What does your workspace say?
When we think of a creative person, we often assume that they work somewhere glamourous. A super cool New York loft style warehouse or white minimalist shell of creativity. The truth is many of us sit in fairly boring office like environments. It is a constant influx of paper, mail, to dos and piles of notes and books and day to day work in progress. I recently came accross the work of Joseph O Holmes and his series 'Workspaces'. It is an interesting look into the workspaces of people including stone cutters, bartenders, shoe shiners and mechanics. Holmes describes the work as "Such spaces represent a tug of war between personal expression and comfort, on the one hand, and the unyielding demands of work on the other."
This is a challenge for me. I usually have several projects on the go at once but I can not work until my desk is free of any and all clutter. The messier my workspace the more overwhelmed my mind becomes. I love clear surfaces and neatness and so my workspace is very much a reflection of my personality. I find tabbed notebooks and simple filing system help. So do boxes for 'stuff' and cleaning up properly every couple of days but at least once a week. What does your workspace look like? What works for you and what would you change?
Lanne
www.paintedwithlight.com.au
Looking forward to Jeff and Allison's response to this one..... That's not a gig on your article Lanne. I love it. I just know the Rodgerses and it is my opinion that a clean workspace would give them hives.
As an architect (almost), I'm somewhere in the middle; messy, but have to clean and straighten from time to time. In fact, had to purge on Monday just so I could concentrate on work. So, I feel your pain.
Very nice site by the way. As a minimalist, you might enjoy some of our work: http://archimania.com/.
Love, Todd (that's purely platonic Lanne, although the people of Oz have a special place in my heart)
Thanks Todd. I could not work in any of the workspaces that Holmes portrays but I did find them fascinating. I think visual people like things around them. I am always trying to make sure that any systems or decluttering practices work for visual people - otherwise I wouldn't use them!
I checked out Archimania - you guys have some awesome work. I love the use of line and the mix of building materials. Interestingly, some of the buildings are not dissimilar to ones we have here, as opposed to most more traditional American homes which are not like ours.
Jeff has teased me in the past about even my mess being colour coordinated... ha. So looking forward to their response too :)
Lanne (i can understand the love of Australians - particularly on Australia Day) :)
Todd, Yes I have a natural tendency to be uhm slightly clutter prone.
I have to say however, there is a difference between messy and dirty. My workspace is ALWAYS messy. Never dirty.
I have been thinking about Lanne's studio space though, and I would love for my workspace to be like that.
Might be a pipe dream though.
Yes Jeff, I know you're clean clean clean. And as far as I can tell, it would totally be a pipe dream, like me having any understanding of how money works.
Lanne, the fact that yesterday was Australia Day, or Anniversary Day, and that I replied to your message on the national holiday is purely one awesome little coincidence. On a side note: were you guys near Adelaide for the Tour Down Under? (Yes, I know it's a big country, but I thought it was worth a shot.)
Love, Todd
Jeff I CHALLENGE you to declutter and make your office what you dream it to be. Just find some systems for visual people! Happy to help if I can (no expert). It does help to tidy up as you go.
Todd - Are you headed our way? Adelaide is in the middle at the bottom and I am half way up the east coast. happy to help with a list of must see/dos if you would like any.
Ok, I will accept your challenge.
Where to begin. Hrrmm
Jeff will now try to contemplate, ponder, scheme and dream up the best way to organize his workspace. But, like any good designer, he will never be satisfied with the first idea. Or the second...third...twelfth. Once he finally settles on the best possible way to streamline, this blog post will be long gone.
So...stay tuned.
Nick - HA! Couldn't have summarized that better myself.
Lanne - I only wish I was headed your way. It has been a dream since I was little. Probably won't happen until I'm much older and don't have two little mouths to feed. So 20+ years... I hear it's worth the wait.
Jeff. You can do it. Just solve the clutter problems and then reward yourself with some new stuff (probably some good storage?)
Nick. Loved your comment. I can see that! The trick to solve each small problem not the whole problem. ;) Please feel free to report back on any over-designing and no action hehe.
Todd. It is def worth the wait! Flights are so cheap now. $600ish US out of LA. Bargain! Long flight but def worth it. And if the dollar here is down you can expect to get about 30% more for your money (currently about 12% so I am shopping up a storm in the states LOL) I wouldn't come if I couldn't spend at least 3 weeks and visit 3 states... you just wont see enough to make it worth your while.
Nice travel tips Lanne, thanks.