š¹ Iāve always loved a good brand story so when I received Waqas's deep dive on Teenage Engineering, I felt excited right away. Why Teenage Engineering is so Cool. This is exactly the type of opinionated company and brand we'd like to see more of. Which makes me wonder: why are there so few in the world? How can we empower more people to launch weirder and cooler things?
First and foremost, it's time to celebrate. I'm on my longest streak re: writing on this blog. I've been publishing every month since Sept. 2024, reaching a 13-month streak. The 2nd-longest was 'only' 11-month -I reached that mark twice in the past though. The best news still: I've no intention to stop. So I expect this 'record' to be beaten on a regular basis going forward -every month literally. What did trigger it?
šØ We let disposable stuff put us -humans- in a state of disconnection and lack of meaning. Objects are evidence of human existence. This is why Benās piece Marks of Making resonated so much:
Objects that expose their āmarks of makingā, or artifacts of how they were constructed, are a reminder that everything is made. Nothing simply appears. In a time when most people are wholly detached from making anything they consume, itās easy to lose sight of that fact. Iām not necessarily lamenting this disconnect, but I appreciate any design which reminds us (whether intentionally or not) that it was made.
šØ Henrik struck again. Look at that opener š I was hooked right there. The whole thing looks like a great -and wise- ālessonā to pass on kids: everything that turned out well in my like followed the same design process.
If I look at things that have turned out well in my life (my marriage, some of my essays, my current career) the ādesign processā has been the same in each case. It has been what Christopher Alexander called an unfolding. Put simply:
I paid attention to things I liked to do, and found ways to do more of that. I made it easy for interesting people to find me, and then I hung out with them. We did projects together.
I kept iteratingāpaying attention to the context, removing things that frustrated me, and expanding things that made me feel alive.
Eventually, I looked up and noticed that my life was nothing like I imagined it would be. But it fit me.
It took Mathilde, Max and I, 4 weeks in San Francisco to gather 35 people to get a uniquely designed label with a chip inside sewn on their denim by local tailors; generating 200 taps during the night -playing a ātap them allā game- which triggered 1,300 notifications total. Letās unpack Objet's first soirĆ©e: La PremiĆØre.
šŖ” We threw our first ādenim soirĆ©eā in San Francisco last Friday and we canāt be happier. Stella was one of the local tailor. Learn more about her and how sheās doing some magic with fabrics since age 8.
š Shameless plug to start: I was stoked to meet and chat with Sophie about the possibility (or not) to regulate our emotional attachment to fashion. [if you can't read the article, let me know and I can send it to you]
If we donāt pay enough attention to what we want and why we want it, we just tend to crave for whatās next.
š¶āāļøI canāt agree enough with Patricia's title āsolved by walkingā. Iāve personally always loved walking. Iām currently in Berkeley, CA and Iām very surprised by the low amount of people walking -especially in the hills. Below are Russel's words:
In addition to physical exercise and my family fondness, walking remains important to me as an emblem of the sacredness of life. Humans think. Human feel. Humans move.
We encounter others in our walks. The world ā nature, cities, streams, forests ā unfolds underfoot. Walking remains a primary way we go beyond ourselves.
šŖ” The first name of my very first company -back in 2010- was āMy Tailor is My Friendā so this new section by Mathilde on The Objet Journal feels quite special. Clara Metayer is a Parisian tailor, founder of Sauve qui Peut and tailor-in-residence at Patine.
Over time, I realised that I didnāt want to sell new products. We already have so much. How about keeping those we have and love? This opened a brand new world! Mending is made of so many techniques. For one given challenge, there are a thousands solutions: visible -embroidery, patches,ā¦-, invisible - darning, or the art of recreating fabric literally, be it jeans or wool stitches,ā¦
š¤° This testimonial by Daniel is a must read: Looking for the Anti-Mimetic Doctors. The subtitle says it all: āRethinking Medical Interventions, and the Courage to Do Lessā. On many aspects, it reminded me Mathilde's experience -and I know she might share it all soon on A Wander Woman.
As doctors, we know full well that tracking the babyās heart rate during labor has increased interventions but has not improved outcomes. In simpler terms, tracking the babyās heart rate during labor has gotten more women induced or sliced open, but has not decreased stillbirths or postpartum deaths. Then why do we do it? Because itās scary not to, thatās why. And I speak from experience.
