16 Comments

Blackwing pencils are SO gorgeous. I was looking at those Basquiat ones the other day. Ugh.

Please feel free to donate Blackwings to me if you ever have too many and need to get rid of them :)

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THEY TRULY ARE they have no right to be 😤

omg! more than happy to mail some over. I tell all my friends who do art to literally pick any one or two or ten.

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Aug 14, 2023Liked by Becky Isjwara

Trading out ten items for each new one; what a good idea. I try to do a one for one trade but I think I need to step it up to a multiple for one to help me get closer to my goal of only owning what is most important.

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Yes! Although I don't strictly do ten-to-one. Sometimes it's 1-1 or 2-1 but anything is truly a win! And flexing those muscles make it easier to get things out of the house sooner.

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It was so satisfying to see that photo of your balckwing pencil at the end...lovely exploration of what collect, keep, and let go.

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Thank you Kirsten! I'm so glad that photo at the end could add onto the essay.

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This was a fun read! I'm the same way about a certain brand of jiu-jitsu pants. They're a buttery soft material and double paneled so they aren't see-through when you squat. They're pricy, but I love their limited drop designs because they're beautiful collabs with artists and always have a story. It sounds weird to talk about workout pants like that but oh well!

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Oh no, I need to know this brand now. Do they have pockets? Finding sportswear that are comfortable but doesn't break the bank is always a really tricky balance!

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They do not have pockets (pockets are a safety hazard with jiujitsu), but they're pretty much the only pants I wear if I have to leave my house, even aside from jiujitsu lol. The brand is Gaidama (www.gaidama.com). They're expensive, but they LAST. I got my first pair like 2.5 years ago and they're still perfectly fine.

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Aug 8, 2023·edited Aug 8, 2023Author

I did not know that pockets are a safety hazard with jiujitsu! Thanks for sharing the site and the wonderful testimony for Gaidama. And hope you share about jiujitsu in your essays too :)

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No problem! Pockets on women's pants isn't as big of a safety hazard as they are on men's gym shorts, but pockets are an easy place for fingers to get caught when you're grappling. Jiujitsu pops up in my writing every now and then, but I do plan to write about it more in the future!

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That makes so much senses. Don't know why I haven't thought about that before. Looking forward to reading more about it from you :)

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the easiest way for me to keep things at minimal is when i was living a digital nomad life over the last year. the moment i settle down and don’t live out of a suitcase it’s hard to say no to crazy capitalistic marketing schemes 🙈

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IT TRULY IS and I buy "useless" things like a "spice cabinet organizer"... ugh the thought of having to move and carry all these things truly gives me stress

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this is how I am about fountain pens I hate it but I love them and I also rarely use them

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YES YES YES what I do now is I post it on secondhand sales sites hoping nobody buys them.....

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