About this site

I'm Jay — a product designer by trade, an obsessive about beautifully made objects by nature. This site is where I write about the things I actually own, use, and love.

The Good Life isn't a product comparison site. There are no star ratings, no value-for-money scores, no "best budget alternative" sections. Every product I review is something I've spent real time with, something I'd replace without hesitation if it broke. If it's here, I genuinely think it's worth owning.

"Buy fewer things. Buy better things. Use them until they can't be used."

That's the philosophy behind everything on this site. I'm not interested in the latest release cycle, or products that are designed to be replaced in two years. I'm interested in the Opinel knife that works as well on day one thousand as it did on day one. The garden trowel that will outlast me. The notebook that just gets out of the way.

What I look for

• — Materials. Natural where possible. Wood, leather, steel, linen. Things that age well rather than deteriorating.
• — Repairability. Can you get a replacement part? Is there a skilled craftsperson who can fix it? That matters.
• — Country of origin. Not a fetish, but provenance and manufacturing standards often travel together.
• — Timelessness. Will it look right in twenty years? If the answer depends on what's trending, probably not.
• — Personal use. I only review things I've actually owned and used. No press samples.

Affiliate links

Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you click one and buy something, I may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you. This doesn't influence what I recommend: I only write about things I already own and love, and the affiliate link comes after the opinion, not before.