the beautiful and the functional

As humans, we are innately driven to adorn. I love how we are driven to combine the beautiful and the functional. What truly is the purpose of anything? From a phone case, to coffee cup, to a tea towel, our functional items provide so much more value than just protecting our phone, carrying our items, or giving us comfort.

They are a form of self-expression. 

The world around us gives us messages all the time. we might not even be consciously aware of it, but we are constantly surrounded by visual clues that give us subconscious messages. When we are intentional about adorning what we see, we can create our experience of the world. 

When we are intentional about the things we choose to surround ourselves with it sends our subconcious a really powerful message: we matter.

We deserve to be surrounded by beauty.

We deserve to have moments of frivolous joy.

Our happiness matters.

Our joy matters. 

By choosing to honor your joy with beautiful things, you are making a powerful statement to your inner self that you are going to make the effort to value your own happiness. You aren’t a person who “good enough” will do for, you are a person who demands their needs AND their wants get fulfilled. 

It makes us our best selves. A study by the University of Texas found that employees who had control over the design and layout of their workspace were 32% more productive than those who did not. When we are able to express ourselves and show that we are valuable, we thrive.

Do you make that statement enough?  Are you truly expressing yourself through your surroundings, or is there another influence you might be honoring? 

How do you want to feel when you look around? What can you put in place to feel that way?

That’s why I print my art on the ordinary. I want the simplest of experiences to come to life with feeling and emotion. I think life is richer when we’re feeling into it.