on Instant Gratification
Remember when you really wanted the thing you already have?
I think about this quote a lot.
I’ll never forget the first time I knew I was powerless to the algorithm. I saw a pair of beautiful shoes online (Neiman Marcus, to be exact), stared at them for a while, thought about buying them. Realized it was way too much and responsibly closed the tab. Shortly after, I was on a completely unrelated website - not even shopping - and on the right hand side were the exact shoes I told myself I didn’t need because they were too expensive. And those damn shoes followed me all over the Internet for days (maybe weeks?) I don’t remember.
Have you ever seen this meme? It goes something like: you accidentally sneezed while a video of a frog was showing in your feed so here’s a whole bunch of videos about frogs, you frog freak. The robots are playing “inside out” with our brains, and we can’t possibly keep up or resist forever, because we’re humans not robots.
So it’s no surprise that what has arguably become the most popular hobby on TikTok and Instagram has fallen into the instant gratification trap. Except absolutely nothing about the hobby or the business of needlepoint is instant. Zero. Nada. You have to get your hands dirty and it’s gonna take a while, but that’s the best part so if everybody could just CALM DOWN, that would be great.
BUT. But…
If you’re reading this, you’re probably here because you found me recently or found me a while ago, but regardless, you know I am a wildly impatient person. So, over the last five years I’ve managed to curate several products and projects that can be made as close to instantly as possible as far as this hobby is concerned. And I’m not just talking about theNDLPThat™ and theNDLPTbag™ - I’m talking about things you could pretty much get all year round and personalize with a quick (ish) needlepoint-able touch. I buy these things in bulk (just like I do with kid birthday gifts), and keep them on hand. Here are five ideas for gifting needlepoint in a hurry: