Collecting and collections

Hi - yes definitely! I love that idea of ‘a cabinet of curiosities’ - small treasures. When I was very young I found (in a field) the site of an old Victorian rubbish tip and I collected loads of little bits of broken Victorian pottery with lots of different prints and colours on them. I loved doing that. In more recent years I’ve loved antiques fairs and have collected small buddhist and Hindu statues whenever I can find them, and small bronze or silver items that are unusual or curious in some way. I also collect semi precious gemstones and crystals. I also like Arts and Crafts items, and Persian copper bowls.  Lots of things. But the small statues are my favourite - I get so much pleasure from those. They are hard to find though (good ones anyway). 

I like the name ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’. The word ‘curiosities’ would definitely have summed up my old radiator shelf collection. It was very eclectic. My mum was a dental nurse so she used to be able to bring home these incredibly small pots that were made of a clear plastic. They had an opaque base and small foam pad, the top part was clear. These made excellent miniature ‘museum display cases’ for anything small enough to fit into them.

I too collect semi-precious gemstones, so can understand the appeal. I also like the sound of the copper bowls! I have some very miniature wooden bowls that were turned in a lathe that I enjoy, but something like that made from copper would be nice I imagine.

To be out in the field you described must have been exciting though- finding the treasures yourself would have been very satisfying. That’s how I feel when I find a new rock/mineral that grabs my attention. 

Are the statues you collect carved? If so, what materials are they typically made of? 

Miniature museum display cases - I love that :) 

I am really scared of the dentist though so I would not be able to enjoy dental related items in my house! 
I love little glass bottles though - especially those lovely antique deep blue and green ones.

I’ve sometimes considered getting a metal detector but have come to the conclusion that I would probably get far too obsessive about that and never be able to stop! I remember going to a beach where I was told said you could find amber on the beach and I couldn’t stop looking - it sort of spoiled my visit there! I HAD to find some - (but didn’t! ). 
Also at Lyme Regis where you can find fossils - I partly enjoyed that but partly found it hard to stop searching so it was a bit stressful. 
I love things made from wood by hand - my particular favourite woods are oak, yew and burr walnut as I love the grain. Oak is such a beautiful colour - I love solid oak furniture. 
The statues I buy are bronze or brass, or sometimes other metals that are a mix and I’m not sure. I like to collect things that don’t break - as I wouldn’t want to invest money in something very fragile. The one exception to that is antique spongeware pottery that I love so much that I will buy it anyway if I find some. It’s mostly too expensive now though as it seems to be very popular at the moment, I love copper - it had the most beautiful, rosy warm colour. People moan about polishing copper and brass but I find that very relaxing and things look so lovely when they’re polished. The other thing I always look out for are 18th century brass candlesticks. Not everyone knows the difference between 18th & 19th century ones so sometimes you can find the 18th century ones quite cheap if your lucky. I love to have things that are so old and to think of what the world was like when they were first being used. The other thing I collect is Crotal Bells - they’re lovely. I can find a 300 year old crotal bell for about £30. That’s such a lot of history for what some people would spend on a rubbish plastic modern object. As you see I could go on about these things for ages - I love them! 

It was a great course. I’m now on the lookout for a lathe and turning equipment, but have some saving to do first! And I agree- making useful things is great. I find beauty in practicality when I make things, it’s often why I don’t base my designs on the ideas of others. But I of course watch and learn from those around me and from more experienced crafts people.

With regards to your question about the rings, I was unsure. Our rings did come from that part of the country and mine looks very much like the offset oak design on his website- so possibly! I also looked at sandcast rings as if not heard of this before. What an amazing outcome- you must be very happy with them.

Thank you for the recommendation of looking at coromandel wood too. I had not heard of it, but it is beautiful and interestingly patterned. Not based on colour, but it reminds me a little of the patterns you find when someone works with maple burl.

I like the sound of the furniture that your husband made from pallets too. I have also made a few of those things. The old coffee table that I made has now been transformed into a small potting table for the garden though. I picked pallets to try to teach myself how to make things and now I’m feeling a bit more confident, I have been starting to explore other materials too. My aim is to try and use reclaimed materials mainly though (I like the history of the thing as well as the feeling gained from recycling something and preventing waste).

I’m sure my next trip to the beach will include amber hunting- I just need to time it better as the last time I went was very crowded and therefore the opposite of relaxing! I imagine a lot of people would be happy to find some ambergris- what an interesting substance.

I’d love to try woodturning - it looks like a very satisfying thing to do. To make something useful is very satisfying too isn’t it? Your wedding ring sounds wonderful - was it made by Justin Duance? He made our sandcast wedding rings but he also makes wedding rings inlaid with wood, they’re really beautiful. He will use sand from any beach you have a connection with, and also uses wood from ships too. It’s a wonderful thing to have so much meaning in your wedding ring isn’t it? 
I was watching an old Salvage Hunters episode th3 other day and he was raving about a wood called Coromandel - do you know it? It has a lovely, unusual colour and grain - it’s really stunning. I really like campaign furniture too, which I discovered through his show. 
It’s interesting that you’ve made things from pallet wood - my husband has made loads of things from pallet wood too - especially  when we first got married and we had no money - he made loads of great things (shelving, coffee table, bathroom cabinet, a lovely panel for the side of the bath - all really lovely). We love making things from salvaged materials - it’s so good to do that. 
We haven’t got a drinks trolley - what a good idea! It sounds like quite a decadent thing to have - even if it is made from pallet wood! :) 

I hope you find some Amber one day. Actually I hope you find some Ambergris too - now that would be amazing wouldn’t it?! 

