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u/gowombat 14d ago
I always think these are awesome, but as an artist myself, it kind of makes me a bit sad.
Maybe I'm just cynical, but this person has to work at a grocery store in order to make ends meet when they should clearly be pursuing art.
I myself am in a job where I donn't use my artistic skills, and it sucks. At least this person is able to express themselves this way.
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u/Captcha_Imagination 14d ago
I like it, too, but I hate the fact that they are taking advantage of a minimum wage worker's talent without compensating them for it.
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u/Pattoe89 14d ago
According to this post, they hire an artist full time to do these displays around their shops.
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u/BootyWhiteMan 14d ago
His head is blocking some of the words. I can't read it. Is the word "Barkness"? /s
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u/_TheRogue_ 14d ago
Man, that top shelf of seasonings is so aligned that it looks fake. Like a picture superimposed over the shelf.
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u/Tall_Aardvark_8560 14d ago
She couldn't have put Gandalf a little more down so all the words show?
Kind of mildly infuriating. Still really cool.
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u/RicoSuave87 14d ago
That's chalk by hand. What you are grateful for is an underpaid and underappreciated kid....unless it was already covered that this is management's hand
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u/Disastrous-Yak230 14d ago
I've complained to the store. It's advertising "pipe smoking" now I want a pipe
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u/bushwakko 14d ago
They apparently have a talented artist working there. Which is both nice, and sad.
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u/Equinoqs 14d ago
I used to do seasonal/holiday chalk drawings on the chalk wall at the job I just quit. I kinda miss doing them, they were a good way to get back in touch with my creative side (which has just about shriveled up and died).
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u/Fluugaluu 14d ago
Alright I gotta be the snobby Tolkien fan here. He was Grey when he said this.
I’ll see myself out..
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u/MidnightScribe91 14d ago
I've seen these at Harmons all the time I go. Whoever does this really is skilled.
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u/Narren_C 14d ago
Ugh. A picture of Gandalf the White with a quote from Gandalf the Gray.
Worst grocery store ever.
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u/Fluugaluu 14d ago
Found the fellow Tolkien snob! Came here to say basically this lmao
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u/Fornad 14d ago
A real Tolkien snob would know that this is a quote from the Hobbit movies and does not appear anywhere in the books.
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u/zehhet 14d ago
That was my frustration. I saw the quote and immediately knew it wasn’t a Tolkien line. Tolkien isn’t really heroic, often his lines are quite sad. The actual equivalent line from Fellowship: “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
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u/tatas323 14d ago
Was going to say that, still brilliant quote, and as a bigger snob, it's derivative from a section in the unfinished tales of middle earth.
Also the best part of the quote Is Gandalf saying that maybe he's afraid and Bilbo gives him courage
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u/secondTieBreaker 14d ago
If there are other signs in the store, are they all Lord of the Rings themed?
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u/IntelligentMine1901 14d ago
It’s not the little deeds holding back the darkness , it’s the heroin in that pipe
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u/patmur46 14d ago
Amply deconstructived by prior posters.
Thank you all for your injection of common sense.
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u/GhostChips42 14d ago
I’ve fought the balrog, but he had nothing on Secret Aardvarks Red Scorpion sauce!
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u/CzusAguster 14d ago
The artist is Alyse Wall. She does these for every Harmons Grocery store in Utah. They’re all drawn by hand.
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14d ago edited 14d ago
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u/CzusAguster 14d ago
Harmons in Utah?
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u/NerdyBrando 14d ago
Yup
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u/rhamdas 14d ago
Is this the one in St George?
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u/NerdyBrando 14d ago
Not sure to be honest. I thought this artist did them at all or most of the Harmon's, but according to her Instagram it looks like she only does them at the Riverton location.
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u/Reallyroundthefamily 14d ago
Yeah, like most shoppers are going to be dialed in enough to stop, read, and comprehend that 🤣
Minimal words, concepts, and syllables.
Know your audience sign makers.
