I don't really have a comment except some random associations having to do how people feel about objects and processes. It sounds to me that Dustin Curtis and the HN people responding favorably are searching for material objects that give a certain feeling.

I first heard the word Numinous used by Terrance McKenna to describe objects with spirit:

numinous, adjective, having a strong religious or spiritual quality; indicating or suggesting the presence of a divinity,"the strange, numinous beauty of this ancient landmark"

Upon further research, I found a related Japanese word "Tsukumogami":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukumogami

"tsukumogami are tools that have acquired a kami or spirit. Today, the term is generally understood to be applied to virtually any object "that has reached its 100th birthday and thus become alive and self-aware", though this definition is not without controversy.

Robert Pirsig wrote a book related to these concepts:

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values is a book by Robert M. Pirsig first published in 1974. It is a work of fictionalized autobiography, and is the first of Pirsig's texts in which he explores his "Metaphysics of Quality".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_...

Finally I once picked up a stainless steel spoon at a Portsmouth, Virginia thrift store for a quarter while in the Navy that had "NYC Rikers Island" engraved on it. That was my favorite spoon for a long time.