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What you’re hearing (if you’re listening, rather than reading this) are the sounds of me unboxing a new keyboard — specifically, an Apple A1048, commonly known as simply the Apple Keyboard. What makes this keyboard especially interesting to me is the period of time in my life that it reminds me of — that and the fact that this particular keyboard has been sitting unopened and unused in a box in central California since 2003. I found it on shopgoodwill.com, where it was listed in “new or gently used” condition. When it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to see that not only was it in the original box — which wasn’t mentioned in the description — but it was also in the original unopened plastic packaging. The last “new” thing I bought on Goodwill was a Starbucks Barista espresso machine to replace my Saeco Via Venezia that finally gave up the ghost after more than 19 years of daily service and literally thousands of shots of espresso. And just like the keyboard, the Barista was unopened and unused, still in the original box, neither of which were mentioned in the description.
In the last iteration, I talked about the Somatic Therapy I’m working on and identifying what I’m feeling physically when I’m trying to process trauma or anxiety as a way to learn that these past traumas are no longer dangerous to me. On the other side of that, is trying to name or identify the things in my life that bring me joy or pleasure or inspire me to make and, as odd as it may sound, that’s where the keyboard, the espresso machine, and dozens of other objects fit in.
They say that if you’ve got more than three of something, it’s a collection. Other than books, records, and maybe pencils, I’ve never really been a collector, per se. I’ve never felt the need to seek out things like baseball cards or sneakers for their own sake or to be some sort of “completionist” — though I respect people who do. For example, my friend Jude has an incredible vintage toy collection and has thousands of DVDs and movie posters that he’s been collecting for decades. I have a few screen prints by Shepard Fairey and I collected a comic book series in the late 80s and into the 90s called The Sandman. I had every issue, but as great as the writing was (and still is), I was really only collecting them for the covers, which were done by an artist called Dave McKean. When DC released the Dust Covers compilation, I ended up selling my individual issues for quite a bit of money. While I do love certain objects purely for their aesthetics, more often than not, for me objects act more like talismans, as my friend Gary put it — connections to people, places, or times in my life and the feelings that come along with them. The Apple Keyboard is a reminder of the year I went freelance and bought a new Mac after my career as an art director at Universal Studios was cut short by a corporate merger. So, in a way, just like the costume rendering I mentioned in the last iteration, the thing represents possibility in the sense that I was leaving one chapter of my career and launching another as a freelance designer and I didn’t know what that would look like. For what it’s worth, I do genuinely like the design of the Apple Keyboard from an aesthetic perspective, especially considering the time it came out, but having it now is much more about what it represented or reminds me of.
Objects are strange. Sometimes we can’t explain or articulate our connection or affinity with certain objects, but we love them just the same. For years, Adrianne has collected Westclox “Baby Ben” wind-up clocks and her has dozens of them. When I’ve asked her what it is about them that warrants such a connection, she’s never really had an answer. She said that they might remind her of her grandparents, but she’s been collecting them for so long that she doesn’t really remember how or why it started. But if she sees one that she doesn’t already have at a vintage shop or online, she almost has to buy it.
I’m at a point in my life that I’m finally dealing with some really hard things, some of which Ive I’ve mentioned here and in previous iterations. I want to surround myself with objects that remind me of times when I was at my most creative, my most inspired, and maybe even my most hopeful. It’s one of the big reasons that I’m relaunching my podcast and have been considering making videos around some of my favorite things, and that could mean tools, movies, music, even people — anything really that inspires me and lifts me up and helps keep me out of the dark.
QUESTIONS
What are some of your favorite or most meaningful objects?
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One of the most meaningful objects to me is a very old and rusted padlock that my grandfather used to lock up his tool shed in his backyard. When I would visit him in the summers as a child, he would leave the key for me and head off to work. I would spend hours by myself experimenting with his tools trying to make things. I realize now that was the beginning of my lifelong journey as a maker.
Great post. Love that keyboard. Have one.
But how does it connect with the synthesizer in the photo?