An organised life with Leah from The Minimalist + Slabs by Design

Interior stylist Leah Taylor is the latest inspiring individual to be featured for 'An Organised Life With...'

Founder of The Minimalist & Slabs By Design, Leah has a knack for discovering unique, minimalistic products & designers from around the globe that adhere to her ethos of quality craftsmanship, good + thoughtful design and manufacturing with a conscience.

We had the pleasure of visiting Leah's home + studio space in Sydney’s Surry Hills (in the building formerly known as Porters Paints). As you can imagine, Leah's workspace is styled to perfection with a mix of her own Slab By Design pieces and brands from The Minimalist store.

We also chatted to Leah about how it all began, what she has learnt along the way & what she can't live without at her desk....

Name:

Leah Taylor

Occupation:

Interior Designer, Stylist and owner of The Minimalist and Slabs by Design.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN…

I have always had a love for beautiful and unique pieces. When I was freelancing, and working on interior fit outs for residential and commercial spaces, I loved sourcing different fittings and accessories from international designers. As I was discovering and using them in the spaces I was working on, I found many people were asking me ‘Where can I get that?!’. This sparked the idea of starting a small online boutique, The Minimalist, where people could purchase these special finds.

BIGGEST PINCH ME MOMENT…

The first time I saw one of my products styled in a magazine.

Being featured twice on one of my favourite design blogs - The Design Files.

Having the Minimalist Showroom featured in the latest Monocle Sydney travel guide!

BIGGEST LESSON I’VE LEARNT ALONG THE WAY…

So many, it’s been a huge learning curve for me to go from designer and stylist to shop keeper, and I have even more to learn now that I’ve taken on a second business – Slabs By Design. It’s a very exciting journey with a lot of hard work, but nothing that’s worth it comes easy.

I’M INSPIRED BY…

Designer and stylist Annaleena Lieno and stylist Lotta Agaton are my inspiration and style icons.

BIGGEST PIECE OF ADVICE…

Embrace uncertainty and listen to your gut.

ORGANISED TO ME MEANS….

Writing lists and ticking things off, setting small and achievable goals and keeping things neat.

I’m obsessed with Kon Mari, who offers so many methods of ‘de cluttering’ in a mindful, introspective, and optimistic way. I’m adopting as many of her methods as I can and it’s been life changing.

THE TOP 3 WAYS I ORGANISE MY LIFE ARE…

- Using the Wunderlist App to create lists and stay on top of the different tasks I need to complete each week, I have separate to-do lists for almost everything.

- Dropbox, I store everything I can in dropbox to reduce office and desktop clutter. But it also allows me to share things with others easily.

- I make my bed each morning, no matter what, I find the little things like that help set the tone for the day.

I CAN’T LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT…

My iPhone, my keys, a bag or clutch - All of which I feel naked without.

AT THE MOMENT YOU’LL FIND THE BELOW ON MY DESK…

A couple of crystals, that change depending on what I feel I need most that day, lip balm, a notepad, Masion Balzac 1642 candle, and typically about 7 different pens, I of course have my An Organised Life Dairy, which I am continually writing my to-do lists as well as noting my new designer finds to add to the showroom.