The Jotter - issue 26
“I like the concept of wearing-in rather than wearing out.”
Bill Moggridge (in the film Objectified).
Good day,
I never set out with a theme in mind when I collate The Monthly Jotter. But in the days leading up to release themes seem to evolve. I notice tweets or read articles that congregate loosely together.
Walking and long-lasting design appears more than once today.
Hardly surprising. Given that I have grown up with dogs and walking is a key part of our companionship. While I used to be amused by my late father, an architect, waxing lyrical about his ink pen, his hifi or his camera. Objects which were a bit more expensive than the average and which he always took great care of. They were built to last, built to be used and built to be loved.
I was amused, but I am my father’s child and I now do the same.
“Good design is long-lasting. It avoids being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated...”
Dieter Rams
The brands I identify most with don’t encourage you to upgrade to the latest model but take pride in the longevity of their products.
Brands like Hiut Denim and their No Wash Club, Finisterre working with Reskinned, Leica ensuring their cameras built in the 1950’s or lenses built in the 90’s still work, or the modular approach of Vitsoe shelves designed by Dieter Rams in the 1950’s and unchanged since then.
Care, attention to detail and quality. All good things to aspire to in our work and our behaviour.
Onwards
Andrew
01, Design
“These are some of our favourite things…”
A compendium of beautifully made objects. Objects with timeless design, which age gracefully, are built with quality and are intuitive to use & fix.
02, Art / Film
Grayson Perry says of Eric Ravilious, “He takes simple subjects and turns them into masterpieces.”
Ravilious is one of my favourite artists and my mornings are made better by this Twitter account sharing a daily Ravilious painting.
A documentary film is being released in July accompanied by a director’s Q&A in independent cinemas (including Bath’s own Little Theatre). Tickets are scarce and may well have sold out by the time you read this. Sorry.
03, Design (again)
Sir Kenneth Grange designed an extraordinary range of products including the London taxi, a shopping basket for Boots, and the first modern razor.
“I think there is great reward in going through a day enjoying everything that you are using. These things then become important and personal, and you don’t want to lose them. Be it a pen or a notebook or whatever, they become reliable friends.”
04, Creativity tips from Brian Eno
There is no foolproof strategy to spark creativity but there are things you can do to make it more common. As Brian Eno says:
“The point about working is not to produce great stuff all the time, but to remain ready for when you can.”
“I never trust an idea that didn’t come to me on a walk.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
05, Walking
Will Self likes a good walk around London.
“I truly feel that if all Londoners walked out of the city once a year, it would do more for our sense of civic pride than any number of mayoral or local governmental initiatives. What’s more, it wouldn’t cost the proverbial penny.”
Canary Wharf. This was one of my photos at this year’s BoA Photo Exhibition. It’s available to buy too!
"A good photograph is knowing where to stand."
Ansel Adams
06, Photography
Jim Marsden, photographer, shares eight cards. On one side a beautiful linocut illustration, on the other a timeless tip on how to become a better photographer.
07, Business
Here’s an article by Matthew Barr on 10 things he has learned in 17 years of running his own business (that’s one year more than me).
He starts with The Big One - “Your business model must constantly evolve.”
08, Work.
Earlier this month I launched a new e-commerce store for My Burrito Kitchen in Bristol, moved Humble Bee Films over to Squarespace, designed a full website for Jones Sports Campers and a new website for Ceremonies by Pippa.
The last couple of weeks have been spent migrating a messy Wordpress website I inherited into a neat Squarespace website.
Thank you for reading the June Jotter. The next one will emerge on Friday 29th July at 11am. Until then, I hope you enjoy Glastonbury, Wimbledon and languid days in the sun.
Onwards
Andrew
“When burdened by the feeling that there are too many photographs in the world, I ask myself if there are too many flowers.”