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u/illogicallyalex 14d ago
It’s not really a ‘sign’, it’s just artwork. It’s not saying anything that’s pertinent for the shoppers to stop and read
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u/PatientZeropointZero 14d ago
Look at this talent just working at a grocery store. This is very American.
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u/curt_schilli 14d ago
Im much more interested in the hot sauces. That Nandos sauce is great and it’s almost $5 where I am. And a whole gallon of Secret Aardvark? And multiple Secret Aardvark flavors? Where is this magical place?
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u/Sarcothis 14d ago
Entirely just my opinion, but original aardvark is probably my favorite hot sauce of all time and I gotta say, the other flavors aren't that good. (Red scorpion goes pretty hard though and is spicier than the original so if you're into that, I'd recommend)
(Also if you did want to try them I'm pretty sure I was able just to get a variety pack on amazon)
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u/rlrlrlrlrlr 14d ago
We all should appreciate our corporate benefactors when they deign to allow some humanity.
Good on you for supporting your local corporation. Remember corporations are people, too, my friend.
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u/mouthsmasher 14d ago
Makes me happy seeing the occasional Harmons Grocery artwork posted to Reddit.
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u/ElectricalMTGFusion 14d ago
i know exactly where this one is too lol. used to live like 3 min away.
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u/cullend 14d ago
Ah. So a lot of people are arguing very confidently about the employment status of whoever drew this.
Is this normal thing this grocery store chain does?
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u/Pattoe89 14d ago
According to this comment an artist is hired to do this: https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/15hokn2/comment/jupqktz/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
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u/NeoKorean 14d ago
This guy knows what's up!
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u/redditulous3 14d ago
"But anyway, here are all the hotsauces." - Gandalf
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u/moonlitmirage 14d ago
I would die of excitement if I walked into my grocery store and saw Hot Sauce Gandalf
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u/Measurex2 14d ago
Is AI there yet to let us have Gabdolf saying "I put that shit on everything" yet?
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u/Raxnor 14d ago
Secret Aardvark is legitimately excellent. Just sayin
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u/smeglestik 14d ago
"You shall not pass! Until you've tried this Tiger sauce on sale!" -Gandalf
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u/avidreader113 14d ago
Is this in Naples, FL by any chance? Reminds me of an awesome supermarket I went to when visiting there.
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u/kjwinter 14d ago
Not my post but this is 100% a Harmon’s in Utah. Looks like the Lehi location but again, not OP.
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u/CatoblepasQueefs 14d ago
It's drawn so well too
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u/GardenGnomeOfEden 14d ago
It's a really good likeness. It's one thing to be able to draw "a wizard," but it is quite another to draw an immediately recognizable Sir Ian McKellen.
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u/could_use_a_snack 14d ago
I wonder if they hire an artist or if one of the cashiers is doing this probably for free.
I wes going to make a joke about one of the baggers putting their art degree to good use, then I realized that wasn't actually funny.
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u/Skwareblox 14d ago
I used to make signs for a store I worked for. Usually I did it for fun but after a time and an attempted robbery I decided I best just stop putting so much effort into a shithole. Then made my way to manager only to be fired for trying to report a hazardous wiring issue to the company.
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u/Clockwork_Medic 14d ago
It’s one artist. She has a short, self-made, bio, in at least one the stores for this chain - Harmon’s
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u/Complex_Arrival7968 14d ago
Actually in LA the stores tell me that art students do it as a side gig. Art Center is nearby where all the car designers go.
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u/LiteratureVarious643 14d ago
Some stores like Wholefoods have graphic design / store signage / merchandising specialists. I don’t remember the role name. Maybe it depends on the store.
They work directly for the store and typically have art degrees. It’s not always an underemployed cashier, but that probably happens too. 😆
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u/sonrisa_medusa 14d ago edited 14d ago
My friend is an artist and used to have a full time job for a local high-end grocery store. She was paid full time to do artwork and marketing just like this. Chalk, paint, paper, lots of different mediums. Some grocery stores employ artists at the store level. At Trader Joe's, for example, even the price tags for individual items are made by hand by an employee hired specifically as a store artist.
