Selling Joy

About an hour ago, both Mary and I walked out a store here in Budapest with beaming smiles. We didn’t buy anything. Just walked around. Slowly. Looking. It was a shame. Of course, everything was expensive, but it was perhaps the most beautiful, perfectly curated shop I’ve ever stepped foot into.

Here is the place. A luxury Christmas decoration store. Precisely that. No shortage of Christmas. Definitely luxury, although not in an inflated unnecessary way. But the label undersells the emotion. They were selling joy.

For starters, I feel like anything Christmas brings along with it an inherent bundle of joy. Associations of family. Nostalgia. Holidays. Warm, fuzzy feelings. Connotations that hit harder than usual for us.

The attention-to-detail in this store was unmatched. It was hard to distinguish the items on sale from those used decoratively, to those that may have ben a part of a personal collection. The walkway was narrow, but cozy. The small store, likewise. Colour and lights stretched from floor to ceiling, although more in an art exhibition way than something in your face.

There were clear sections designated by colour palate. Not strictly, but intuitively. Perhaps you start with some red and green. Then pink accents start to appear in the tree, or from the ceiling, or on the bench. Intricate baubles. Swans. Then suddenly, your realise the theme has shifted entirely to pink. Then white fades in. You take a step into the adjoining room and suddenly you feel as though you’re standing in a snow globe. There are a family of polar bears. The decorative, hanging light feels like almost too much effort, but why not? Vibrant, royal blue notes enter the frame as you round out the tour. All colours in harmony, presented in some a purposeful and complementary way that just scratches a certain itch.

The owners quietly watched. Not pressuring, but offering a few words of guidance. It was clear that this store was, above all else, a passion project. A considered showcase of love and art and the way in which you can make a living by sharing your dreams with the world.

They could have been selling tacky, cheap Christmas decorations for a fraction of the price. Maybe they’d make more money. Perhaps we would’ve bought one as a souvenir. Their electricity bill would be lower. Yet, they wouldn’t have been able to convey that same joy we just felt.