Shelfie Secrets For Domestic Harmony

Chiswick writer on the psychological benefits of having favourite objects in sight

People underestimate the impact that having favourite objects in sight as part of their daily lives can have on their happiness levels.

That is the view of local author Martha Roberts, who has just written the first book on 'shelfies', the art of stylish arrangements of flowers, photos, crafting ephemera, perfume bottles – and of course books.

There are now close to a million “shelfie” images on Instagram. As a decorating trend and social media phenomenon it originally emerged in response to the clutter-clearing movement but Martha is the first person to write a book on the subject.

The idea originated out of her passion for taking photographs of colourful things, whether an item picked up at Chiswick Car Boot Sale, or photographs of shells from the beach. She was unaware of the concept of the 'shelfie' as a movement but was encouraged by her agent to bring her ideas together into a book.

"The book came about by accident really, as I was planning on writing something completely different, but I see the 'selfie' photograph which we are all familiar with as a form of self expression, and a 'shelfie' is also a representation of self, but in a more subtle way. Organising a shelfie is a sort of active mindfulness, and it's ideal for people like me who are too busy to actually sit still and be mindful. Concentrating on making a shelfie does lower your anxiety levels."

Martha has written on the subject of colour and psychology for YOU magazine, the Daily Mail, the Guardian, Glamour and Sunday Express. She is a columnist at Psychologies magazine where she has written about evidence-based ways of achieving happiness and now writes about colour and how it makes us think and act.

"My constant in life is colour. I'm forever thinking about it, a bit like people who go to bed and read cookery books, I'll be in bed reading about colours and wondering how to put them together."

Martha believes her interest in colour was originally inspired by her childhood growing up in Wales and particularly by her father, who was a scientist but also a painter.

Her blog, thecolourfile com, was shortlisted for the Amara Interior Blog Awards 2017 in the Best Colour Inspiration Category (sponsored by Farrow & Ball). She takes on private commissions for bespoke shelf art and is planning on setting up colour workshops locally.

The book is available on Amazon and can be ordered at Waterstones in Chiswick. It is published by Octopus, an imprint of Mitchel Beazley publishers.

You can follow Martha on Instagram. or Twitter.

August 10, 2018