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In my parent’s playroom - the grandkids' slice of heaven! - there is a giant wooden dollhouse on wheels. Handmade.
Gorgeous realistic looking siding covers the whole house. Each room has wallpaper with a different pattern. Tiny curtains on every window.
It's a real treasure.
How did it get my parents’ home? My mother bought it at a garage sale in her neighborhood. The woman selling it said that her father had built it for her when she was a girl.
My mother is a master at finding the most amazing items at garage sales and secondhand shops. Solid wood furniture built to last for centuries. Unique and interesting books. Record players and board games that couldn’t be found elsewhere.
When I come across these items in my parents' house, it gives me a little thrill. It’s no longer just another book or game or toy. It’s a piece of history.
And you should see what the kids get up to with all her finds. The most creative pretend play sessions on the planet emerge from that playroom. Because kids inherently know that the slightly bent out of shape vintage school bell from some long-retired school teacher's basement is waaay more fun than the shiny stainless steel one from Amazon.
I once went to a garage sale my mother told me about. It was glorious. Sesame Street books from the 1970s. Vintage model railroad parts still in their original packaging. Each item told a story about this aging suburban middle-class couple and their kids who now come with their kids to visit Grandma and Grandpa.
Especially in times when putting out polished and beautiful content is a Chat GPT prompt away, there’s enormous value in the unpolished content that gives consumers a peek at the human behind the brand.
Next time you're about to put out a piece of content, pause and give it a look. What is one sentence you can add that might make it less polished, but will give it some human backstory?