we need to talk about 'the Ikea effect'

Our furniture habits have a hidden meaning, and honestly? I'm excited about it.

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[EllieRoseMcKee]

Sometimes I wonder if I live in some kind of alternate universe because I don’t find Ikea instructions hard to follow and I’ve never had a piece of their furniture break on me. Even the bookshelves we’ve had nearly ten years and moved house with—still brilliant condition. I use my Ikea desk every single day and it is perfect. No bad quality here.

[sonjadengler]

The shot of you chatting with a stranger on the train because you were both knitting delighted me.

[victoriajohn]

I would DEFINITELY listen to a podcast/audio only of you chatting chill like this about various topics. So thoughtful and also calming whilst talking crunchy topics. 🧡

[enjay]

I do sometimes think Ikea gets a bad rap of being the fast fashion of furniture. No, it's not likely to be in an antiques shop at any time in the future, but I have furniture from them which is 15+ years old and still going strong. I sometimes think it's more the consumer's belief in it being fast furniture which makes them think it's so easily interchangeable. Loved the video.

[annalizer]

So true! I too have an English degree, and focused on academics for most of my life, but I am now retraining to be a gardener. I was very unhappy in my office job, even more so when the pandemic hit, and recovered from burnout by being outside and making stuff with my hands. I really enjoy learning about plants, pavements and power tools. It's not been easy being a woman in a very male dominated field, but it's so much less stressful than having to meet deadlines all the time, and I sleep so much better after having done hard manual labour all day. Funnily enough, I am also a sewist, and workwear (not in the office power suit sense, but in the tradesperson sense) has also given me a new perspective on clothes. It's constructed to last and to wash well, it has loads of pockets, loops for tools etc, and it has loads of reinforcements. Although these clothes are also mass produced, they are a world away from shoddily constructed fast fashion pieces. It's also very freeing to dress for utility, since it really doesn't matter how I look when I'm at work. Yet good workwear also makes me feel much more capable. It's comfortable and it looks pretty good on me, but it's not sexy in the traditional sense. Anyway, I guess this is just my way of saying that doing things and feeling the ikea effect can be facilitated both by making clothes and by wearing the right clothes for the job.

[BryonyClaire]

I guess it's because of the fact i didn't grow up with money, but knowing how to do things myself was the only way i could live, i learned how to cook at a v young age, washing, cleaning, fixing things, all of that, but in order to be "socially acceptable" to my middle class peers, i learned how to do so many other things myself to try and fit in, from sewing, to my nails, to my hair and makeup. I've always had admiration for people who can do things themselves and saw them as very skilled, but like you point out, classism doesn't value handiwork as its not "the right kind of intelligence" that university gives, knowing how to do things yourself doesn't shift class, and I'm glad people are starting to shift away from the mindset that changing class isn't the main goal anymore, it's pretty icky that it ever was the main goal

[socpancake]

you should add “a thoughtful, soothing, poetic, and inspiring piece of vlog art” to the list of things you’re actually quite capable of making

[CiaoBellaBee]

I got positively influenced by Ariel Blissett to make my own bookshelves this year. I’ve always wanted built ins in the alcove by the fireplace but could really justify the cost of hiring someone to do it. Then watching her I realised I could give it a go myself.
I’m also planning on trying to repair my garden fence myself too. It is really satisfying to do something by your own hand and be able to say “yep, I did that”

[yarnweasel]

Such a gorgeous video Leena. My degree was in textiles, and I specialised in weaving, so it’s the only time in my life I’ve really had that sense you talk about of making something from start to finish. Weaving is a very special, meditative process that feels physically innate in a way that’s hard to describe. You would love the process, I think - spinning yarn from scraps of fibre and weaving it thread by thread into a cloth to do whatever you like with. Creating dyes from fruit and vegetable scraps and plants you can find on your doorstep. Would love to see you explore some of these things as you go along your fibre and self sufficiency journey!

