I recently started a small Internet publication called Material Journal, where I post content on deliberate materialism (often keyboard-related). My professional background is in marketing and photography, including a recent stint in the exotic automobile industry.
I am intrigued by a number of material things, including keyboards, sneakers, cameras, cars, watches, and audio equipment. Mostly, however, I love the conversations they spark with like-minded individuals and the instant bonds formed via our shared interests.
My first mechanical keyboard was a Cooler Master Quickfire Rapid-i in 2015, but I took a long hiatus from the hobby until diving back in mid last year. I’m currently dailying an HHKB Hybrid and NK65 and have a lot more planned on the way.
Looking forward to learning and contributing here as much as I can!
HHKB Professional Hybrid and HHKB Professional 2 (my friend’s Pro 2 is pictured here, but I went out and bought the same model secondhand to mod after trying his)
I gotta say those are some nice pics and some nice boards!
That is definitely eye catching, is it an anodized red alu backplate or a painted red/cerakoted steel plate? I think different plate materials is something worth looking into in the future for topre!
I think your blog is definitely very clean, and I had a question about it.
Material Journal is a publication on deliberate materialism. This website was inspired by my love for material things and the conversations they spark with like-minded individuals.
What would you define as “deliberate materialism”? Would that be things like hobbies we have? How would you contrast this to “nondeliberate materialism”? I assume with the existence of one there is the existence of another lol
The paint job was done by a Redditor (who my friend bought the keyboard off of on eBay and then sold to me). He details the painting process here; the color was actually orange, but it didn’t show perfectly in photos. Back then, I’m not sure if cerakoting was as commonplace for keyboards as it is today!
I had a couple of thoughts bouncing around in my mind when I wrote that tagline. It’s something I might actually explore further in a series of blog posts, but the easiest way for me to sum it up is that everything in the arsenal must serve a purpose or be culled.
As much as I enjoy picking up new toys to try, I equally love simplifying my setup. I’m constantly straddling that point of diminishing returns in many of my hobbies, and it’s satisfying to me when a more affordable piece of gear I already own fits my needs better than something exotic I buy to try.
Nondeliberate materialism would probably be always lusting after whatever people hype up and chasing things without actually considering if they’re worth the money or suitable for your personal needs.
I’ll have to look further into Deleuze and his work (thanks for the reference), but what would your main takeaway be in regards to materialism in his philosophies?
I don’t think materialism is inherently a bad thing, especially as much as people make it out to be (“being materialistic” seems to have a negative stigma in this day and age even though society is becoming more commercialized than ever).
I think being deliberate is what separates “good” materialism from “bad” materialism. When you are deliberate, you elect who you give your money to and whether the things you buy have value to others once you are done with them.
I think this is an interesting subject in the context of this community. We are forced to be very deliberate about our materialism (keyboards) because of the high cost and method of purchasing a lot of the materials (Group Buys, Preorders).
