edroth | Stencil1

Recapitulation, a practice used by an ancient warrior tribe in Mexico, is the act of replenishing lost energy to oneself. Today, recapitulation is a meditation practice where, at the end of the day, you wind down by thinking in under 5 minutes all you did in that day. It’s a little bit of time to decompress, be mindful and feel your accomplishments. Well, what about applying it to an entire year?

The world moves so fast that it’s easy to get buried by the details, the emails. In thinking about 2016, we want to take stock of 2015. What did we accomplish, what do we want to do more of, what do we want to do differently, who do we want to work with?

“I think looking back at the year for anyone is empowering and keeps you going,” Ed says. “So this exercise of recapitulation is key.

As a small business owner, you wear many hats and are often overwhelmed and this exercise allows me to feel successful and energized for 2016.”

A few Stencil 1 2015 highlights:

February was a boon when we were awarded Product of the Year for our repeat pattern wallpaper stencil kit. It’s a consumer-voted award, which felt extra gratifying.

Ed continues, “Events always feel great, since we tend to work in a bubble most the time.” (Speaking of our bubble, it just got a beautiful new makeover a la The Container Store, pics and story to come soon!)

“Seeing people embrace creativity keeps me going.” Last year, Stencil 1 participated in a variety of celebrations: Clarks Shoes’ 65^th anniversary of their desert boot, a pop-up shop at Le Bon Marche in Paris, a community mural at the Brooklyn Museum for their show, Art Off the Wall: The Rise of Sneaker Culture, and a personalized T-shirt event with kids and teens in Miami at the Soho Beach House.

“I think the exercise in looking back and writing a list of your accomplishments, well, it gives you a boost for the year ahead and also reminds you of why you do what you do,” Ed says. “I design stencils and other creative tools to empower people with creativity and hopefully make them happier in some way.”

So what about you? We’d love to make this area of Stencil 1 a conversation space. Let us know what you’d like to see more of? What kinds of projects are you looking to do? How can we assist? We’ll be thinking of you in our daily recapitulation.

Okay, so you got through your clutter by organizing them in these awesome, sleek Bigso drawers. Next step is to get them labeled so you know where everything is!

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These Grey Bigso Marten Paper Drawers are not only perfect for storing papers, but also for many other tools and materials. It is super compact, while adding a touch of elegance to your office. With its perfect canvas, label these drawers using Stencil1’s 1/2 in. Tall Industrial Stencil Font stencil like how we did here!

Sophistication and organization at its finest!

Tie up your room or office space with a cork bulletin board to keep you organized, and at the same time, stylish! Cork bulletin boards are perfect to pin up your reminders and to-do lists.

Using the Shifted Rectangles repeat pattern, we stenciled an entire large cork board and placed it on a large, empty wall that definitely needed some love. This cork bulletin board will make sure you will never forget a thing!

What are some things you do to keep organized? Share it with us @Stencil1!

The Container Store provides a huge array of solutions to your cluttered spaces. With their simplistic storage products, you can decorate and personalize your space, making them your own works of art.

What better way to start the New Year than to get organized and clean up all your clutter from the year before. These whitewashed trays from The Container Store are beautiful, elegant, and can store anything from fine gold jewelry to little terrariums and air plants. They are also the perfect canvas to unleash your creativity and paint on!

Things you will need: 3 Whitewashed Wood Tapered Trays, paint and paintbrushes, painter’s tape, and Stencil1 Small Image and Pattern stencils.

Step 1. Gather your materials. Using the painter’s tape, take a long strip of tape and place it diagonally across the tray.

Step 2. With the stencil of your choice, spray some low-tack spray adhesive behind the stencil to prevent the paint from bleeding underneath the stencil. Place the stencil on the tray in your desired location. Here, we are using the Triangles Repeat Pattern.

Step 3. Grab your paint and paintbrush and start painting away! Trying using a dry brush technique by dabbing the excess paint onto a paper towel or plate and painting over the stencil, gradually intensifying the color.

Step 4. Once the paint is dry, carefully remove the stencil.

Step 5. Grab your next color. Here we used a metallic copper color to contrast the subtle gray-beige color. Paint over the other side of the tape to give your tray a look as if it was dipped in copper.