THE THINGS WE KEEp, 2026

A researched publication exploring how objects carry memory and identity. Through personal anecdotes, design theory, and case studies from museums and designers, this publication explores the relationship between collecting and preserving, both within personal and institutional contexts. What objects do we keep? What gets displayed? Whose stories are worth remembering? Whose are overlooked? The research draws on my own experience visiting my family home in China this past summer, as well as work by Michael McMillan, Peter Grego, and institutions such as The Museum of the Home and the Design Museum. Value in objects is not necessarily derived from design itself, but rather the lived relationships and contexts that the objects exist in. Design and curatorial practices have a responsibility to make space for the everyday, underrepresented stories, expanding beyond traditionally valued histories.