The story behind our
Lagom Design
Lagom [lah-gom]
noun. the principle of living a balanced, moderately paced, low-fuss life.
Lagom is a Swedish word meaning "not too little, not too much, but just the right amount". Alternative translations of Lagom expand on this definition to also include "in moderation", "in balance" and "having just enough".
Our Lagom design is defined by clean, symmetrical and visually balanced lines. It speaks of the importance of living a balanced life, and seeks to inspire us to slow down and find simplicity in everyday living. Rather than wanting, doing or having more, lagom teaches us that our well-being thrives on saying no to excess and feeling content with what we have.
“Balance is not something you
find, it's something you create.”
– Jana Kingsford (Author)
Our friends know us to be a go-getter. Since our days at university, we’ve always been on the move chasing ideas, undertaking new projects, working across multiple jobs and planning far ahead into the future.
We worked long hours often without breaks and forgetting to pause for lunch. We filled our calendar to the brim with full-time work, overtime, work events, social gatherings, gym sessions, volunteer shifts and relationship dates… all while juggling the commitments of Everyday Clay.
We thought that life was balanced, but after two years of stretching ourselves to the limits, we ended up burning out big time. The constant rushing through a never-ending list of things to do, and places to be, fuelled our anxiety and raised stress levels. Something had to change. We needed to create balance.
S l o w i n g
D o w n
Practising lagom can be an everyday challenge, particularly when there are countless demands competing for our attention and energy. But there’s a cost to taking on more than we can chew, and too often we forget the beauty of slowing down, doing things in moderation and doing what is enough for today – the art of lagom.
Moved by its importance, we crafted our Lagom design by intentionally keeping it simple and avoiding excess in colour, shape, texture and form. We represented ‘balance’ and its associated dimensions of stability, order and calm through slowly carved lines of symmetry. We hope that our Lagom collection will inspire you to also slow down, stop for a pause and find your balance in life.
Although it was hard at the start, we cut back on our schedule and re-prioritised our activities and goals. If we didn’t attend every social event, would we be missing out? Or, would we gain the time for rest?
Interestingly, when we reconnected with a slower pace of life, we found that we savoured each moment more. We learnt that there was a time for work and play, but also a time for rest. Life stopped feeling overly complicated and felt simpler.