Issue 57 – Comfort & Luxury
“Luxury is the ease of a t-shirt in a very expensive dress.”
― Karl Lagerfeld
Luxury’s a funny one, isn’t it? It’s a nebulous little word, as unapologetic in its uniqueness as it is indefinable in its scale. Contrary to popular belief, I think there’s something wholesome about the concept of luxury. Something worth celebrating. Luxury not as excess, you understand, but as comfort; as reward. Luxury is that gift to yourself; it’s the warmth of others; it’s that item, product, or ritual that takes you to that fuzzy space. Luxury is the calm-inducing, zen-evoking centre of something that’s all yours. Unless, of course, it’s shared. Which, as we know, is a luxury in and of itself.
Luxury can be found in both the escape away and the return home. Luxury needn’t cost much. Luxury is an open book in front of an open fire alongside an open bottle of whisky. It’s a dog walk on Sunday afternoon before the madness of a Monday morning. For some, luxury is the madness of that Monday morning.
For others, luxury is quite the opposite: it’s a dirty word that brings nothing but mild distraction; a false sense of purpose in the pursuit of something they don’t really need. That’s fine too. Being free to have your own opinion in a world rife with increasingly confused noise and poorly-aimed, mismanaged anger can also feel like something of a luxury too, nowadays. But that’s a tangent for another page, another day, another year. Maybe.
And speaking of years, what you have in front of you just so happens to be the last issue of the present year. 2020, in case you’d somehow forgotten. 2020. What a year. What a ride. What a trip. What a cockup. Suffice it to say there have been a few bumps and interruptions along the way. But to the movers, shakers, crafters and makers that have contributed to this year’s issues, and to the wonderful folk who have gone out of their way to read them, I extend a heartfelt ‘thank you’. Working with, and for, you all hasn’t just been a luxury, it’s been an absolute privilege.
With best wishes from myself and Team EJ, we’ll see you next year.
Enjoy.
