Minimalism in a Trinket World

There has been a lot of media and chatter recently about the idea of "minimalism" or reducing the amount of "stuff" that people have. You might be surprised that I heartily agree with this trend. Thanks to cheap overseas manufacturing and the ease of online buying, the variety of available "stuff" has skyrocketed. Impulse buys used to be things on those shelves you find right next to the cash register.  Now impulse buys happen on your couch on shelves called, "What other people have bought with this item."  I don't think it is good for anyone to have homes filled with junk. How many vacuums do I really need? I could break a coffee cup every day for the rest of the year and probably not need to buy another one.

This kind of consumerism and thoughtless buying mentality is actually the very reason I wanted to open this shop. (!!) When I was younger and poorer, I only bought things I either really needed, or that had real meaning to me. Now that I am older and less poor, I find that I am having a hard time finding things that have any spirit.  Maybe you'll think spirit is too pretentious an idea to cast onto our stuff.  But I don't think so. More than once I have sat in a concert, or saw a piece of art, or held a tool that caused me to feel something amazing. A connection maybe. Something like gratitude. I have hand made-pot holders at home that have more spirit than almost anything else in my kitchen. When I pick them up, I feel gratitude.

That's what I am trying to have in this shop. Spirit. Less stuff, more spirit.

~Derek

PS:  At their best, our things remind us about what we love about life.  This necklace I got from my wife by Melissa LeBeau makes me feel creative and free.  The Surf Wyoming shirt reminds me of home (made in Wyoming!)