[StephBer]

Whatever you do Leena, never stop learning. I'm 61 and gave up work 4 years ago, for a while. The first year was great but then Covid hit, no-one was hiring an old lady (it didn't help that we moved cities as well) and so it's now been 4 years since I've worked. We are fine financially, but I'm brain dead. I don't want to study. I want to do woodworking but my husband gets grumpy about it, as I'm also ADHD, and pick up and put down things all the time. I can understand his viewpoint, as he always thinks 'the professional should do it' but, honestly, wouldn't it be great to build your own shelving? I think it's also because he HATES anything handyman, he even hates building Ikea furniture! I've decided that this year I'm do it. Thanks Leena. ♥

[iStacieN]

I found this format very calming and cosy ❤️

[vintagecameragirl]

I've been a volunteer in a charity shop now for nearly 8 years, I'm disabled and have been 20 years, the joy of feeling useful was enough for me to keep going in.

But one thing I learnt while there is just how much people need 'business'. All the (mostly ladies) I work with have lost their full time employment, either from retirement, or like me illness, and they all came to the shop because they needed something to do.
We share skills, stories, laughs.
I'm glad that the skills we talk about aren't lost, the knitting, the sewing, decorating.

And it's kinda heart warming to know these skills aren't lost, but regrowing.

[rocioiribe]

i was at work watching this video so it was not so convenient that your video made me think of my Mexican background and how when i was little my grandmother and other friends of the family used to crochet (i think is the term) these beautiful colorful napkins or tablecloths or placemats and i almost bust into tears.

the idea that i just accepted that "yea people just don't do that anymore" (like my mom told me) or that "yea good luck learning how to make that" (like when i expressed interest in learning to make a traditional dish) or that i'm truly sad my grandmother isn't around to teach me anymore made me so deeply sad. but like i can teach myself and think of it as honoring them in some small small, yet powerful way.

omg thank you for this video.

[carolcvargas]

it feels fitting that I just stopped working on renovating my room to watch this video while I eat the vegetarian food I cooked for myself. all new things I'm learning how to do this year: cooking, being a vegetarian, painting, sanding, screwing shelves etc

[PointSoldiers]

Ive been a digital artist since I was 12 and last year, age 30 I started sewing (quilting) and never looked back. The tangible, physicality of creating something REAL and practical is so gratifying and soul fulfilling. Its like therapy. Creating something with my hands and gifting it to others feels so human. Digital and online hobbies just can't replace it. I really identified with this video.

[zabmcauley]

This was not the video I expected from the title and i still loved it

[MeldaRavaniel]

6:31 i took a sheep sheering class at my local farm festival and it was really neat and challenging. I've since learned that I have natural limits of the artisan stuff I can do because I'm really allergic to hay and barns, but I now have friends who do that part, so it's cool to know I'm a part of that chain, and to know the people in it.

Thanks for continuing to give us hope.
Also, have you picked up "not the end of the world" yet? It seems right up your no books in a... Alley. It's in my library hold list.

[martevandergraaf]

I rarely comment on videos, but just had to say that I adored this so much

[Jip-en-Janne]

This is such a good video! If I would have a platform I would shove this video in everyone’s face.
This is actually a very interesting topics for me as a disabled person. I am unable to work or pursue academics due to my invisible illness, but what I can do is spend my days at home on YouTube learning anything I could ever want. And I find myself mostly learning how to make stuff. How to sew (by hand or machine), how to knit, how to crochet, how to embroider, how to bead, how to felt (wet and dry), how to carve a spoon out of a stick of even how to make pottery without a kiln like our ancestors did. I am learning and making stuff and learning the history of those items that shape our day to day.
I am 25, I don’t have a degree and I don’t work. I’m young, but I can’t party or explore the world. I have “failed” in so many ways, yet if you look further than our cultures current voice I am getting pretty far. I make art, learned to think critically, have good conversations and support my community where I can. But also I know how to make my own clothes from scratch and how I could make my own shoes. I know how to keep my plants alive and grow my own food. Create a practical homely space to live in. How to make the pots to cook in, make utensils to eat with. All things that have become hobbies for most of us yet give us such a strong connection to the world around us and shape how we want to interact with it. There is so much unseen a value in there.
I want to add that’s it’s my privilege that I get disability pay that allows me to do this. I am very aware that not everyone has

[CorinneDemyanovich]

This was very therapeutic to watch. ❤️‍🩹