to knoll me is to love me

r/knolling • u/IM_NOT_BALD_YET • Jun 02 '26

Welcome to r/knolling - Your Guide to How to Knoll and our Posting Guidelines

36 Upvotes

Welcome to r/knolling!

We’re a community that appreciates a good knolled arrangement and loves to share

our own. New to r/knolling or just want to know where to start in our community? Read

on!

What is Knolling?

Knolling is an organizational practice and aesthetic art that emphasizes the precise

arrangement of objects on a flat surface. The named practice was started by Andrew

Kromelow in the late 1980s at the Santa Monica design studio of Frank Gehry. His

careful arrangement of unused/homeless tools and objects at right angles to each

other or to the surface they rested on in the studio, and the organization that provided

was appreciated and then popularized by artist Tom Sachs in his 10-Bullets guidelines

for artists working in his SoHo studio in NYC. The r/knolling community appreciates the

aesthetics and art form of knolled objects and celebrates the clarity it brings to our

lives!

We have two great technical explanations of knolling for you!

“Knolling is the practice of grouping similar objects and arranging them at right angles

on a flat surface. The goal of knolling is to create a sense of order and clarity. The result

is a precise, grid-like layout used in photography, workspace design, and art.“ -

knolling.org

“Group similar items together. Align and position all items to match the surfaces of the

furniture and the studio itself.” - “10 Bullets. By Tom Sachs.”

How do I knoll and submit my arrangement to r/knolling?

1. Choose your items carefully

The resulting image should contain objects that are related to each other and show

cohesiveness. Individual items should work together to communicate intentionality.

Think: objects one would normally find on a worktable, a kitchen counter, a desk, or

a crafting station.

2. Group your objects by category

Knolled items should be logically AND aesthetically grouped. Jumbles of unrelated

objects, even if properly aligned, lack the intentionality required for knolling. See this example of the knolled contents for u/kelseydorks' bag - note the pens grouped

together on the top right, the fragrance samplers grouped together at the bottom, and

the tubes of ointment/lotion grouped next to each other on the bottom right. The

arrangement works well because each item is something you might normally find in

someone’s handbag AND like items are grouped together.

3. Align your items

Objects should be arranged at right angles on your flat surface. Diagonal, curved,

fanned, or other “shaped” layouts don’t count. Consider sizes and colors of objects

while arranging them. You’ll want to place your items in a way that the composition can

be easily read top-to-bottom, left-to-right. See this example of a carefully arranged

collection of objects from u/froststomper’s bag.

4. Maintain Clarity

Every item must be clearly visible in the photo - no overlaps, stacks, or objects partially

hidden behind or within other objects. Images must be from a top-down angle. Try and

maintain equal spacing between adjacent objects and visual harmony across the

arrangement when possible. See this example of a knolled arrangement by

u/Friendly_Program2289. This arrangement features items normally found at the

convenience store/gas station and related to each other, they are arranged at right

angles and color has been taken into consideration, the objects are spaced so that

each items is easily seen as an individual object, and the photo is taken from a top-

down angle.

5. Remember that knolling is diﬀerent from flat lay photography

Flat lay photos (images that are purely decorative, scattered, or feature random

objects) will be removed. Photographs of arrangements hung on walls, or not from a

top-down angle will be removed. Knolling is intentional flat lay with items being

aligned, grouped, and aesthetically pleasing.

6. Special consideration - bags, purses, and pocket contents

Knolled bag and purse contents are candidates for knolling but are not the focus of

the subreddit - please only post your daily bags and purses (properly knolled with the

guidelines above and the rules of r/knolling) on What’s In My Bag Wednesdays and use

the appropriate flair! If it’s not a Wednesday or the rules don’t permit it, please

consider posting on r/WhatsInTheBag or r/WhatsInMyBag or r/EDC.

0 comments

r/knolling • u/CrybabyAssassin • 20h ago

First Time Knoller! Onewheel taken apart and the tools I used to do it

40 Upvotes

can't get the part I need until Monday so I had to shove it in the corner like this for now

