" I got my first own apartment at the age of 18. Buying furniture into an empty, 25 square meter space, it felt like the first time I was free of any pre-existing situations out of which I would have needed to act. I had all the choices. I was overwhelmed by the excess of choice, while feeling less in control than ever. This shelf, the first piece I bought, I hung on the wall of my kitchen corner to hold my mis-matched coffee cups and an old cookbook I got from my grandmother. It was perfect in that it was both simple and pragmatic as well as changing and unfettered. It was both, control and choice. It was just what I needed. Years later, six apartments later. This shelf has lived with me. Now it’s in my boy’s room, filled with his little treasures. Building a relationship with him, as it did with me. "