Friday, January 14, 2011

Why my office is always a mess

I know that my office is an affront to tidy people everywhere. Papers strewn about the desk in an ad hoc "piling system" and shelves full of random books and pop cultural artifacts, empty liquor bottles, and presentation boards from rejected campaigns.

Sometimes, I think I was only given this office to keep my chaos contained. When I'm away, and there has been a client tour of the agency, I often find that my door has been discreetly closed.

But according to Malcolm Gladwell, this is totally just evidence of my creative mind:



I especially like this part:

"Their imaginations are messy. Why? Because they don’t want to throw anything out. Why don’t they want to throw anything out? Because they believe on some level that there is always something of interest or value in whatever they encounter. They know enough about how mysterious and serendipitous and unpredictable the creative process is that they realize that it’s dangerous to kind of make too hasty a judgment about the value of anything that they come across."

That's right, folks. Look on my works, ye haters, and despair!


The full bottle of Tahitian beer is 13 years old.
And they don't even make those Beau's bottles anymore...

It must be October 2010 somewhere, right?


There's a good story behind the enormous pink bra on the door.

I am in both the Sleeveface and Fark books.
Not yet in the ad ones, but give me time.

No office is complete without a lard bucket.

4 comments:

  1. Lard buckets don't last long around me. YUM.

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  2. Is that a wine bottle I spy? I'll take it over the lard bucket any day.

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  3. You quoted the best part, Tom. I actually feel that, too. There are special values in everything that we encounter, of course. Well, at least that's what I believe in. They all serve as an inspiration, ya know. Nice bra, btw. LOL!

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  4. Whatever works for you, Tom. Just let the doubters take a look at how this mess in your office actually benefits you. Let your work speak for itself! Btw, I love your mini bottle collection. Does alcohol also take part in your creative process?

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