Conscious Collecting: What All Generations Now Have in Common

By Michela O’Connor Abrahams

What matters to us and how we acquire things we love, has completely changed. If you remember the 1980s, there was a time when it was all about the “badge” and monikers of the Joneses. Today, most discerning consumers no longer care about status symbols (See, The End of the Status Symbol) or what we used to call “conspicuous consumption.” Sure, the idea of status and consumption still exists; that is unless you’re homesteading off the grid in the woods, growing all your own food and making all your own clothes - and there’s even a certain status and privilege in that! But for the rest of us who get pleasure from shopping and well-designed products and services, we’ve no doubt shifted our values about what matters. We’ve moved from conspicuous consumption to conscious collecting.

Conscious collectors are seeking a timelessness that is only possible with good design at the core of the brand, and they will pay more for these brands.

What is Conscious Collecting?