I went grocery shopping the other day and I walked up and down all the aisles because I was out of so many things (I hate shopping). Each aisle had its own product. Too many choices. I long for the Fowler’s Market of my youth. It was small but it had everything you needed.
Before shopping my mother would sit down to tea with Mrs. Fowler an catch up with all the news while I would drink orange soda and read comics from the magazine rack.
I have found a small locally owned store but it’s even smaller than Fowler’s Market so sometimes I have to hit the supermarket. Some things were better in the past.
Solid reframe on observational work. The part about not knowing which visits will yeild insights really captures the exploratory inefficiency that's actually necessary for pattern recognition. I've found that alot of what seems like random wandering ends up connecting months later when a specific context makes it relevant. The alphabet pasta detail is a perfect example of how consumer landscapes shift quietly.
Ever since I started my Substack, I have had very similar experiences. I think it almost gives me little missions to do every time I go out. What am I seeing? Could this be an article? How to make sense of the world. Pretty fun! I like quests.
Circling back to one of your previous posts, every little outing is like your own tiny quest if you were inside a video game. I love to look at the ordinary this way. In fact, one of the greats who did this well through this writing was Georges Perec. I love all of his work, but your essay made me think of An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris. He wrote about the beauty, poetry in the infraordinary. I guess that's where the everydayness recedes into the background and the mundane becomes a field of ideas, creative thinking, even writing!
I went grocery shopping the other day and I walked up and down all the aisles because I was out of so many things (I hate shopping). Each aisle had its own product. Too many choices. I long for the Fowler’s Market of my youth. It was small but it had everything you needed.
Before shopping my mother would sit down to tea with Mrs. Fowler an catch up with all the news while I would drink orange soda and read comics from the magazine rack.
I have found a small locally owned store but it’s even smaller than Fowler’s Market so sometimes I have to hit the supermarket. Some things were better in the past.
Solid reframe on observational work. The part about not knowing which visits will yeild insights really captures the exploratory inefficiency that's actually necessary for pattern recognition. I've found that alot of what seems like random wandering ends up connecting months later when a specific context makes it relevant. The alphabet pasta detail is a perfect example of how consumer landscapes shift quietly.
Ever since I started my Substack, I have had very similar experiences. I think it almost gives me little missions to do every time I go out. What am I seeing? Could this be an article? How to make sense of the world. Pretty fun! I like quests.
Love this!
those old timey candies are coming back especially in NYC, thanks to a trend in Swedish candy shops. Probably leaning more towards gummies.
Circling back to one of your previous posts, every little outing is like your own tiny quest if you were inside a video game. I love to look at the ordinary this way. In fact, one of the greats who did this well through this writing was Georges Perec. I love all of his work, but your essay made me think of An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris. He wrote about the beauty, poetry in the infraordinary. I guess that's where the everydayness recedes into the background and the mundane becomes a field of ideas, creative thinking, even writing!