they are the chief instrument of organization. The first thing you do when you enter a room
and take off your coat is put it on a hook. And God help you if you come into my studio and take your coat and drape
it over the back of a chair. There's like 50 hooks in here. This one's from Japan.
And it fits these magnifying glass things perfectly.
Four, eight, 12, 16. I almost never use these. Here's four more. That's 20. I
use these sometimes. This is a beautiful hook that Tom Sachs made and gave to me.
And it has like his little stamp. He did a NASA thing and then he has like a he signed it. He made it out of porcelain.
I love this. I found this one on on Amazon recently. Stainless steel. The holes are far enough apart where you can anchor it
into drywall. Here's one of the Amazon hooks that I just didn't anchor, but it's only holds and it will only ever
hold the hand drying towel that I made out of a restaurant napkin. [Music] And that's it. I love hooks.
Products & Tools Mentioned
- Tom Sachs porcelain hook mentions — prized hook from Tom Sachs studio
- Amazon stainless hooks mentions — bulk stainless steel hooks from Amazon
- Japanese hooks mentions — specialty hooks from Japan
People Referenced
Tom Sachs