Foraging

I've mentioned before that my wife is an artist.

This year, she did another amazing thing. She turned some of her artwork into notebooks and they are now being sold at a pop-up holiday shop.

A week ago, she had an appointment to drop off her products at the pop-up shop, and initially she thought that she would have to set up her display as well, but it turned out that the folks running the store were going to do that.

When she visited the shop after everything was set up, I asked her what she thought of her display.

She said it looked great, but it was a little lower down—meaning, not at eye level.

We agreed that this wasn't a big deal because this pop-up shop attracts a certain kind of buyer: A forager.

***

I don't know much about product placement in a grocery store, but I do know one thing: It takes a combination of money and popularity (these are linked) to be placed at eye level on a shelf.

Think of your own behaviour in a grocery store.

Specifically when you're in one of the middle aisles.

Are you bending down a lot?

If not, it's likely that you're buying many of the products that are placed at or close to eye level.

You're not necessarily foraging.

This behaviour perpetuates a cycle: The more we buy at eye level, the more money those companies make, the more popular they become, and the more eye level space they own.

***

Of course, the idea of something being at eye level doesn't just exist in a grocery store.

Any "most popular" list works the same way: The top movies/shows on your favourite streaming platform, podcast/song charts, and of course books as well.

I buy things at eye level all the time. I am sure we all do. It's requires far less mental processing because there's an implied level of trust that we can take advantage of.

I am not trying to mount a case against buying things at eye level.

Instead, I'm curious, what do you forage for?

The act of foraging is what would lead you to stumble upon my wife's beautiful notebooks.

It's what would lead you to discover the not-yet-discovered.

There's lots more out there, just bend down and have a look.