About tobekeep

A white greeting card in an open envelope with the word 'Hello' on it, placed on a table next to cutlery and a plate, with shadows of leaves creating a pattern on the tablecloth.
A woman with short dark hair wearing glasses and a white button-up shirt, looking at the camera.

tobekeep is a sensory lab for auditing the scripts we live by.

Less curation. More perception.

Two pieces of paper, one with the words 'See You Soon' in cursive and the other with 'to be' in cursive, against a dark background.

The Origin: An Inventory Failure

The realisation didn't strike me in a library, but standing in front of my own wardrobe. It was full, yet I had "nothing to wear." As a Product Manager, I recognised the symptoms immediately:

poor inventory management.

I wasn't looking at clothes. I was looking at a collection of costumes for roles I no longer intended to play. The issue wasn't the fabric; it was the lack of a standard.

The Shift: From Diet to Data

Around the same time, I ran a pragmatic experiment on my own biology: a strict, clean keto protocol. I stopped taking the marketing on the front of the packet as read, and started analysing the ingredient liston the back.

The result wasn't just physical weight loss; it was mental silence. By controlling the input, I stabilised the system. This taught me a critical lesson: Evidence-led consumption creates order. If I wouldn't let inflammatory ingredients into my body, why was I allowing inflammatory objects into my flat?

A black and white photo showing a row of shot glasses on a table, with some people in the background.
A wooden table and chair in sunlight casting shadows through window bars.
A person's hand holding a large insulated tumbler with an open lid, containing a cold beverage with ice cubes, in an indoor setting.
A person taking a mirror selfie, wearing a light-colored sweater, dark pants, sneakers, and a small bag with a face design. The setting appears to be indoors with a staircase in the background.

The Lens: Why I Watch What You Buy

My work sits at the intersection of Fashion Photography and Consumer Psychology. I spent years behind a camera, framing the perfect image, before moving behind the data to understand why we need that image to exist.

After seven years building a brand and managing product lifecycles in the luxury secondary market, I don’t just see a handbag. I see:

  • The Construct: The architectural reality of the object—material, craft, and the honest cost-per-wear.

  • The Shadow: The hidden part of the psyche (insecurity, the desire for status, the need for armour) that the object is attempting to compensate for.

What You'll Find Here tobekeep

is not about performative minimalism. We don't just "bin things." We audit them.

  • The Papers: Deconstructing the commercial scripts that tell us who to be.

  • The Lab: Sensory experiments—taste, touch, and data—to discover what actually feels good, rather than what merely looks the part.

  • The Projects: Utility tools for living with your eyes open.

The Point Every purchase is a psychological vote. By examining the "shadow" motivations behind our choices, we turn impulse into insight. Audit the noise. Keep the truth.

R.
tobekeep

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