Andrew Schroeder

1. Bean. I love a good word processor. Fortunately, there seems to be an upsurge in new, ultra-functional and lightweight software for getting words out of my head via keyboard. My favorite right now is Bean. It is definitely worth a trial run for anyone that is looking for a reliable, free, fast and pretty place to record their thoughts. Although Apple’s Pages software (part of iWork) continues to be my heavy-duty, Microsoft Word replacement of choice, Bean offers that perfect “one step above textedit (or simple text for that matter)” feeling.

2. The Daily Archive. I’m inspired by Andy Warhol’s practice of collecting items in large, brown, nondescript cardboard boxes. After filling the box to the desired level, Warhol would archive them away in a warehouse. I have been trying to do the same thing with the random files, images, and videos I encounter on a daily basis. My workflow has changed so dramatically over the last year – when I log onto my computer at work in the morning, I automatically make a new folder on the desktop, titled simply with today’s date. As the day passes, clippings of various sorts drift into the folder… which is then archived to DropBox. No fancy Evernote software or massive sketchbook full of notes. Just a simple folder with a day’s worth of accumulation tucked neatly inside it.

3. Tretorn Strala Boots. Winter in Minnesota is a bitch from hell. I’ll just be honest about that. In order to survive in this climate one must indulge both the materialist and hoarder instincts that surface from December to early March. My winter splurge: exceptionally comical looking Swedish boots. Today was their first real test run… and I’ve got to say… trudging through the snow with my coffee, I felt just a bit better knowing my feet were not going to turn blue and fall off.