I've decided to collect vintage juice glasses like these I recently bought.
I have mixed feelings about collecting stuff. Really I love collections, especially of cool, vintage, or funky stuff. Like a restaurant with a ton of eclectic salt and pepper shakers- that makes me smile. And finding that one perfect thing that fits into your collection is such a coup.
But generally I think the idea of collecting is a bad one. You just wind up with a bunch of STUFF. And I think we all have too much stuff, don't we? Who has the space to properly display or use a good collection? I guess I just have to be very choosey about what to collect...so it's given it's proper love and attention and not relegated to a box in the basement.
Over the years I've collected various things:
Matchboxes (no, I never smoked...)
Broadway musical posters
concert t-shirts
that I've since given up on. They're just not as important to me anymore.
Two things I have collected and still do are FABRIC (never would have guessed, would you?) and fairies.
Fairies truly delight me, but I have so many now that I'm VERY picky about which ones I get. Some day I'll go around and photograph all the little wee people that inhabit my house. I've gotten so many as gifts that I've put a ban on them. Occasionally they would be perfect and I was happy to have them, but more often than not, they just weren't my taste. I only want pretty fairies, with pretty faces, that are not overly gaudy or girly. You'd be surprised how hard that is to come by.
So, I'm thinking the glasses are a good thing to collect since I'll actually use them. I generally like things to match and be more modern and simple looking than vintage mis-matched stuff, but I figure juice glasses used in the kitchen are casual enough. And I smile when I take them out. So now I have something specific to look for when going to a thrift store. :)
Another thing I like to collect is holiday decorations. I try to buy xmas tree ornaments as souveniers when we go on vacation. And there's something about halloween that makes me like folk art style decorations. I want to collect some of these adorable little statues by Lori Mitchell. They put out different ones each year. They kill me with their cuteness...
What do you collect?
JT
I used to collect vintage painted juice glasses!
That all ended when I got married, and my new husband broke all 15 of them while washing dishes.
It took about 6 months, but they are all gone.
Maybe when my kids are grown up, I'll try again...
Posted by: Jess | October 21, 2008 at 02:25 PM
Squishy Pennies.
And I have many of the same feelings about "collections" as you do, which is why I always search out and am happy to find one of those squishy penny makers everywhere I go. I figure that a penny is small enough to be souviner, but it wasn't until this past weekend that I finally got off my butt and figured out how to display them...I was tired of my awesome squishy pennies living in a sandwich bag.
Hopefully, this way will keep me from losing some, because I know for a FACT I used to have more...
Posted by: Rachael | October 21, 2008 at 03:24 PM
This is strange I know...but I collect the "Fossil" cases that you get when you buy a watch. Do you know what I am talking about? I think they are the coolest little cases and there really are so many diffrent ones!
Posted by: Stacey | October 21, 2008 at 05:02 PM
I love the juice glasses. We used to have all kinds of vintage kitchen stuff, but when we moved to California a couple of years ago we got rid of over half our belongings. We were moving into MUCH less space and we weren't going to have room. Other collections that didn't make the cut included a collection of old black and white photographs of groups, the crazier the better. We still have one of a group of men and their beagles preparing for a fox hunt. We do still have a collection of McCoy flower pots, and a collection of vintage Sandwich glass that we use for our every day dishes. It's definitely more fun in my opinion to have collections that you can really use!
Posted by: Amy | October 21, 2008 at 05:56 PM
I collect birds with their tails up! Strange i know but my favourite bird is a Willy Wagtail (do you have these in Amercia?) I also collect fabric, that never gets old! and i collect Blue Glass. My husband calls me a bower bird. (an Australian bird that collect blue things on it's nesting pile to attract the ladies!)
Posted by: Katy | October 21, 2008 at 06:11 PM
Your juice glasses are great! They remind me of ones we had when I was a kid.
As far as collecting, I've given up. It feels like it's just more to dust! I'm going with 'less is more' right now.
Posted by: Amy | October 21, 2008 at 09:07 PM
I collect fabric and other textiles, but my weakness is hankies. Since I was a child, I have always loved them. Now I limit to adding one or two as souvenirs when we travel, or occassionally one that is really different. (hard to find, as I have....many.... )
Posted by: Jan | October 22, 2008 at 01:48 AM
i collect for my girls
very traditional, sometimes one off funky little christmas decorations so that they will one day leave home with a collection to fill a tree. we use them each year and they get the first gift of the giving season on the first of dec when we put up the tree...its such a nice way to start christmas, and i love looking for the decoration. i think this year i will hand make them but...not sure
Posted by: jacqui jones | October 22, 2008 at 04:26 AM
Vintage cups are a good collection. Fun and useful. I agree with you that most collections are just space hoggers that gather dust. I think I collect craft supplies(including fabric) and to-do lists lol!
Posted by: Michelle | October 22, 2008 at 12:16 PM
I collect, um, really cool fabric that I swear I'm going to make something with someday. :)
I love the idea of collecting vintage glasses and I really, really want someone (you) to buy these: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15017268
I would buy them myself but I'm on a strict self-imposed shopping boycott...
Posted by: kate | October 22, 2008 at 04:25 PM
I don't really collect . . . there's no space left in this house. :)
Posted by: Amy @ parkcitygirl | October 23, 2008 at 01:25 PM
Thanks, Jess. Now I have to start collecting those adorable Halloween figurines. I've stopped collecting almost everything (except fabric and vintage quilt stuff!) The stuff just gets to be too overwhelming!
Posted by: Doris at Threads of Conversation | October 23, 2008 at 02:44 PM
Love the idea of collecting the vintage juice glasses. I completely agree with your thoughts on collecting. I have a very difficult time collecting things unless I'm actually going to use them. I collect Pyrex bowls and casserole dishes. I love the retro feeling they give me when I'm cooking, the colors are fab, and I use them everyday. It was the perfect thing for me to collect :)
Posted by: Shawna | October 24, 2008 at 10:26 AM
Oooh, let's see....McCoy pottery - mostly the flower pots. Widgets by Shearwater Pottery. Very non-pc but I love them. I love glass things especially hobnail glass from LE Smith Glass. Blue and white transferware - I haven't really gotten any new pieces in forever because it's become very expensive. I wish I collected fabric but, like money in my pocket, if I have it, I use it....seashells - I have shells stashed everywhere...some on my window above the kitchen sink - every time I look at them they make me happy..
Posted by: Jules | October 29, 2008 at 09:03 PM
I collect all kinds of crap, and am being buried in "STUFF". I collect tin globes (which take up a shocking about of space), vintage cameras (particularly toy cameras), vintage books (mostly childrens), Vintage Chinese checker boards, and a whole mess more.
I am impressed by your restraint! Cute little glasses and not too hard to find at Thrift stores.
Posted by: Paper Dolls for Boys | October 30, 2008 at 01:10 PM