Simplicity in a glass of milk

Simplicity in living has been on my mind – both in how I run my business and in our own lives at home. Why do we long for simple now? - because I don’t feel I’m alone in the puzzle of more/less/better/please-take-my-phone-away. And why has simple living changed its current position in our shared imagination of the life (and homes) we want to live with? Perhaps because simple is currently quite hard to have. Life and society are currently noisy, complex, troubling, and yet abundant.

And we always want what we currently don’t have.

A desire for simplicity is not the same as living minimally. But fewer, well-made things can be a good way of living. My David Mellor coupe glasses have shared the table with me for many years. They bring joy every time we gather with friends – or for our family Sunday afternoon ritual at home. They are made well, beautiful to use and, if one breaks, I can replace it in the knowledge that the new glass will be just the same.

I’m also deeply attached to my hand-made sofa and my Ikea 365 dinner plates. They were bought through the same filter (well-made and very fit for purpose) and they both carry more weight of feeling than the item alone.

As an idea, simplicity often fills us with longing and desire. Quiet and simply furnished homes, a uniform of well-made and good quality clothing, easy plates of seasonal and local, preferably organic, food. Perhaps a garden – perhaps a balcony. These things and ways of living ask and offer us more than simply an aesthetic.

But I think that what simple living gives us best is the opportunity to pare back our thoughts and things to a place that gives us proper space and mental clarity. It allows us to be free to be filled up with what we are individually excited by. And it is important that it is individual – otherwise you may instead be swept along in ‘lifestyle concept/campaign’, which defeats the point.

Which brings me back to milk. A glass of good (organic/local) cold milk is a wondrous thing. It deserves your attention when you drink it (time bonus), and it is for many of us rooted in very simple but nourishing memories. Milk, eggs, and flour make a beautiful cake for a celebration, or tower of pancakes for Sunday breakfast. Milk and good beans make for both a good hot brew and an important ritual.

I made our colour Milk as a suggestion of all of this. It’s gentle, simple and a beautiful colour to live within.

Cassandra x

Photography by Ellen Christina Hancock