getting lost, consistently
This issue of Differentiated Design is brought to you by Serena & Lily. They make classic quality pieces; one of my favorites is their Breakers Rattan Chandelier.
A good buddy of mine invited me to play bass with him at a Christmas show. Not a big thing, just two songs.
I used to be totally obsessed with performing and writing music; it was all I could think about during high school, college, and for years after.
I would get lost for hours writing and practicing songs.
But times have changed, and life has taken a different turn.
So, for the first time in a while, I dusted off the old cream Fender P-Bass and spent most of an afternoon learning a new version of "Run Rudolph Run" and Donnie Hathaway's 1970 masterpiece, "This Christmas."
"Run Rudolph Run" is about as easy as it gets, a 12-bar blues song.
"This Christmas," on the other hand, is not so intuitive. There's a lot of very creative, jazzy bass playing on the track, apparently played not by a session musician but by Donnie himself on a Fender Rhodes with his left hand.
This song is the perfect level of difficulty for me - it took me about 3 hours to get it nailed down. While learning it, time stopped, and only the bass in my hand and Donnie existed, along with a couple of great YouTube tutorials.
There's no better feeling than getting lost in something. To enter fully into another world and try to do the best you possibly can.
That's the domain of the athlete, the artist, the writer, the programmer, the monk.
I was watching my son play with Play-Doh the other day. He is the perfect age for it, it's just slightly above his skill level.
He can almost do the majority of the things you do with Play-Doh. Rolling, squeezing, punching out shapes, cutting pieces, and his favorite, making giant snakes.
It was so rewarding to watch him completely absorbed in that task at the table for almost an hour.
He's getting lost in something, right at the threshold of his ability. He's right where he needs to be.
I don't know how often we get to do this as adults, and I think it's so important.
Although I'm immensely grateful to do creative work and be self-employed, my days mostly look like one foot in front of the other. I'm often under a deadline for videos and client projects, and generally spend most days feeling behind.
There's always a big list to get through, and always more I wish I could have completed that day.
That's the adult path - and the phase of life I'm in. It's what most jobs and most employers require - consistency.
There hasn't been much time to get lost.
This coming year, I'm hoping to marry the two a little more - looking to "consistently get lost."
On the surface, this sounds crazy. But being lost means you are at the frontier - you are inherently exploring or building something new, and you're fully committed.
That really should be my job, both in design and as an online decoder of design.
I don't just want to do this randomly and inconsistently when your friend invites you. I want to direct my whole work ethic and drive towards it—relentless exploration of the frontier.
I want to get lost in the right things.
This has a scent similar to what Stephen Pressfield talks about in his fantastic books, The War of Art, Turning Pro, and in many other great interviews he's done. I've written about him before, and I highly recommend his work; it's been helpful.
I hope that in whatever domain you are in, you can find the edge and explore it. That might not be possible at your day job, but man, there are a lot of edges I'd love to traverse in landscaping, philosophy, cooking, fitness, lighting, and e-commerce. Just can't do them all at once.
Whatever season or domain you’re in, I hope you can find something that pulls you just far enough to make time disappear.
Happy hunting.
things i saw this week that I liked
Kendall Jenner's mountain house has really taken the internet by storm. I have not seen a home go viral like this in a while.
Most reactions I saw ranged from "Wow, this is so good!" to "Aw man, I really hate how good this is."
Part of the reason for the second reaction is that it's not the type of house you'd probably associate with a Kardashian. It's colorful and homey and proudly grandma-chic, in no small part because Heidi Caillier, the queen of colorful, pattern-heavy, grandma-chic, designed it.
My favorite photo from the AD shoot is this bath. Frank Frances is the photographer.
To me, this public response signals that we, as a society, are fully ready for traditional Ralph Lauren-esque interiors again - plates on the wall and all. It's been happening progressively for the last couple of years.
And it also signals the death (for now) of ultra-minimal Apple Store/Rick Owens interior aesthetics, of which there's no better example than Kim & Kanye's 2022 pad.
Next, these built-in shelves from Batiik Studio.
Photography by @adelslimanefecih
I love alcoves and alcove shelves.
Two things are exciting to me here - first, the way they're trimming these with the big round dowels, and second, the two-tone green. So tasty.
