Buying less, but better
Over the last months I tried bringing a new habit into my life. Being inspired by the idea of minimalism and keeping only the things I love and need, I stored most of my things at my mother’s place when moving to Berlin earlier this month.
This whole process of only surrounding myself with things which inspire me and look great in my room is actually way harder than I thought. Ugly things, which you can’t get rid of, exist. Vacuum cleaner, airbeds, snacks and bottles standing and laying around your room. They all tend to have bad design. Even Dyson vacuum cleaners are way too futuristic looking for my taste. Closed furniture can take a bit of pain away though.
Thinking before buying
In addition to all that, I also decided to not buy lots of stuff anymore and avoid places like H&M, but spending more money on thing which I know I will keep longer.
Some things I bought so far instead, or I am planning to buy are:
Acne Studios Standard Face Shirt
A mid-century Danish sideboard
These are all products which I know have a good quality, are long-lasting and will be kept for a long-time. Also most important to me is to actually spend the most money on things I will use every single day.
My inspiration for trying this whole approach was Formerly Yes, a concept store from Los Angeles.
“We’ve always been a fan of owning less. The idea of buying one good kitchen knife as opposed to five ehh ones. I think our time on the sailboat inspired that. Having less stuff means be able to up and go when the opportunity arises. Jenna and I thought for a while about what kind of products we wanted to carry, ultimately landing on selling things we would want in our home. Products that are not only functional, but designed thoughtfully with the user in mind.”
I really enjoy this quote, because I think it adds up and makes no difference if you buy 5 things which you have to re-buy, because they tend to break, or if you spend 5 times that amount of money on one good product.
If you want to be inspired which items are worth buying their collection is a perfect start. If you live in Berlin I can also recommend the Soto Store, which you can find in Mitte on the Torstraße which in general has some really nice other stores.
Do you have the same approach? Any items you can recommend? Write me at @joshuasoehn.
Joshua Söhn is a Designer specialised in Art-Direction & Product Design, you can learn more about him here or follow him on Twitter.
