I was working late tonight pulling together some furniture tearsheets from the Baker website and I ran across this article by Barbara Barry on why she wrote her book. I have seen her speak a couple of times. She is a wonderful speaker so I can visualize her speaking in front of me. I love the way she thinks. Thanks for the inspiration Barbara!
Barbara Barry on Around Beauty
I had thought a long time about writing a book.
I had talked and talked about it — to editors, to friends and to family — but it just never seemed to happen. When I finally got around to writing it, I wrote a very different book than I thought I was going to write.
I decided not to write a book just about my work or to preach about design.
I decided instead to share my process, and some of my thoughts when it comes to design.
I wrote this book from my heart…not my head.
I wrote it in small stories recalling thoughts and ideas the images invoked.
So this book isn’t a treatise on design, nor is it a monograph of my work. It is instead a window into my brain and my heart. It is a love story, really, a love story of my life, my work and the magic and joythey bring to me.
I had talked and talked about it — to editors, to friends and to family — but it just never seemed to happen. When I finally got around to writing it, I wrote a very different book than I thought I was going to write.
I decided not to write a book just about my work or to preach about design.
I decided instead to share my process, and some of my thoughts when it comes to design.
I wrote this book from my heart…not my head.
I wrote it in small stories recalling thoughts and ideas the images invoked.
So this book isn’t a treatise on design, nor is it a monograph of my work. It is instead a window into my brain and my heart. It is a love story, really, a love story of my life, my work and the magic and joythey bring to me.
I wanted to share what inspires me. The most simple things…from an egg to an onion to the color of water in my bathtub…the things that make up so much of our daily lives.
Photo by David Meredith
It is a book about design, but more about how design delivers a way of seeing and of being in the world.
In writing I was able to observe and reflect on the madcap life I have, and my circular process. Through writing and exposing these thoughts I realized I’m like all creative types who are trying to make their mark in the world: driven by beauty, and driven a bit crazy by it along the way.
Photo by David Meredith
I realized that stories are how we pass things on… to our friends, to our children, and to each other. I find I more easily remember something if it is embedded it in a story. And so I thought I could embed a design belief or philosophy into a story as a way of sharing rather than dictating.
I called my book Around Beauty because I believe that beauty is that essential ingredient of our well-being.
It is a part of our human experience.
It’s the way we experience our world and our joy.
As designers and architects we know when we’re inspired, when we’ve made a beautiful presentation, because it begins a beautiful conversation.
It is a part of our human experience.
It’s the way we experience our world and our joy.
As designers and architects we know when we’re inspired, when we’ve made a beautiful presentation, because it begins a beautiful conversation.
Photo by David Meredith
When we observe beauty, when we really stop and take it in, I believe it has the ability to transform our lives.
Beauty can transform the way you see the ordinary.
Beauty can restore our faith in the mystery of our universe.
Beauty can transform the way you see the ordinary.
Beauty can restore our faith in the mystery of our universe.
Beauty is a healing force.
And that, right there, is what my career has been about — and what Around Beauty is about.
And that, right there, is what my career has been about — and what Around Beauty is about.
In my life, in which I’m constantly rushing, the world can seem harsh and overly complicated. I’ve noticed that at times like these when I’ve encountered beauty, it has had the ability to stop me, to bring me out of the rush, to pause, to see what’s in front of me more clearly…and to appreciate it.
Photo by David Meredith
Beauty helps me to become centered again.
The memory of beauty holds me over in tough times. When I’m traveling I can recall the beauty of my own home, my own bed, and feel grateful and sure that I will return to it. Beauty is my antidote to life’s harshness.
And maybe what I love the most about it is that beauty can make us smile.
And maybe what I love the most about it is that beauty can make us smile.
Beauty is what motivates us.
Beauty is the essential element in design, and I am often surprised how rarely it is mentioned. We are asked about trends, colors and styles that are “in.”
To me beauty is always in.
We know it when we see it, and we long for it always.
To me beauty is always in.
We know it when we see it, and we long for it always.
Beauty is what we have in common. It is the connection to each other.
In practicing design all these years, whether it has been interiors or product, I have been on a very solo journey…searching for what I wanted, what I saw in my head. I believed in those thoughts and ideas and I endeavored to put them forward into the world.
Photo by David Meredith
But it is because of designers like you reading this blog that I have become a success.
For that I am very grateful. And I thank you sincerely from my heart for the support.
I am grateful for the work I have, for the relationships that have sprung from that work.
For that I am very grateful. And I thank you sincerely from my heart for the support.
I am grateful for the work I have, for the relationships that have sprung from that work.
Every day that you can live around beauty is a good one.
I hope this book will help you find a touch more beauty in your own life.
I hope this book will help you find a touch more beauty in your own life.
Thank you!
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