Emotional journey

Department Store for the Mind is a retail philosophy born out of founder Sophie Howarth’s work on developing emotional intelligence at The School of Life.

Speaking to LS:N Global, Howarth explained how customers’ emotional needs are often obfuscated by the bottom line of business. As an online space, Department Store for the Mind puts these needs first to drive consumer engagement with the brand.

Customers can shop the site according to their mood by choosing from a selection of pictograms that visualise various states of mind as pieces of thread, from the loose and free-flowing ‘mellow’ to the tightly wound ‘anxious’. A list of products is curated to suit each mood, such as marbles for a ‘playful’ soul, or a simple reminders sticker kit to aid a ‘muddled’ mind. This self-reflective shopping experience extends to become an exercise in empathy when buying gifts for others.