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Are you a collector?

catgirl

Veteran

I'm quoting myself here from Natalie's Paul Frank thread:

I actually have a love/hate relationship with collectibles; it's like Fear of Missing Out vs. Fear of Becoming a Hoarder. Mostly I'm just not motivated enough to pursue collecting particular items with any real passion.

I also think I'm too fickle and haphazard to commit to collecting or amassing. I tend to do a "one of each" version - like with the Target collections, one Missoni (I'm down to a shower curtain), one Merrimeko (beach tote), one Liberty print (boxer shorts).

Over to you - do you collect style items of any category, be it designer, type, or other? Why or why not? And how intentional was it, or did you just suddenly find yourself with a plethora of "X"?

I do collect pets.

General

52 replies

Latest reply was from rachylou

Anonymous

Two things:

1.Jenny Bird jewellery
2. skull motif things - accessories and clothes (have quite a few different things from scarves, t-shirts, sweaters, earrings, a bag with a skull lock etc) art work, home decor pieces

Why? Good question.....just happened organically I guess. Both "speak" to me, and feel like part of my look now.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Hmm, not really. Maybe statement rings. Just clothes and shoes in general.

Ledonna N.

Veteran

Buttons covers are my latest obsession. A thrift shop owner friend had some donated and just knew I would love them and I do. I collect bags and shoes and hats. Those are what I live for.

The last picture is me just playing around with how they work.

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catgirl

Veteran

Oh Ledonna, those are fun (and don't take up a lot of room!). Magpie gene!

Anonymous

I am definitely not a collector. I never understood the desire.

Anonymous

Not so much style items, but whenever I travel to a faraway place, I get an interesting rock or two, or a couple of seashells or pieces of seaglass, for my garden. My last pieces were from the Elephiti Islands in Croatia. I put them by my Buddha statue and fountain, and they bring back happy memories.

Ledonna N.

Veteran

Oh the can . I am the equivalent of a binge and purge. For some reason I get obsessed over something and I have to go after it.

Seashells are good I collect money from different countries.

jill58

Veteran

Orchids. I generally have between 150 and 200 plants growing in our sunroom. Also, 19th century photographs. And we seem to have an enormous collection of books even though we weed them out fairly regularly. As for clothes, I guess I collect scarves and handbags although those collections are tiny in comparison.

goldenpig

(website)

Veteran

Yes, which is why I have such a messy house!
I used to collect kitschy Paul Frank purses. Now it's Kate Spade, LOL.
Also, pre-kids I used to collect vintage Little People sets from the 70's/80's. Not those silly giant squishy modern ones, but the old choking hazard ones. Like I have a complete Little People Sesame Street set, but I haven't brought it out for them to play with because I'm worried they'll lose one of the pieces. I let them play with the farm version instead. I also have a Little People Hospital. Maybe they're finally old enough to play with these sets...I should go dig them out before they lose interest.

One thing that DH have done ever since we got married, is collect a souvenir ornament from every place that we travel to. Even local places like Monterey or Tahoe. Most of them have the name of the place printed on them. It's a fun memory that we can display on the Christmas tree every year. If we can't find an ornament, we just buy a keychain which is easy to find. Once we went to someone's house and they had collected a little bit of sand from every beach they had gone to and displayed it in little plastic boxes in their bathroom with the location written on it. It was pretty neat.

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Maneera

(website)

Veteran

I collect bags. And striped tops! I have no clue though :/

Perhaps it's *greed*. Or perhaps, FOMO. In any case, I've decided to intentionally curb this 'collecting' nonsense. I purged 7 bags on Tuesday...I used to find lame excuses to not use them. And I've levied a ban on myself from buying more 'striped' tops until some actually wear out. I have a super fav B&W striped tee I can't bear to not have in my closet (and so I have a new one lying unopened in my closet too....for when the current one gets stained or shows signs of wear) INSANE, right?!

But I also collect fridge magnets from ALL travels.....we have a lovely collection on the fridge I plan to make a map of them someday!

catgirl

Veteran

Natalie, funny about the Little People sets! I actually do have a small collection of Steiff animals from when I worked in an upscale toy store. I had some as a child but cut the tags off the ears and played with them, so they have no "value" but were deeply loved. I gave them all to my son, including the ones with tags intact, and to my surprise, he has them on display in his room.

catgirl

Veteran

Actually very inspiring, Manny! I hate the feeling of being buried under my stuff - even though I covet so much.

Ledonna N.

Veteran

I'm being buried noe I have to purge but it's overwhelming. I'm getting to ut.

Peri

Veteran

I'm not sure what constitutes a collection. I have a lot of necklaces and scarves but I wouldn't have called that collecting. In my mind a collection is more theme oriented, like if I had to search out and buy every scarf with owls on it or something. China bowls from the the 1920s. Specific things like that. I definitely don't go in for that kind of collecting...too much work for me! But if it's just a matter of what do I have a good plenty of, then necklaces, scarves, and "chubby stick" type lipsticks!

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Ledonna, I have a set of button covers! I run across them whenever I'm trying to purge some old jewelry, but I never quite find the guts to let go of them. Would you like mine? I would feel so much better letting go of them if I am giving them to someone who collects them and would appreciate them! It is a set of turquoise covers with silver settings, and then a single silver filigree cover. I used to wear them in the 80s.

Echo

Veteran

I do periodically obsess over one classification of items almost to the exclusion of all others, but it never lasts. It is cyclical. I am not a collector. Too many things make me nervous, and I don't enjoy having things just for the sake of having them. I obsess about something and then learn all about it, and browse constantly and perhaps ultimately make a purchase, but I do not make multiple purchases just for the sake of having them.

My mum tried so hard to get me to collect something as a child. She thought all normal kids had a collection, but I wanted no part of it. She bought me endless snow globes, but they remain at her house and not mine because I never really fancied them.!

dashielle (Ann)

(website)

Veteran

The word 'collect' is so subjective, as I think about it. I may be just rationalizing, because some might say I collect bags and shoes, at least relative to many other gals. I'm definitely on upper side of the bell curve...BUT, I don't have any issue letting go when the spark dies. Otherwise, I'm like you in the animal department (is it a department? I'd totally hang out there if so!). I am safe in the knowledge that I know my limit in terms of being able to provide enrichment activities and space for my cats, so although emotionally I'm a CCL, I won't ever end up there. ...at least as long as my rational brain is still functional.

BrieN

Veteran

Can I echo Echo? I also obsess about something and learn all about it and browse constantly and then sometimes make a single purchase.

No collections, except books in the bookshelf and vases of a few different shapes and sizes. In fact, if I'm completely honest, collections make me uncomfortable. It's like a weight in the timeline of your life. I like space -- in my closet, in my rooms, on my countertops.

rabbit

Veteran

Not a collector, I have a strong fear of being a hoarder due to experiences growing up. When I was a kid I collected and played with Breyer model horses, but they all got actively used, dinged up (they liked to go drink water in the stream in a gully near my friends house and the stallions would fight), and repainted occasionally. I have two boxes of sentimental things in my basement, mostly silk saris I wore living in India and journals I kept in high school. Like Dashielle, I love bags and shoes, but also get rid of them fairly easily if they aren't getting used.

ETA: I have totally the same feelings as BrieN about stuff versus space.

dashielle (Ann)

(website)

Veteran

Whoops! I lied. Nail polish...

Rabbit, lolol. Ditto the Breyer horses. Mine had complex social lives and ever-changing allegiances that my neighbor friend and I used to enact back in the day. Not a surprise I grew up to study equine science I suppose.

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

I'm a bit of a clothing and shoes hoarder, but not any one type. I do have a preference for some brands though. Given that if I even buy a duplicate, it feels weird, so no, not really a collector.

Anonymous

I collected one dated Hallmark Christmas ornament per year until I had enough to decorate a large tree.

I have a good collection of crystal that my mom gave me.

DonnaF

Veteran

DH and I used to collect seals; now it's mostly him. We have hundreds of stuffed ones, plus books, lamp, candles, figurines, etc. I'm rather sick of them, but if he finds one we don't have and it isn't overly pricey he will buy it. I would rather collect clothing and footwear. . . .

Joy

Veteran

I have a small collection of Good Shepherd figures and sheep...from Crocheted to wood carvings. They are hard to find. A couple are actually crèche figures. Style-wise, I have a lot of scarves but none are really expensive. It is just hard to get rid of any when scarf styles and colors keep changing and returning.

Brin

The Breyer horses...! I know I still have them somewhere. Mine lived very active lives as well (I seem to remember that the mares would fight as well as the stallions -- about gender politics mainly -- and then there was a lot of dramatic falling off cliffs...)

For the past five years or so I have collected jewelrymaking materials. I have boxes and boxes of low-grade gemstones, Swarovski crystal, freshwater pearls, wood, shell... Luckily I am slowly working my way through, turning materials into jewelry pieces. In fits and starts, these days. And I still can't resist buying other people's work.

I used to collect fabrics. Well, I suppose I still collect them; I still can't think of purging them. Someday, maybe, I will get back to sewing...

And I am just learning that it is possible to collect garments, shoes,and bags of my choice, not just what's available at my local Value Village. This blog and forum has a lot to do with that -- and I am loving it. I haven't yet reached the stage of collecting anything in particular -- though I have suddenly acquired a number of scarves due to the good advice of YLF members...!

cloud9

Veteran

when i was younger, my sister & I collected cat figurines (after our beloved cat passed due to old age). I had all kinds of cats, from cat shaped cup to perfume bottles. Now they are just taking up space although i like to look at them once in a blue moon. It is quite an interesting collection.

Nowadays, we sort of collect a magnet for each place we visit.

Anonymous

I'm the recipient of a collector's 'collectioning' tendencies. My mother gives me several collections, like china sets and rugs (aren't I lucky?).

One slightly bizarre collection she gave me are these copper-bottom pots called 'Reverware'. Apparently, they don't make the copper bottoms as thick anymore, so my mother picks them up at auction and gives them to all her children. She gave me two full sets. Pretty sure my 3 brothers also have their own set(s).

Staysfit

Veteran

I had to think and then I turned my head and was visually hit in the face with what may be a collection of bread baking books. How many constitutes a collection? Two? More than three? Five? Eight? How many bread making books does one person who isn't a professional baker need? I'm not talking recipes for a bread machine, I mean hand kneading, etc. Actually, there are a lot of cook books here, cookie books, vegetarian cooking, vegan cooking, gluten free cooking, Indian Cooking. Oh, I forgot, I even have some cookbooks on my Kindle that were gifts from friends. The collection was much larger before Marie Kondo came to visit. Yes, much larger.............. (Okay, 9 bread making books. 8 cookie books, 10 Indian Cooking Cookbooks, and I'm not counting the rest except the Mooswood collection which totals 8. My favorite cookbook authors are Jack Bishop, Peter Berley, Madhur Jaffrey and Del Sroufe. Mark Bittman fits in somewhere as most user friendly. Wow, I never realized this about myself!

I have some other collections as well: 1. Old pharmaceutical bottles (inherited from my mother). 2. Blue glass 3. My DD's framed art work from every year starting when she was very young and going to the present.

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Jjsloane

Veteran

I am fearful of anyone thinking I collect anything because I will end up like my poor departed grandma who was nearly buried by the Cow Collection that she never really wanted. I had given her a pair of cow salt and pepper shakers when I was 2 and she commented on how cute they were to everyone and voila - every gift she ever got from then on was cow themed. She was a sport about it, but in the end we had to divvy them up and there were only a few we each wanted.
If someone asks if you collect something be very afraid. When asked I say I collect cash.
I have a small collection of vintage 50's/60's rhinestone jewelry, beaded cardigans and small party handbags which I wear for special occasions. I also have a collection of toys that were mine, my parents and now some of my kids favorites, but only a few of the really memorable ones.

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