Dispatch is a regular compendium curated by Garrett Herzik and sent straight to friends. Its purpose is simple: refresh the creativity of those who refresh me. For hate mail: g@garrettherzik.com
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For the past decade, I’ve held pride in owning less, needing less, using less. Minimalism as a discipline, a pursuit. You get it. And it’s been good, worthwhile, ADMIRABLE even. But discipline, like anything, calcifies. What started as a liberating practice has led me somewhere I didn’t expect.
The pursuit of less doesn’t just strip away clutter, it subtly reshapes what you allow yourself to do. You start favoring the kinds of activities that require little: little setup, little teardown, little space, little friction. You become drawn to the clean, the compact, the digital. Which is convenient, sure. But limiting. Because hobbies, physical and tactile, tend to require things. Materials. Tools. Objects that take up space.
Minimalism tells you that fewer desires lead to fewer possessions, which leads to fewer burdens. And yeah, there's truth in that. (Queue my best Tyler Durden impression: The things you own end up owning you). But there’s something to be said for the things that make life richer, things that are enjoyable, fruitful, and useful in ways that digital files, dashboards, and forums can’t replicate.
I’m not advocating for unfettered consumerism. I’m not hoarding gadgets or buying a record player. I’m simply regaining the appreciation for more. For owning the things I need to do the things I actually want to do. As Jerry Seinfeld put it, “To waste time in ways that you like.”
At the end of the day, what’s the point of making life less beautiful?
"Everything in moderation, including moderation." —Oscar Wilde
By M. Ward
This album feels like it has always existed, although its barely old enough to drink.
By Soetsu Yanagi
“In an age of feeble and ugly machine-made things, these essays call for us to deepen and transform our relationship with the objects that surround us.”
“Legends have created with the Blackwing 602 pencil. Known users includes John Steinbeck, Looney Tunes creator Chuck Jones, and Disney animator Shamus Culhane who, according to animation historian Charles Soloman, asked to be buried with his Blackwing 602.”
Craft-design-technology is my go-to for IRL creative tools. There’s something so good about a stationary set that folds up into self. It’s like a travel-size writing desk.