Karim Rashid On Shopping, Clutter, and More

Karim Rashid loves color, curves rather than straight lines - and sharing his opinions with the world. After I wrote about Entre Nous, commenter kbfenner recommended his book Design Your Self, and I'm so glad for the pointer (and to my library, for having the book).

Here's Rashid on shopping:

Sales are really about making you buy things you don't need: the coat that almost fits, the pants you might wear some day, the shoes that are only one size too big.

And more:

The next time you're at a mall, ask yourself if you really need anything, and if perhaps you wouldn't be better off going to the museum.

But he goes on to say:

By no means am I advocating that we should not be buying or having things. I firmly believe that we should be hyperconscious of the things we surround ourselves with - either love and enjoy them or do without them.

And he continues:

When I look around my personal environment, my house, my office, even my car, I ask myself whether everything there has a meaning. ... Do I have anything that really has no significance to me, such as gifts I was given, mistaken purchases, or things? Is there anything there that I have been keeping over time, sometimes to the point of not even seeing it anymore?

His emphasis, over and over, is on fewer but better things:

Have less but better furniture in your domestic environment. Minimize the number of objects in your kitchen - best quality, least quantity.

And he says:

Remember it is not just the mess of excess itself, it's the effect it has on your psyche.

But I don't agree with everything he writes, including this recommendation for the home:

No visible books, magazines, CDs, or clutter. No bookshelves.

We've touched on simpler wardrobes before, and Karim also writes about this, saying:

In my wardrobe, I have thirty pairs of white cotton socks, thirty pairs of white underwear, and thirty white 100 percent cotton T-shirts of the same brand. ... I only wear white, silver, or pink, so my wardrobe and packing are simple.

Now, let's take a quick look at some organizing-related products Rashid has designed. His book mentions the Garbo wastebasket he designed for Umbra in 1995, which became a bestseller. You can now buy the smaller Garbino from Umbra, The Container Store, and others.




And in the time management realm, here's the wristwatch he designed for Alessi.