I am having a day to read and rest and look at the sky. It is ultra-blue since the winds blew through Southern California the past few days.
I find a post in my inbox from the Harvard Business Review on why people buy beautiful things. I decide to share it with my readers (it is pasted below).
I find myself in the curious position of seeking to understand why someone would want to buy my Jizo or Chibi pendants or other things I offer. I read, I digest, I wonder, I blog. I question whether I ought to give my time to Jizo and the people I reach. Sure, it’s fun, but what other fun might I be having were I not focusing my time on this?
I can make art for me. Do I need you to care? To see? To be helped by my work? Do I need you to buy my work for the effort to be “worth” it? How do I quantify what is worth my time, as I would determine what is worth my money to purchase?
How do you determine what is worth your time? Most people I work with have never given much thought to their personal mission statement, like they would their business. But life is our primary business, yes?
So, this study says if you buy my beautiful work, you will feel better about yourself. You will feel better than if you said kind words to yourself. Ironically, my work with Jizo is about being kind to yourself, about mindfulness, getting grounded and putting lovingkindness into the darker places within us.
Here is the post:
Self-Affirmation through the Choice of Highly Aesthetic Products
Just as good looks bestow an unconscious “beauty premium” on people, high aesthetics bestows an unrecognized benefit on consumer goods. Specifically, choosing a product with good design affirms the consumer’s sense of self. Choice of a highly aesthetic product was compared with choice of products superior on other attributes including function, brand, and hedonics to show that only aesthetics influences a consumer’s personal values. In study 1 a prior self-affirming task leads to a decrease in choice share of a highly aesthetic option. Studies 2 and 3 mimic prior research on self-affirmation with, however, choice of a highly aesthetic product replacing a traditional self-affirmation manipulation. Choosing a product with good design resulted in increased openness to counter-attitudinal arguments and reduced propensity to escalate commitment toward a failing course of action. There are numerous implications of this form of self-affirmation, from public policy to retail therapy.
If you wish to read the whole article, please click on this link.
If you wish to purchase a piece of my handmade jewelry or art, then click on this link.
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