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August 31, 2018

We know you love a book giveaway, so we've got a real treat in store. We've recently featured one book that examines how we navigate life and loss through making lists; and a book full of delightful ways to style your table and create wholesome, beautiful food. This month we are thrilled to be offering three lucky readers the chance to win a copy of Beth Kempton's gorgeous new book (released yesterday), Wabi Sabi signed by the author.

beth kempton wabi sabi

Beth is a life coach and author whose mission is to help you live the best life you can. She has heaps of experience working with individuals and businesses to explore what they hope - and love - to do, and to find ways to achieve those goals. Beth is also a life-long fan of Japanese culture, philosophy and aesthetics having spent many years living and working in Japan. In Wabi Sabi Beth distills the wisdom she's gathered through her work and draws on traditional Japanese teachings. It looks completely wonderful.

The concept of wabi sabi means embracing imperfection and accepting impermanence. The idea of celebrating imperfections chimes with our love of linen fabric: it's a fabric with its own character, with inherent crumples and texture; it's not pristine yet it's beautiful and comforting and timeless. Instead of succumbing to the seemingly relentless pressure to have 'perfect' homes, and lives, Beth's message is all about finding passion and happiness with things just as they are.

How to enter

Looking for ways to see beauty in imperfection, to slow down and live more simply, finding more joy and inspiration in your life? Just leave your name in the comments below, and tell us an example of something perfectly imperfect in your life right now. The deadline is 5pm on 21st September.

To get you going, here's an example from the LinenMe copy desk: our garden. After a freezing winter and then a hot summer with hardly any rain and even less time, the garden has reverted to a rather wild and unkempt state. Whilst part of us yearns to bring order to the borders, there's something free and beautiful about the way the brambles are taking over, about the wild strawberries popping up in new places and the plum tree bending with the weight of its unpicked autumn bounty. In true wabi sabi style we are accepting that right now that's ok, and it's actually quite liberating.

What's your perfectly imperfect thing?

Competition is closed. The winners are: Penelope Jenkins, Kay and Maxine G. We'll contact all the winners individually.

 

linenme_19
2018-09-22

Competition is closed. The winners are: Penelope Jenkins, Kay and Maxine G.

Chris Ann
2018-09-21

A few days ago I read the comments posted at that time...I found the wisdom and grace that your commenters shared to be such a gift.
My addition is that my voice, far from perfect brings others Joy and I like to sing - so this is a win win for me...

Katherine
2018-09-17

I’m afraid, I have a health problem I can’t face up to, but at the same time my dearly beloved husband is recovering slowly but surely from surgery. I sit here on the bed whilst he sleeps next to me. I should be doing things, so much to do. But I am content. Right here, right now this is a good place to be.

Debby
2018-09-16

One of our two cats would be my perfectly imperfect choice - he is fiercely independent, doesn't like being picked up and isn't too keen on being stroked either - can be a bit grumpy and would scratch and bite if anyone pushed their luck trying to touch him. He just about tolerates our other cat, often only turns up for meals before going out again so we don't see him for long sometimes. Jack is friendly with the fox family that visit nightly and always singles out one fox as a best friend - strange cat but we love him and as long as he seems happy and healthy we just go with the flow!

helena
2018-09-16

sad time in our family dad died funeral last week

Carole
2018-09-16

Starting and running my own perfectly imperfect business.

Natasha
2018-09-15

Leaving London life and moving to the seaside, it’s a big change, but exciting new chapter

Zurine Ortiz
2018-09-15

Living in Kumamoto Japan is a perfect imperfection.

Sarah
2018-09-15

My hair is completely wild and untameable and I absolutely love it

Cheryl
2018-09-15

We are currently renovating our home and most of our household items are packed and in storage. That means we are living with two sets of most things – towels, sheets, place settings , glasswear, coats, boots, and mittens for our snowy September weather. Our imperfect situation is working perfectly to date.

Isabelle Kim
2018-09-15

At the moment, the messy workroom in my house is perfectly imperfect. As a working-at-home mother, cleaning up the workroom is usually put aside as the last job to do.

Cheryl
2018-09-15

We are currently renovating our home and most of our household items are packed and in storage. That means we are living with two sets of most things - towels, sheets, place settings , glasswear, coats, boots, and mittens for our snowy September weather. Our imperfect situation is working perfectly to date.