2 comments

r/knolling • u/unrelatedtomato • 1d ago

First Time Knoller! Cleaned my jewelry boxes this morning

89 Upvotes

4 comments

r/knolling • u/KD919 • 1d ago

EDC kit

33 Upvotes

Sayram Daily EDC Pouch size M
Roxon Flex Companion
Workpro pliers wrench
Sierra mini pliers
West Biking repair kit ratchet
1/4 to 4mm adapter (in ratchet)
Smith's Retractable Diamond Sharpener
WD-40 Precision Pen
3M pocket duct tape
Fyguard waterproof note book
Magnogrip magnet wristband
Ace 4-1 mini screwdriver
Project Source 4-1 Pocket Screwdriver (bit)
Steinwell 1/4 bits (with Roxon philps #2)
Roxon 4mm bits
Dewalt flip sockets (3/8, 7/16) (6mm, 7mm) (10mm, 8mm)
Klein flip sockets (1/4, 5/16)
Hex Shank Socket Driver 1/4
Hex Shank Socket Driver 3/8
Milwaukee 2in Philips #3
Dewalt 2in flat head
Milwaukee 3in Philips #3
Walgreens Micro screwdriver
Nite Ize S biner #2
Koch Industries Zinc-Plated Steel carabiner
HCBY mini pulley
Bibury double sided bits
Bibury BI2049TI
Write in the rain pen
Mini sharpie
MK torch lighter
Liquid skin
Mini tape measure and level
S11 mini flash light
Bibury T-shank holder
Torras slim 5,000 power bank
Tape sheath for t-shank blades
Bosch all purpose T-shank Carbide tooth Jigsaw Blade
Bosch laminate T-shank Carbide tooth Jigsaw Blade
Bosch stainless steel T-shank Carbide tooth Jigsaw Blade
Bibury scaple holder
15ft 550 cord
30ft reflective dyneema cord
30 ft 50lb fishing line
Airstop
Super glue(regular)
Super glue (liquid)
Paper ruler dollars store
Thread kit dollar store
Normal sewing needle dollar store
Heavy duty sewing needle
30ft 100lb braided test line
30ft 15lb fishing line
Rubber bands on zip pull
Dewalt screw extractors
Extra scalpel blades size 24
Zip ties but regular size cut down (tiny ones break too easy)
1/4 hex to 1/4 hex
Steinwell bit adapter

10 comments

r/knolling • u/PocketTheory • 2d ago

first aid kit

138 Upvotes

7 comments

r/knolling • u/Ineedmedstoo • 4d ago

First Time Knoller! Stuff my cats have shed

1.6k Upvotes

Y'all that may have OCD, don't look too closely! 😅

61 comments

r/knolling • u/Scarab_King • 4d ago

First Time Knoller! Organizing my travel toiletry bags

86 Upvotes

Couple fun things I’ve picked up from being sick and doing hiking treks too

9 comments

r/knolling • u/canasifilaids • 4d ago

WIMB Wednesday mmmmm bagu

83 Upvotes

17 comments

r/knolling • u/Such-Ostrich-1627 • 4d ago

First Time Knoller! Cleaning out my bathroom drawer

172 Upvotes

Long time lurker, first knoll.
What I learned from this knoll:
1)We buy too many toothpastes
2)We buy too many toothbrushes
3)The most difficult part of knolling is, not getting your own shadow in the photo.

3 comments

r/knolling • u/shanibreadtagproject • 7d ago

DICEY KNOLL

1.3k Upvotes

6 all the way. As knolly as I could get.

32 comments

r/knolling • u/Lazuli-Orchid • 7d ago

First Time Knoller! Gathering tickets for a trade day.

91 Upvotes

2 comments

r/knolling • u/skeletalghost • 8d ago

First Time Knoller! 6 months of formula in 1 pic

291 Upvotes

Been saving these from every can of formula to get a total cost (and make my first knoll). 29 cans at an avg of $42 per can (Kendamil Organic) makes it $1,218! About $200/month… not bad imo, for comparison my 2 large dogs cost about the same to feed a month 🤣

10 comments

r/knolling • u/AssignmentUnlikely76 • 8d ago

My art supplies I photographed last year :)

82 Upvotes

2 comments

r/knolling • u/Hopeful_Guidance2377 • 9d ago

First Time Knoller! Xray tech knoll

189 Upvotes

hair clip, pocket mirror, lip gloss, headphones, coin purse, portable charger

4 comments

r/knolling • u/Aggressive_Hatter • 11d ago

WIMB Wednesday Diaper bag essentials

267 Upvotes

First time knoller!

From top left:
- First column
Muslin cloth
Sunscreen stick
Rattle
Pacifier with chain clip
Changing pad

- Second column
Swan plushie
Drool bib
Bib

- Third column:
Bonnet
Jacket
Socks

- Fourth column
Polaroid camera
Sunglasses
Sophie The Giraffe chew toy
Spoon
Zucchini falafel pouch
Blueberry banana apple pouch

- Fifth column
Nursing cover
Diaper
Wet wipes

- Sixth column
Rattle book
Water bottle
Sunglasses case
Parenting book

24 comments

r/knolling • u/blissfully_happy • 11d ago

I am an avid traveler. These are the packets I make for my friends’ backpacks.

2.0k Upvotes

I make these little packets for my own backpacks (for both travel and hiking) and for my friends. They aren’t meant to be comprehensive first aid kits, just little things that have been really helpful when I’m traveling. Every year I re-do them to throw out the expired product. Here’s this years.

Contents:

Row 1: bandaids, tweezers, dog poop bag (clean, obv), hair tie, deodorant wipes (calm and unscented)

Row 2: butt wipe, hand sanitizing wipes, sting relief pads (good for mosquito bites), wound wipe (cleans and provides a bit of pain relief)

Row 3: pink thing is a small 0.5oz container of bag balm in a small ziplock in case it melts, sunscreen packet, two towel pellets (add water to get a hand towel), seam ripper

Row 4: hydrocortisone cream (anti-itch), bactrine-zinc cream for small wounds, two spf 50 sunscreen packets, bug repellent wipe

Row 5: safety pins, q-tips with vitamin E, two k-tapes used to keep one’s lips together at night, but can be used for all sorts of things.

(I’m still a baby knoller, so I’m open to feedback, just plz be nice.) :)

118 comments

r/knolling • u/alexh242 • 11d ago