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Loraine is an Amsterdam-based designer. She is prominently known for her minimalist styling, photography, and also for making beautiful fabric creations – even her packaging is very simple and stripped down to the basics.

Her blog Grijs, with its very simple and clean design, is where she showcases her work, process and inspirations. Even her post titles are reduced to symbols and characters that reflect feelings and thoughts.

For me, navigating her website is always a fresh, calming experience and the virtual equivalent of an open, airy, light-filled room.

Minimal Mac Podcast. Check it out. Patrick touches some really good things.

Your Shit, My Stuff, Goldilocks, and Making the Bed You Sleep In | Frank Chimero :

I think this summarizes what I had been trying to do all this time and what I learned: practical minimalism.

Frank wrote an incredible piece. A must read:

There’s no name for this way of thinking, but if I had to steal a term, I’d use Merlin Mann’s Appropriatism. It’s not minimalism, it’s not maximalist, it’s just-right-ism. Goldilocks was on to something. The idea sits somewhere in the middle, exactly at the crux of whatever works the best with the least amount. The core precept of all of it is this:

“Add things until it starts sucking, take things away until it stops getting better.”

Fear stops us from being minimalists.

Why do we keep things even if we don’t need or use them? Because we’re afraid we might. Afraid of what could happen if we get rid of those things.

For years I had a car because I worried about emergencies and not being able to do the things I wanted or needed to do. Then I discovered that I could do everything I need and more without a car. And that 911 is better in real emergencies.

This winter in San Francisco it was shockingly cold for an island native like me. I bought much more stuff than I’ve had in awhile (almost all from thrift shops) because I don’t know how to live in cold weather. The uncertainty of what I don’t know caused me to allay those fears with more possessions.

First: as we get to know something better we become more confident that we don’t need as much as we once thought we did. As I learn about living in cold I begin to realize that a few smart items are all I need. As I learn about traveling I learn I need almost nothing. As I learn about blogging I learn I don’t need ads or stats trackers or comments or widgets or Facebook buttons.

Second: fear can be conquered through small tests. Try going without something for just a little while (a day or a week) and see what happens. You’ll find that fears are not as justified as we thought.

Third: sometimes being naked with fear is a good experience. It teaches us a lot about ourselves and about life. It is scary but it awakens us. Live with the fear and without the safety net and see what it’s like to be alive and uninsulated.

Bench Rack is a great answer by Vik & Fougere to the lack of closet and storage space in the average apartment. It will make its debut at the IDS Prototype Exhibit in Toronto next week.

Bench Rack is made of powder coated steel tube and a single piece of solid elm. Elm gives the product an interesting finish and a warm feeling.

Visually, the continuation of the leg into the hanging bar makes the design very clean without anything unnecessary.

Frank Chimero - The Setup:

You know what I’ve learned? A person only flails around in regards to their rig when they don’t have a clear idea of what constitutes their work.

Out of everything one can take away from this mind bindingly brilliant post from Frank Chimero about the tools he uses to turn himself from mild mannered citizen to superhero, please take the sentence quoted above and paste it up somewhere special.

Then, when you find yourself getting distracted by shiny things, read it and remove the word “rig”. Then insert “software” or “task management” or “productivity” or any of the other things you are struggling with in its place.

But, seriously, this whole post is a must read kids. I could have pulled just about any sentence out of it and it would have been germane to the conversation I’m having with you here. Watch…

And these computers? As much as I love fiddle-faddling with the damn things, I mostly just want to forget I have one and get on with saying stuff and making things.

See? Told you.

Please, do yourself a favor and read this today. Don’t “fiddle-faddle”.