ISO50

RSS

The Selby – Workspace Photographs

I’ve been considering a workspace overhaul for a couple months now. For inspiration, I’ve been browsing the photographs at The Selby, a blog dedicated to the workspaces of creatives. Each post includes photographs of artists in their homes and studios, and usually a little handwritten interview at the end. A majority of their subjects are from New York or LA, but I’m hoping they’ll make it out to San Francisco one of these days.

With my space, it’s amazing I’m able to get anything done; clothes are everywhere, bookshelves overflow onto the floor, and wires tangle their way into everything. It takes me at least five minutes to find just about anything. In all likelihood, it will stay this way forever, but I figure if I spend enough time looking at other people’s workspaces, I might actually get motivated to make mine picture worthy. Then again, as most of the pictures indicate (and Scott has suggested before), a pristine workspace isn’t a prerequisite for productivity.

7 Comments Leave A Comment

StigC says:

February 23, 2009 at 4:32 am

Hi Alex – I totally know what you’re saying. Even though my workspace is pretty tidy right now, because the family came to visit yesterday, I usually live in a mess like yours with instruments, cables, scraps of paper, old coffee cups, books and so on everywhere. But I usually take comfort in an old saying, that if you have a messy home/workspace, it’s a sign that you’re a creative person. (It’s probably an old wives tale, but it gives me a little comfort…)
I also dream of a nice, pristine architectural wonder of an office, filled with nice Herman Miller furniture, or some classic Danish design, but I think i’d be too scared to move, and would never get any work done.
It would be quite a feat to create work – either graphically or musically, that could live up to such a room, as it was created in.

So right now, I’m quite content with my old beat up couch, my Ikea book shelf, and the ugly grey/brown carpet, as it makes it easier to create something prettier I can escape into. If you understand what I mean?

Tom says:

February 23, 2009 at 5:14 am

check out,

http://www.aintnodisco.com/

not as personal as The Selby but it does focus on creative studios from around the world. great inspiration.

Sebas van den Brink says:

February 23, 2009 at 7:04 am

Somehow I find it increasingly difficult to get any work done at all while working at home. If there’s no jobs I tend to merely browse the web instead of challenging myself somehow. Though Blender being able to edit video might change that into learning Blender…

Also, the drafts, the leak near my bed, the sound of the trains running past our house are making me go NUTS on occassion. If that’s not it, it’s my roommate who has an anger problem with his school assignments and tends to take it out on the doors. Not the band.

Somewhere – probably Ffffound – I saw this workspace with awesome hanging bookcases. Being a book-junkie I love bookcases. Maybe it’s more a case of liking bookcases than the actual books… Here’s a couple:

More Amazing Bookcases:
http://coolboom.net/interior-design/more-amazing-bookcases/
Cool modern 70s pictures that I stumbled upon coincidentally:
http://ffffound.com/home/umajanela/post/?offset=375&

But I can’t find the bookcases I mean… blast!

thanks for posting about The Selby Alex. i have spent a good deal of time looking at that site. i need to create a good workspace so i can have a clear head to just get stuff done.

thanks Sebas for the bookshelves links. i havent checked them out yet, but will shortly. i hope to build my own bookcases soon. i think i have some good ideas and something different than the norm. well, hopefully, i havent looked at those sites yet ha.

midcenturymodernist is a great site, i agree. Stephen Coles, the author of that site, posts on here as well, if you didnt know Amy.