In reply to by Isabelle Kim (not verified)

Katrin
2018-09-15

My perfectly imperfect weekend, not having any duties but filling my batteries by doing only what just comes into my mind

Dian Parker
2018-09-15

Perfectly imperfect first draft of my novel.

Karen
2018-09-12

Perfectly imperfect ... when my normally happy teenage son is cranky or ever so slightly rude, I know to give him space to air his feelings...

David
2018-09-14

My garden. . . . bug eaten squash and high summer mildew on the leaves of the vegetables. But I love it!

In reply to by Karen (not verified)

Nikoline
2018-09-07

It must be my small apartment that I share with my roomie. It is horrible but perfect in the same time. I think we will love to think back on this time 20 years from now.

Paula
2018-09-06

My perfectly imperfect with emotions and anxiety inside of me covered by a perfect look on the outside

Louise Smith
2018-09-04

My face; as I age the signs of my perfectly imperfect attitude to life begin to show in frown lines but also in lots of beautiful smile and laughter lines too :-)

Dèsirée
2018-09-04

My perfectly imperfect in my life is my beautiful 22 year old autistic daughter, she is such an inspiration to me and so strong in trying to combat her ‘issues’ - imperfect, but perfect!

Penelope Jenkins
2018-09-03

My body. I've had lots of operations over the years and have scars on my legs and back to prove it. But I think they make me perfectly imperfect!

Kate Castle
2018-09-02

My home made strawberry jam which didn’t set this year but is still imperfectly perfect on rice pudding, ice cream and yogurt.

Imelda Moss
2018-09-01

My body, now after having 2 children by natural birth - I think I’ve never looked or felt better.
I embrace all its saggy bits, stretch marks, uneven skin tone and fuzzy bits(!)
And I want my 2 girls to grow up embracing their bodies too and owning their imperfections because that is what makes us all special.

Julie
2018-09-01

Managing to fit everything into every day is perfectly imperfect - trying to make everyone happy and then still finding 30 minutes at the end of the day to relax and reflect.

Nadina Wand
2018-09-01

I find being a mother to my beautiful three children is a perfectly imperfect journey. It is a path of self-discovery, as much as it is a discovery of the shaping and growth of a human being. Every day I am keenly aware of how every word and gesture can add another facet to the creation of a unique and wonderful person.

Patricia
2018-09-01

On a low hanging branch of the old Douglas Fir, just in front of my window, generations of Bush Tits, knit a "sock" nest. Every spring for ten years, always on the same branch ,they return to delight me as they reconstruct with found materials and the wool I leave for them to line their nest.

Ruth Wollerton
2018-09-01

My garden whilst it’s my relaxing haven, it’s imperfect but it’s mine.

Denise
2018-09-01

What could be more perfectly imperfect than an illness that makes you stop, slow down and notice, appreciate and love everything around you, make you want to live more whilst slowly taking that life away. Bittersweetness everyday.

Katie Skeoch
2018-09-01

My baby blankets I had made from my boys baby outfits, perfectly imperfect!

Kay
2018-09-01

Grandma's home. Perfectly imperfect as a whirlwind of a delightful bichon frise is here for the weekend!

Maxine G
2018-09-01

the 'weeds' in my garden which are beautiful and colourful and attracting lots of wildlife!

Jane Willis
2018-08-31

My handmade greetings cards. I simply NEVER get everything perfectly lined up - something is always slightly wonky. But I remind myself, that just goes to prove they aren't mass produced. People still love them.

Diane
2018-08-31

All the vintage leather I use to make notebooks and pen cases - I love the crackles and branding marks.

Valentina
2018-08-31

My imperfect perfect choice how to live my life. I know a lot of people are unhappy with me right now for ignoring them, not making time to meet, go out. My choice not to be active on social media but to spend my energy on my kids now that they are home for the summer, enjoy my own home, prepare my own meals and my need to recharge my own batteries.

Celene Wyman
2018-08-31

My morning chai with milked hazelnuts in a white mug made in Italy with a white on white rooster embossed on the front has some dark spots and fine cracks on the inside. Evidence of many sunrises on my front porch with a warm cup of tea. It has warmed my hands many chilly mornings.

helen
2018-08-31

My early attempts at spinning alpaca fleece resulted in knobbly brown soft yarn, imperfect for most things but perfect in my garden - soft to tie, strong and beautifully camouflaged amongst the plants.

