Less stuff; more clarity
Susie Carini

by Susie Carini

Operations Director

09 October 2018

Less stuff; more clarity

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about space, not the astronomical kind, but the space we occupy and the head space we allow ourselves to let creativity flow. 

At the beginning of the summer we addressed the later, and with the help of Ellie from Surrey Art School and her mindfulness techniques, we freed our minds and immersed ourselves in creativity. You can read more about this in the article about our away day on our journal page.   

So, back to the physical space we occupy. 

Our studio sits in Dorking’s antiques quarter, surrounded by the beautiful Surrey Hills, so we are off to a pretty good start! 

But we are a team of six in a relatively small space. Add to that all the equipment we have, and the floor becomes a tangle of wires and cables, there are stacks of old sketch books, paper samples, magazines and books filling the shelves (Art Director, Lee, claims these are sources of inspiration, but the thin layer of dust on top tells me otherwise!); we can soon find ourselves in a chaotic environment as opposed to a creative one.
 
My first response to this was to grab the bin and start filling it… however, there is a balance between the comfort of tidiness and having things around that inspire and bring us joy. 

Marie Kondo is a tidying expert and author of best-selling book, ‘The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up’. She tells us that any object that does not ‘spark joy’ should be discarded, as a result we will be surrounded only by things that inspire and delight us. The ‘KonMari Method’, as she calls it, can be applied to your work space as well as the home. Marie Kondo explains “When your office space is organized, it will result in increased efficiency because your use of time becomes much more productive”. She goes on to say, "You'll be much more comfortable in your office space and that contributes to your overall performance and your creativity”. 

I took this notion to the studio and began my day of decluttering, discarding (after thanking the item for doing its job, this is after all the ‘KonMari’ way) and organising. 

The result has been hugely beneficial. There is physically more space, we know what we have and where it is, saving us time, money and frustration. We’ve been left in functional and inspiring surroundings. 

It’s simple really; less stuff, more clarity and more space for creative thinking.  

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