Love Her

This afternoon one of my favorite organizing clients greeted me with a present upon arriving at her home. We've come to know each other fairly well over the past several months and we definitely have similar lifestyle preferences. She had saved a bottle cap with a quotation that she thought I might like:

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Of course I love this. Upon further investigation, it came as no surprise that (along with being a pilot and writer) Saint-Exupéry was a student of architecture. I explained to my client that my design philosophy is subtractive rather than additive. I ask myself what can be removed, rather than what I should add to complete something. Her response - "I love you!". Well hey, I think you're pretty awesome too.

She also told me she would not be offended if I threw away her gift. We understand each other for sure! Let's just say I held onto it long enough to write this post. It's the thought that made my day, not the object.

I guess I look at life the same way that I look at design. What's necessary versus extraneous? I feel most alive when I don't have clutter in my life - physical or metaphorical.

Kristen Ziegler