Collecting

Wonderful collections are like "jewelry" for your home.

  

We get all dressed up and run out the door..... And darn I forgot my earrings.

  

This is what a great collection can do, complete the outfit or the picture as the case may be.

  It can also express your interests and your history

There is a wonderful book called The Collectors Eye by Christine Churchill.  It was published in 2002 but remains current and is fun to read.

She calls collecting:  "sleuthing for style"...I love that. 

She says; "When your heart starts beating fast in fear that you've missed out, you know you're hooked".

She goes on to say"Perhaps the most important lesson learned from collectors is Trading Up and Paring Down...the more specific you become about what you collect, the better the results".

What I find when I see a really striking collection of things is that they tend to reveal themselves as a single item when grouped together.  

Whether you are collecting pottery or basket balls, grouping like items together is at the core of a great collection.

How interesting are these chunky metal vases, at least I think they are vases.  It is the sameness of the scallops and rust that look so great as a group.

Something as simple as a vintage Ball canning jar can look like a collection.  You can find tons of these on Ebay with little zinc lids for about $5-10 dollars each.  

This grouping of old photography is so quirky.  I don't think I would have thought to frame these with a brown frame but it works perfectly with the mid-century table.

These very interesting pieces above from Ohio potter Burley Winter are from the 20s and 30s.

Today we can enjoy catalogs offering up a few vintage finds such as the glass jars from Pottery Barn.  Just a group of 3 will stand in as collection.

Architectural detailing is getting harder to find but think "salvage yards and flea markets" for your first score.  A fun way to get started is to go to a flea market with say, $100 dollars, to start your collection and put yourself on a mission:  today I will only buy things made of wicker.  See how you come out at the end of the day.  It's actually very fun to shop that way.

Below is my collection of Roseville.  It's not a huge collection but whenever I see a really interesting piece I usually buy it.  Roseville is very "cottage-y" looking but I could see it in a stark white setting as well.  The vases look like little ladies with their hands on their hips!!! 

The wisteria vase on the right is probably the most collectable piece I own.

Rusty metal...so great.

Wireware is under collected and you can find it at just about any antique mall.

This little guy was on ebay for $9 dollars!

The first serious collection I began about 15 years ago are these Firkins.  What is a Firkin?  Well, think of it as the tupperware of the late 1800s.  Families would store flour and grains in these.  Often they are signed in pencil on the lids as to whom they once belonged to.

Most collectors are looking for original paint and copper nail construction.  The 

Shakers made many of these and when you come across one that can be authenticated as Shaker you're going to pay($) dearly.  Karin Blake, a designer I really love was sort of a muse for this collection.

I like them for the chunky colorful stacks that they make.

For a while there, every time I bought one of these, my then elementary school aged son would scream:   "Hey Dad!!!!!...Mom just bought another freaking' firkin!!!"

~*Oh the joys of collecting*~

thanks for stopping by

~*kelley*~