Muji

When I lived in London, Muji was my favorite store. It was a few blocks away from my apartment and when I wanted to go out for a walk in the chilly and grey London weather, I would seek refuge in Muji's warm and minimalistic environment. Muji is the essence of the relationship between style and technology because its products are simple, made of sturdy materials, aesthetically beautiful and serve an incredible number of functions.

This is what Muji has to stay about themselves:

"MUJI is not a brand whose value rests in the frills and “extras” it adds to its products.

MUJI is simplicity – but a simplicity achieved through a complexity of thought and design.
MUJI’s streamlining is the result of the careful elimination and subtraction of gratuitous features and design unrelated to function.
MUJI, the brand, is rational, and free of agenda, doctrine, and “isms.” The MUJI concept derives from us continuously asking, “What is best from an individual’s point of view?”
MUJI aspires to modesty and plainness, the better to adapt and shape itself to the styles, preferences, and practices of as wide a group of people as possible. This is the single most important reason people embrace MUJI.

MUJI – in its deliberate pursuit of the pure and the ordinary – achieves the extraordinary."

Today, while in Manhattan, I saw that there was a Muji location in Chelsea and, incredibly excited, I nearly tore through the glass doors separating me from the haven I so craved. The interior is beautiful. Not because of any decoration or opulence, but because the arrangement of the products is so pleasing to the eye. The colors are neutral and subdued and the prices are quite fair. My purchases included:

$6.75

A lovely box to keep small pieces on my dresser in order.

$6.75

A file organizer for my desk.

$2.25

A pencil case...self-explanatory I hope.

$3.25

A pen/mechanical pencil duo. Very cool.

$1.25

An acrylic travel case.