“The things you own end up owning you”
-Tyler Durden
It's human to have things. To own things. It's most human to have a few special things. Perhaps, these items are imbued with memory or perhaps they're keepsakes which evoke a person or event. Or perhaps they're things which someone created especially for you, with their hands, with their heart.
Consumers. Consumption. Consumpting. A looming recession. Stop spending. It's hard to find a signal in the noise these days. Hyper capitalism has weirdly turned buying things almost into a crime. Or perhaps, it's actually late capitalism which now adds a teaspoon of guilt with every purchase. Buying has become a distraction. Fast moving consumer goods. Instantly gratified. Same day shipping, FedEx overnight, buy one get one free.
We don't need a lot, really. And the things we do need should really, last. A friend of mine who's wife bought him one of our wallets years ago, pulled it out of his pocket the other day, a heavy patina showing. "Look, this wallet is never going to break, you're going to put yourself out of business!"
Perhaps.
But if Tyler Durden, the soap maker, is right - that the things you own, do end up owning you - what would you rather be owned by? Something made slowly, purposely, intentionally, by hand, with heart, with soul? Or? I know what I'd like, and that's what I make.