Maree’s musings collecting is cool
What is it about collecting stuff? I’d challenge my readers to identify a single person who doesn’t have a collection of anything; when you think about it, we’re all doing it, even if only to a small extent. I’m as ‘guilty’ as anybody, although because collecting is universal, guilt shouldn’t really feature. However, with planning on moving house high on the agenda; the thought of transporting and having a new ‘happy space’ for my collections is close to the top of the list.
At least my most treasured stash: frogs (no sniggering, please) – I have nearly 200 – don’t take up much room and none is alive. I should be able to pack them away in unmarked cardboard boxes and avoid the raised eyebrows of the removal chaps, although they’re likely to have seen a lot worse and are paid to be discreet.
Recently I sorted my ‘library’, my record collection, and the plethora of potplants; all pretty respectable. Whew! I found out recently that the famous tidy-up lady, Marie Kondo, dictates that one should have fewer than 30 books. Surely no-one can survive with that. But, she adds, ‘fewer than 30 cereal bowls.’ Seriously .. I fail to see the connection and so I can happily ignore her rules. Also in a recent New Scientist (refer back to my library), I read about James Wong, a botanist trained at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, no less. He lives in a tiny London flat with more than 500 houseplants. So I’m not alone.
Collections vary from the usual stuff like postage stamps, Barbie dolls, or royal memorabilia to the eccentric, and often start with one or two items one takes a fancy to. My passion for frogs started over 40 years ago when I was holidaying in Japan and purchased a couple of little ones as souvenirs. They looked a bit lonely on the shelf at home … you can work out the rest.
So why do we do it? A relaxing hobby, or to fill up space around you? Sometimes monetary value is part of it; although you have to sell to reap the reward, and so it’s probably more likely for status. Maybe it’s a control thing. