Thursday, March 13, 2008
collecting
Isn’t this wee elephant sweet? I ‘rescued’ him from the op shop to send to a friend who recently had a baby. I think he has heaps of character and I love the cute detail of his little scarf.
Have any of you had the experience of ‘collections’ just sort of happening to you?
This seems to be how my collections often happen. I don’t decide “I’m going to collect quirky hand-knitted toys” - rather, I’m drawn to them, in awe of the work that goes in to them, and find them rather hard to leave behind. The only thing I am consciously collecting at the moment is quirky dolls (mostly old, but some new if they are extra special). Despite this, I also seem to have ‘organically’ started some other collections - without really thinking about it:
-quirky knitted toys (I seem to have them around for a week or two, enjoy their company and then find new homes for them)
-vintage children’s’ books
-vintage biscuit tins
-framed flower embroideries
-bird pictures/paintings
-vintage handbags (somehow I have 14 - without even trying to collect them)
-chunky strings of beads
-badges
-NZ poetry books
-1970s fake wood veneer kitchenware
Of course I’m not including in there the mountain of fabric, wool and art supplies I am constantly adding to.
Things I’ve collected in the past, but have now gotten rid of:
-catholic iconography
-silver shoes (I have kept my one very favourite pair - 1960s bridesmaid shoes)
-sparkly/glittery clothes
-suns and moons
-china birds
-1960s tea cups
-vinyl (I still have two crates of my very favourite records - I used to have seven crates)
-comics (tank girl, love and rockets, julie douchet, linda barry, nz comics + ‘zines)
And finally, things I would like someday to collect, but mostly require more money than I currently have:
-russian dolls
-old signs with interesting typography
-Poole ware
-contemporary NZ pottery/ceramics
-NZ art (especially Martin Poppelwell and Shane Cotton - I can dream, right?)
-antique french textiles and chunky Provencal-style ceramics
-1950s make-up containers/compacts
-40s Bakelite
-vintage Marimekko
-vintage velvet coats, jackets and dresses
-Eames furniture
Does all this make it sounds like my house must be a cluttery, museum-like mess? It’s not. But that’s only because I am good at a vague ‘one thing in, one thing out’ rule and I’m also happy to let things go - so if a friend admires something, I find it easy to give it to them instantly and without a backward glance.
After all - the more that I get rid of, the more room I make for new and interesting things!
Speaking of which - a gang of me and my girlfriends are meeting this Sunday night to share a cupcake supper and have a massive SWAP! So my boot is full of books, clothes and craft materials to get rid of. If you are a local and would like to come - drop me an email! We love to meet new people.
