Wabi Sabi Style

Many people have asked me – what guidelines do I regularly use to define aesthetics?…..the answer is naturalness and subtleness. I am not a big fan of full frontal in your face bling or anything glarish and showy….I prefer quiet elegance to spot lighted beauty that even has the courtesy to whisper that is able to secret itself in the mundaneness of everydayness only to slowly ooze out and pleasantly surprise the human spirit…soulful stuff for soulful people.

Less is more definitely more to me in so many ways….as I am by nature a quiet and gentle soul.

I happen to think this is overkill and way too loud.

This on the otherhand is seriously confused and lacks symmetry and structure…as this is not how leather seasons and mellows. Pity…it’s a 5K bespoke job.

This hits the mark like X marks the spot. The balance is just so sublimely perfect.

I am going to try this out on my next shoe antiquing project. I just need to get my head around it and figure out how it’s done and it’s a reverse effect.

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Wabi and sabi are two of the key Japanese aesthetic concepts. Their definitions are not exact, but one can get a sense of them from a short discussion of them. Over time, the two have been combined to form a new word, wabi-sabi, meaning an aesthetic sensibility which includes these two related ideas.

Wabi

Wabi means things that are fresh and simple. It denotes simplicity and quietude, and also incorporates rustic beauty. It includes both that which is made by nature, and that which is made by man. It also can mean an accidental or happenstance element (or perhaps even a small flaw) which gives elegance and uniqueness to the whole, such as the pattern made by a flowing glaze on a ceramic object.
Sabi

Sabi means things whose beauty stems from age. It refers to the patina of age, and the concept that changes due to use may make an object more beautiful and valuable. This also incorporates an appreciation of the cycles of life, as well as careful, artful mending of damage.