Warm Gear

If you weren’t an English speaker and muddled a Pottery Barn catalog or an article in Architectural Digest, you might mistakenly think that “patina” means beloved. And, in a way, it does. Similarly, if you delve deep into the craftsperson space, you may think that “handmade” is part of a religious ritual. And again, in a way, it is. When you combine those two things, its hard to resist the appeal. Some of my very favorite gear has the pull of age and thoughtful creation. In Japanese there is a term that, among other things, covers these two notions. Wabi-sabi is the appreciation of the transient imperfect nature of things. Interestingly, in Japanese culture, wabi-sabi represents the same conceptual space as “beauty” does in Ancient Greek thinking. Ironically, we in the West speak of “timeless beauty” but in Japan how things look when aged really matters. That makes sense, when you think through it. Things that work, are simple, and durable, last a long time and get used a lot. So it…