Helen Smith
2018-08-31

My perfectly imperfect is my random placed linen cushions scattered on my sofa with a cuppa and IPad with smooth jazz piano music in the background ..by candle light if a dark dreary day.

Peggy
2018-08-31

My perfectly imperfect moment has been that an extremely hot and humid summer has kept me away from the beach. Though I have spent time this summer on the beach, its not nearly as much. I have always been a "summer" girl, but this summer I have found some refreshing relaxation in my hammock enjoying the swinging motion and the sky and the shade!

adele knight
2018-08-31

My overgrown, messy garden, but it's the perfect place for me to sit with a cuppa and good book!

Tarek Midani
2018-08-31

My wife and I are in the midst of decluttering our home. Most people where we live think that you need a larger home to accommodate all of your things rather than purging what isn't necessary and enjoying the space that you live in.

Joanne Clapham
2018-08-31

My Florida perfectly imperfect garden with the lizards in action eating their mosquitos.

Debora
2018-08-31

My perfectly imperfect body on the wheelchair. I still love the life and the beauty around me

Natalie goatley
2018-08-31

My perfectly imperfect handbag which is absolutely full to the brim with all sorts of wonders, and yet I can never find a single item when I need it. My bank card is buried so deeply in a pile of lipsticks, old parking tickets, keys for things I can no longer remember, a nail file (somewhere) that most of the time, I choose not to use it rather than to spend fifteen mins a time rummaging through my bag to locate it.. and what else? I don’t even know and yet I do know that it is Overflowing with personal belongings that I could never go anywhere without ☺️

Erika Laughlin
2018-08-31

in the slow down and appreciate all the little kindnesses shown each day mode

Thais FK
2018-08-31

Our bedroom and the undone bed on a Sunday morning. Even though I’m a control freak, that piece of imperfection and disorder in life gives me inner peace.

Milka Foa
2018-08-31

My perfectly imperfect home: a perfectly messy one - not really a cover home, yet comfortable and welcoming

Marzena N
2018-08-31

My perfectly imperfect post pregnancy body.

Anna Örvarsson
2018-08-31

This land where I live -- near the Arctic Circle -- so incredibly harsh and nearly uninhabitable, but so breathtakingly fragile and beautiful. It is so humbling.

Liza Green
2018-08-31

The last few overblown pale pink roses on my climbing rose bush, delicate and yet robust, looking more like a beautiful textile installation than a growing, living thing.

Marzena N
2018-08-31

My perfectly imperfect post pregnancy body.

In reply to by Liza Green (not verified)

Jennifer Dillon
2018-08-31

My perfectly imperfect or, imperfectly perfect thing in my life is my slightly messy, vibrant, generous and beautiful gardens in my back yard. Raised boxes of beautiful herbs-lemon balm, lemon basil, three types of lavender, dill, thyme, cilantro, so many...the lovely vegetables: heirloom tomatoes from seeds my grandmother and aunt gave me, French lettuce, greens, fifteen types of sweet peppers, seven types of hot peppers..and now the second crop is taking off and we will have fresh vegetables to the first hard freeze! When I see our neighbours come over to help themselves from the incredible bounty (and nothing wasted, not even mountains of squash), all seems right with the world.

Mona
2018-08-31

My wardrobe! Nothing in ordrer, but stil some kind of peace over it...

Jacqueline Seed
2018-08-31

The joy of feeling linen yarn in my hands whilst crocheting, producing a unique fabric that enhances the slubs and beautiful imperfections of this beautiful fibre.

Anna
2018-08-31

My sewing projects.. always working on letting go of perfection and embracing good enough..

Paola
2018-08-31

My garden!

Betty
2018-08-31

My life.....perfectly imperfect

Loes v. D.
2018-08-31

Perfectly imperfect: The organization in my fridge. I know exactly where everything lives, but it's never in a logical order.

Marsha Lake
2018-08-31

My garden hedge , views from my bed.. perfect imperfection

Linda Clift
2018-08-31

My perfectly imperfect thing at the moment is a story kantha quilt I am stitching from distressed antique fabrics unsuitable for anything else , as an heirloom for my first grandchild yet to be born

Deb
2018-08-31

My bathroom

Amanda
2018-08-31

Perfectly imperfect...in my current stage of life, I’d have to say, being a homeschool mom.

Julie Mellor
2018-08-31

My perfectly crumpled linen sheets in my perfectly imperfect combination of Chinese furniture and Indian tapestry bedroom

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