Collecting and collections

Just something small from me on a Sunday morning after a short break from here.

Does anyone else collect things or have something that they enjoy spending their time looking at? It’s possible there is already a thread like this somewhere, but I’m never sure about the etiquette linked to old threads.

I have always collected small things. As a child I used to have a shelf above my radiator that I used to set up almost like a museum exhibition for all of my intriguing items. Things like interesting stones, tiny toys and old coins would be part of my collections. Whenever I have a sort out, I often find many of the things that I squirrel away without realising it. I now have an area in my garage that is dedicated to this old style of collecting that I did as a child. I sometimes accompany the things I collect with a book linked to it, if I find one. For example I have recently bought a book on silver marks (which are tiny and therefore captured my attention immediately), so would like to find some thing to go with this book.

Other things I love to collect include trading cards such as Pokémon cards (but only the earlier examples) and interesting rocks and minerals.

Do you have anything that you collect or just enjoy to look at/ be around?

Parents
  • I collect things but sparingly. I find that if it's special to me, something bad happens to it. 

    For instance, people who are angry would break my special things to hurt me. People who are resentful would steal my things and claim it's theirs, or it'll just get stolen in general and I'll never see it again. Or I'll just lose it somehow, or people will think it's garbage and throw it out. 

    But I currently have a dozen card decks, some special stones, tons of books, a small special coin pouch. I'd really like a fossil someday. I think my father had an amber with an insect in it, and it was really interesting, so I might get an amber one day too. 

  • I’m so sorry you have those fears! I’m sure you would keep your special things safe from such horrible people! I’m glad though that you have some things you love, I have stones that are special to me too. I particularly like lapis, Rose Quartz and Chrysoprase. I also have stones off the beach from holidays (some lovely serpentine from Cornwall. I have a lovely antique inkwell made from Cornish serpentine - it’s a bit chipped but I love it - it has vibrant red streaks running through it. I love stones, the feel of them is so nice and smooth - they are like little sculptures to me. 

Reply
  • I’m so sorry you have those fears! I’m sure you would keep your special things safe from such horrible people! I’m glad though that you have some things you love, I have stones that are special to me too. I particularly like lapis, Rose Quartz and Chrysoprase. I also have stones off the beach from holidays (some lovely serpentine from Cornwall. I have a lovely antique inkwell made from Cornish serpentine - it’s a bit chipped but I love it - it has vibrant red streaks running through it. I love stones, the feel of them is so nice and smooth - they are like little sculptures to me. 

Children
  • Yes I also have a crystal and gemstone collection going! I like the smooth stones too. They all have unique shapes and colours, and it's a joy to look at each of them up close. 

    It's unfortunate that there's people who exist who will do such damaging things to people and their valuables. But then I realize why I care about objects more than I care about people, some people are just unpleasant. I realized that it's quite sad when I would find more joy from a rock than I would find from those kinds of people.