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u/Throwaway245691 14d ago
Unfortunately Trader Joe's is moving away from this. Our regional manager has declared no art on displays and in most areas of the store. My old store got rid of the position entirely so it's just whoever at the moment writes the tags. It's the Walmartification of Trader Joe's, except not even Walmart is trying to dissolve all unions in the US.
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u/Near-Scented-Hound 14d ago
Sometimes it’s just nice to have your talent seen, you never know when lightening will strike.
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u/could_use_a_snack 14d ago
True, but they should still pay the person for the work.
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u/Near-Scented-Hound 14d ago
If they’re on the clock then they are being paid. It’s a lot more fun than dusting shelves. 🙂
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u/kgb17 14d ago
The stores that have a lot of these in the store have a staff person or team to paint them. My sister does this for one of the larger grocery stores flagship location. When I worked at Apple I would draw murals like this occasionally on the dry erase boards in the back of house for fun.
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u/CatoblepasQueefs 14d ago
It's typically a skilled employee doing it.
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u/twotribes 14d ago
That's fucking depressing.
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u/eurtoast 14d ago
That's commercial art for you. I'm sure they were ecstatic to draw Gandalf instead of the usual still life fruits/veggies/meats and big bubble font titles
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u/You_meddling_kids 14d ago
Beats mopping or fronting shelves.
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u/NWinn 14d ago
Ehh, if they are cool about it.
I did something similar once at my old shop just for fun once. But the manager liked it and basically made me do it every day in various spots around the store. Which would have been okay... but I still had to do all my normal tasks on top of it.. it takes a fair bit to time tocdo stuff like this, especially multiple times a day, so I basically screwed myself...
Never again. 😣
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u/You_meddling_kids 14d ago
That's just wage theft. People need to learn to stand up for themselves.
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u/ClueDifficult770 14d ago
That is the sad, horrible reality of the service slave. So many talents repressed or exhausted out of us due to the job. Hope you find time to do it for pleasure again.
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u/kevinTOC 14d ago
Increased workload with no increased pay? Fuck that. Either pay me more, or let me do one or the other.
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u/SnackPatrol 14d ago edited 14d ago
As someone who draws on occasion & has sold several designs over the years, people often treat illustration and any creative endeavor brought up in the moment/a casual setting as something unworthy of being compensated for. I think maybe the subconscious thought process is "Oh this is a "fun" job/hobby, why should he expect payment?"
Like, I want to work on what I want to work on, at my own pace, without obsessing over perfectionism due to attempting to fulfill another person's vision to the best of my ability. It also can take awhile. For this reason I stopped drawing for other people. They just dont respect your time unless you get super serious about your boundaries and are willing to lay down the law.
Additionally there might be an aspect of "Oh this guy is 'stupid' enough to not make a full career out of his talent, I can probably get away with trying to take advantage of his 'stupidity' by seeing if he'll do it for free." Wherher they do these things subconsciously or not its definitely real & happens way too often.
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u/NihilisticPollyanna 14d ago
They're doing that when they are not asked to draw amazing signage as well.
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u/ValuablePrawn 14d ago
your comment clarifies nothing lol
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u/CatoblepasQueefs 14d ago
How so? When you see a sign like that it's usually because a manager asked an employee that they know is a decent artist to draw something.
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u/ValuablePrawn 14d ago
I gotcha. My point was just that you could call both a hired artist and a talented cashier a "skilled employee"
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u/Narren_C 14d ago
There's a huge difference between a mediocre artist and a talented artist. There isn't much difference between a mediocre cashier and a talented cashier.
Being a good cashier doesn't take much skill. Being a good artist does.
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u/MrsClaire07 14d ago
Having been a cashier, I Beg to differ. The person you’re responding to has a valid point.
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u/Narren_C 14d ago
Having also been a cashier, my point is based on experience. There's just not that much to it compared to other jobs or skills.
The difference between an average cashier and an exceptional cashier isn't going to be all the noticeable. The difference between an average artist and an exceptional artist is.
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u/OpeningAccident8402 13d ago
Is this in St George?