Your enthusiasm for this is great- I too could talk at length about this! Not something I get the opportunity to do often due to people not sharing the interest or not being prepared to listen to someone talk about what interests someone else in the outside world.

I’m sorry to hear of your fear. Unfortunately I think it is a fear shared with many others, but is one that I perhaps avoided due to my mum’s old job. That said, I have a few fears of my own too.

Glass bottles can be great- so many great colours and shapes. I have spent a few hours watching YouTube videos on people finding and cleaning these in the past.

I can entirely relate to the metal detector comment- I’ve had this exact same conflict too. I think I would be far to obsessive to entirely enjoy it. And, I too have spent many hours in search of amber on the beach and to date have been unsuccessful- but the search goes on!

Woodwork is something that I love. I recently completed a woodturning for beginners course and it was amazing. I made a honey drizzler. It was nice because I actually had the chance to talk about wood with an expert for a whole day. Not something I get to do frequently! I really like oak too- as well as the others you mentioned- in fact, my wedding ring has an oak band inlayed into it. The oak is from an old tall ship. So it is great to be walking around with all of that history on my hand each day. I also like ebony due to its unique colour.

The statues sound very interesting- and solid. The weight of them would be satisfying I imagine. I made a drinks trolley for our house out of copper pipes and pallet wood- the colour is nice, so I can see that working well for a statue. Thanks for sharing your interests though- it was genuinely interesting to read about!

Your enthusiasm for this is great- I too could talk at length about this! Not something I get the opportunity to do often due to people not sharing the interest or not being prepared to listen to someone talk about what interests someone else in the outside world.

I’m sorry to hear of your fear. Unfortunately I think it is a fear shared with many others, but is one that I perhaps avoided due to my mum’s old job. That said, I have a few fears of my own too.

Glass bottles can be great- so many great colours and shapes. I have spent a few hours watching YouTube videos on people finding and cleaning these in the past.

I can entirely relate to the metal detector comment- I’ve had this exact same conflict too. I think I would be far to obsessive to entirely enjoy it. And, I too have spent many hours in search of amber on the beach and to date have been unsuccessful- but the search goes on!

Woodwork is something that I love. I recently completed a woodturning for beginners course and it was amazing. I made a honey drizzler. It was nice because I actually had the chance to talk about wood with an expert for a whole day. Not something I get to do frequently! I really like oak too- as well as the others you mentioned- in fact, my wedding ring has an oak band inlayed into it. The oak is from an old tall ship. So it is great to be walking around with all of that history on my hand each day. I also like ebony due to its unique colour.

The statues sound very interesting- and solid. The weight of them would be satisfying I imagine. I made a drinks trolley for our house out of copper pipes and pallet wood- the colour is nice, so I can see that working well for a statue. Thanks for sharing your interests though- it was genuinely interesting to read about!

It was a great course. I’m now on the lookout for a lathe and turning equipment, but have some saving to do first! And I agree- making useful things is great. I find beauty in practicality when I make things, it’s often why I don’t base my designs on the ideas of others. But I of course watch and learn from those around me and from more experienced crafts people.

With regards to your question about the rings, I was unsure. Our rings did come from that part of the country and mine looks very much like the offset oak design on his website- so possibly! I also looked at sandcast rings as if not heard of this before. What an amazing outcome- you must be very happy with them.

Thank you for the recommendation of looking at coromandel wood too. I had not heard of it, but it is beautiful and interestingly patterned. Not based on colour, but it reminds me a little of the patterns you find when someone works with maple burl.

I like the sound of the furniture that your husband made from pallets too. I have also made a few of those things. The old coffee table that I made has now been transformed into a small potting table for the garden though. I picked pallets to try to teach myself how to make things and now I’m feeling a bit more confident, I have been starting to explore other materials too. My aim is to try and use reclaimed materials mainly though (I like the history of the thing as well as the feeling gained from recycling something and preventing waste).

I’m sure my next trip to the beach will include amber hunting- I just need to time it better as the last time I went was very crowded and therefore the opposite of relaxing! I imagine a lot of people would be happy to find some ambergris- what an interesting substance.

I’d love to try woodturning - it looks like a very satisfying thing to do. To make something useful is very satisfying too isn’t it? Your wedding ring sounds wonderful - was it made by Justin Duance? He made our sandcast wedding rings but he also makes wedding rings inlaid with wood, they’re really beautiful. He will use sand from any beach you have a connection with, and also uses wood from ships too. It’s a wonderful thing to have so much meaning in your wedding ring isn’t it? 
I was watching an old Salvage Hunters episode th3 other day and he was raving about a wood called Coromandel - do you know it? It has a lovely, unusual colour and grain - it’s really stunning. I really like campaign furniture too, which I discovered through his show. 
It’s interesting that you’ve made things from pallet wood - my husband has made loads of things from pallet wood too - especially  when we first got married and we had no money - he made loads of great things (shelving, coffee table, bathroom cabinet, a lovely panel for the side of the bath - all really lovely). We love making things from salvaged materials - it’s so good to do that. 
We haven’t got a drinks trolley - what a good idea! It sounds like quite a decadent thing to have - even if it is made from pallet wood! :) 

I hope you find some Amber one day. Actually I hope you find some Ambergris too - now that would be amazing wouldn’t it?!