What Possessed Me

Only connect

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people. Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have."

Steve Jobs in Wired, February 1996

 

Could this be my spiritual home?

It's not that I don't love opening a closet and having an avalanche of debris fall on my head every morning. No, really - it's great. Sharing a little-ish apartment with a husband and two cats has been cozy. Don't get me wrong - we love our place. Leaving aside that it's barely 600 square feet and a fifth floor walk-up, it's perfect. (I will ignore, for the purposes of this post, the hostile postman who balls up our mail and tamps it into the mailbox like he's preparing a musket for battle. I will overlook the fact that I fight a daily urge to tape my origami ConEd bill to the front door with a note that says, "Together we can do better.") If we were more disciplined people - the sort of people who don't leave things lying around for weeks on end or collect odds and ends during their travels (who ARE these people?) - we'd probably be better off in our small space. 

But then I think Norman Mailer - who lived in our neighborhood until his death in 2007 - had the right idea. Surround yourself with the things you love. Decorate with books. Comfort is king. Look at those wonderful velvet couches and that fabulous green wall. Observe the dippy, mispatched lamps. I could live there very happily.

Photograph from the wonderful piece on Norman Mailer's apartment in the New York Times.

Looking for...you?

My friend needs a super slick online presence for his interior design and Asian antiques business - if you are a freelance web designer or are sleeping with someone who is, post a comment with your details or email me at whatpossessedme @ gmail dot com and I'll forward your information to my lovely and talented friend. New York is preferable, but other less interesting states will be considered as well.