Black Friday & the 7-Year Dishwasher

November 23, 2012 2 min read

Recently, my sister-in-law was in the market for a new dishwasher. This shocked me, knowing that they had only moved into their new-build home in 2006. Really? A new dishwasher, already? Come on, I thought. And, as it turned out, so did she. But, the thing just wasn’t working effectively after many repairs, so she had finally embarked on a quest for her next, lifelong, dishwasher.

“Which model should I choose to last, because I don’t want to be back here again any time soon,” she asked the appliance salesperson.

His reply?

“Oh, I’d say that a typical lifespan of a dishwasher made this decade is about 7 years.”

!!!

Sad, but, apparently, true.

The best advice that I have ever heard about “stuff”, and shopping for it, is this:

Good. Beautiful. True.

A former professor at my husband’s alma mater said that in his family, they had decided to only bring an item into their home if it fit into the parameters of something that is Good, Beautiful, or True.

This has become a very real mantra in my life, my home, and my wallet (I have even heard of others who, having heard this advice, wrote these words directly onto their credit card!). I can’t say that I am 100% effective at implementing it – ask my daughter, who has convincingly begged me to allow in more than a few annoying, cheaply made junk toys, to her great delight – but, it has absolutely informed the way I think about shopping in general, and especially about the things I want to keep in my life & home.

It has also been a key mindset for my business, as I’ve sourced & stocked dignify.ca, and as I’ve purchased everything else needed to effectively operate it.

Today, on Black Friday, I encourage you to steer away from the “7-Year dishwashers” and their ilk, and choose instead stuff that means Goodness, Beauty, & Truth.

Here are some of my top picks:

- Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Store

- Olive Manna: textile & paper goods

- Art, from society6, poster cabaret, etsy, etc.

- Who am I kidding? dignify.ca

- Don't shop at all; I'm sure that you have lots of great stuff already ;)

(one of my faves, Alberta homeboy Tim Okamura)

- SJ

Also in Shop Good Blog

Summer Recipes

July 16, 2021 5 min read

Some favorite summer recipes of mine, for you to try & (hopefully) enjoy. Let me know about your successes, or your own faves!

Learning to Have Fun Again in 2021

June 11, 2021 5 min read 1 Comment

"More Fun in 2021"

This is a motto I've been replaying lately in my mind.

For me, one of the *necessities* to sustain energy for this work is to embrace joy, celebration, & fun. But this year, those things have felt pretty elusive. The past 16 months have enriched the depth of my close friendships and have brought maturation & focus to my time; these have been invaluable gifts!

But... I feel like I need to learn all over again how to have fun!

Here are some of the ways I've been thinking about, or practicing, fun lately. I would also love to hear about how you find joy & energy to recharge for everything else that life brings at us!

10 Years of Basha

May 07, 2021 3 min read 1 Comment

Basha Boutique is the name of the organization in Bangladesh where all of our beautiful products are made.

Yes, *all* of our products, every item of kantha we sell. This was... ill-advised by our banker. But, a personal working relationship, excellent partnership, and the literal best quality products have kept us together for nearly 9 years! dignify is yoked to Basha, and we have zero regrets.

If you've been around dignify for a while, you've heard plenty about Basha and likely have a good familiarity with how they (and we) operate. But, if not, here is a bit more context!