Collections

I am a collector! It is one of many hobbies that I love. Wikipedia states, "the hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, displaying, and storing, whatever items are of interest to the individual collector." Yep, that's me! I am someone who loves to seek, locate, acquire, organize, display and store. I enjoy collecting vintage suitcases, off-white pottery, English ironstone, milk glass, old books, picnic baskets, bowls, candles, lamps, old door knobs, tarnished silver(it has more character if it's not polished), antique furniture, etc......I know, it's amazing that my family hasn't admitted me into a twelve-step program for addicts! Maybe it's because they have a small understanding that when I surround myself with people and things that I love, I find comfort. I especially enjoy old things that bring a sense of history. If these collectibles could talk, what stories would they tell? It's fun to imagine.

If you are daring enough to stand up and admit that you too are a collector, here's my advice. Pull all of your collections together. I have a friend who has a collection of shells from family vacations to the beach. I gave her a huge glass bowl so she could display them all. She wrote me a note to tell me how putting all the shells together made her realize just how many she had, but more than that it makes her smile every time she passes her collection because it now has a place of prominence in her home, a place where her family can talk about the memories of gathering those shells. Too often people have a little of this and a little of that all over their homes. When you take the time to arrange your collection, whatever it may be, into one place it has more of an impact on the design of your home. It also tells people a little bit about you. When I decided to take all of my suitcases and pile them into one big tower, people took notice. Almost everyone who enters my home comments on the suitcase stack. But even more than that, they begin to tell a story about themselves, "My grandmother had a suitcase like that..." Collections are a wonderful edition to your home. Enjoy the art of collecting and displaying!