Have you ever walked the retailer Homegoods? Then you know the feeling. It’s true escapism retail. A merchandising marvel. It’s aisles and aisles of magically color coordinated merchandise that are all perfectly spot-on trendy. They are off-price too, which makes it even more fun.

The environment is pure shopping eye candy. In addition to the home items, there are off-beat specialty packaged food items too. Select larger stores are even better because they include off-price fashion and beauty products. It’s fun just to go and check what’s new on the shelves.

My side hustle is in managing rental properties. HomeGoods is a stager’s paradise. Photographable decor instantly appeals to new home-seekers swiping through online listings. Strolling through the store sparks the imagination. This is a good thing, because creating an appealing interior is everything in a competitive rental market.

This over-sized painting was at the end of the aisle and caught my eye. HomeGoods seems to have a program where they feature original paintings and tag the artist. It’s a great way to affordably own wall art, support an artist and know their bio.

The hangtag shared her bio. Eveline is Ukranian. It says she immigrated to Canada.

The questions came rapid fire. Is she still in Canada? Is she OK? Is her family in Ukraine? Is she able to reach them? Are they all OK? Is her world turned upside down? How will this affect her artistry and future opportunities? So many questions. The concern is genuine. Like the rest of the world. 

Such an unexpected experience. A simple shopping trip without an agenda suddenly became intensely poignant. How we are all connected through the global threads of commerce and relationships became very real. Rationally speaking, global supply chains are a known entity.

Suddenly, global supply has now become an emotional issue too. Maybe this is a good thing.

All the best dear Eveline.