The idea of knolling is simple: it’s the practice of arranging objects on a flat surface in a grid-like pattern to create visual harmony. Think of a perfectly organized toolbox or a beautifully laid-out workbench. It’s an act of ordering which makes me feel calm and focused.
But what if you didn’t have to find order? What if I created it from scratch?
I always have wood cut offs and found myself in the shop, cutting and sanding them into different shapes and sizes. It ended as a set of simple, smooth wooden “rocks.”
Then I placed them on a small tray on my kitchen table, arranging them in a clean, grid.
When I felt overwhelmed or my handed needed to do something, I found myself going to the tray, knocking the rocks over, and then carefully balancing and stacking them.
It was a tangible, low-stakes way to engage my hands and mind without the baggage of real-world tasks. I wasn’t trying to organize the chaos of my life; I was creating a temporary order.
The prototype set I made for my daughter became a tool for her to play, calm down, and focus. Now, I’m developing a full set of Knolling Rocks to share with others. My hope is that they can be a simple, beautiful tool for anyone looking for a moment of calm and focus.
The world is full of things to be done and problems to be solved. Sometimes, what we really need is a simple, beautiful problem we can solve with our own hands. Something we can knock over, rearrange, and put back together again—just for the joy of it.
Tim B Studio 