Are you willing to use your rough edges or create deliberate flaws to be different? Perhaps you should intentionally leave something “out” or “in” to create imperfection? This practice in Japan is called Wabi-Sabi.

Wabi-Sabi is based on the belief that nature is beautiful and nature is imperfect. Therefore, we can make objects that are beautiful without needing to make them perfectly. Furthermore, we can make them imperfect on purpose. It’s not a mistake. It’s not incompetence. It’s not poor quality control. It’s a completely different standard and a completely different goal.

For example, pottery in the wabi-sabi style might have a deliberate nick or scratch added right before it is fired. This same technique can be used in gardens or architecture. The final product might be asymmetrical (like the plates in the picture below) or seemingly unfinished.

An example of this is the current fascination with reclaimed wood from old houses, barns, and even pallets. The wood is used in furniture and on walls and in decorations because it is imperfect, not because people are unable to find new wood, free of imperfections. The resulting creations are necessarily imperfect because they are made from damaged materials.

Are you ready to be porposely inperfect?