ABSTRACT
On weekends, in the town where I live, there is a market. Appropriately enough, it is held on Market Street. The townspeople have had the right to hold a market here for centuries – the first charter was issued in 1193. 1 Today, tens of thousands of people use it every week. 2 Locally grown vegetables, seasonal produce, freshly baked bread and other such products can be bought from vendors one sees regularly and with whom a rapport can be established. Such markets are all about human relationships, trust and reputation, and they are entirely independent of brands. Likewise, purchasing items from a local potter and knitting a woollen jumper from regionally grown wools have nothing to do with brands, over-considered logos, meaningless taglines or corporate mission statements. They are about encounter, provenance, knowing people and places, and human understanding. And they are about the role of all these things in contributing to our lives and making us who we are. The products we acquire by such means play a similar role – when we live with things that we comprehend in terms of their materials, where they came from and who made them, they acquire a deeper significance and a deeper meaning for us.
