Why Beauty Matters
As I started researching ideas for future Benjals collections, I found myself down a rabbit hole of slow living philosophies and what it actually means to create a beautiful life.
I stumbled into Art Nouveau (I may have doom scrolled my way to it)
At first glance, it’s exactly what many of us imagine when we think of vintage France: flowing lines, florals, elegance, and women with long, windswept hair woven throughout the artwork.
But the more I learned about it, the more I realized it wasn’t really about aesthetics at all. It was a response….. a rebellion!
Art Nouveau emerged in the late 1800s during the Industrial Revolution. Factories were booming. Mass production was taking over. Efficiency became king. Society was changing and while there were obvious benefits to that progress, many artists felt something important was being lost and they pushed back.
They turned toward nature for inspiration. Flowers, vines, shells, oceans, birds. They celebrated craftsmanship and believed the things we surround ourselves with should be more than functional. They should make us feel something. (sounds like some cool brand we know)
And honestly, the whole thing feels relevant today. Not because we’re living through the Industrial Revolution…
Because we’re living through our own version of it.
Today, we’re surrounded by more products, more information, more noise, and more pressure to optimize every aspect of our lives. More more more more more, you get it.
I’ve fallen in and out of love with it and I live to tell the tale -
I…bought the supplements, did the 20 step skin care, read the self help books, saved the insane routines.
Convinced myself that the next thing might finally be the thing that made me feel calmer, healthier, happier, or more put together.
Sometimes those things helped.
A lot of times they just added more noise and overwhelm.
The moments that have brought me the most peace have never been revolutionary.
A cup of coffee enjoyed in the midst of a morning I decided to be slow.
Ten minutes on a yoga mat.
Sitting on the beach
Fresh flowers from the farmers market.
A girls night and a bottle of wine
A beautiful piece of art.
A conversation that makes me feel understood.
None of those things improved my productivity.
But all of them improved my life.
I think that’s an important distinction.
At Benjals, we talk a lot about having fewer things that are made better.
Not because we’re anti-consumption or anti-progress.
And certainly not because we think everyone should live with only ten belongings and wear beige linen every day.
We’re interested in quality over quantity.
We just think a beautiful life is built intentionally and authentically.
Objects that are useful and beautiful.
Routines that are simple enough to stick to.
Relationships that make life richer.
Art that makes you stop and feel something.
The more I read about Art Nouveau, the more I realized it wasn’t really an art movement.
It was a reminder that beauty matters and the things we surround ourselves with shape how we feel our lives.
One of the leading voices behind the Arts and Crafts Movement, which heavily influenced Art Nouveau, was William Morris. He famously said:
“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
More than a century later, that feels like pretty good advice.
xo,
Mace
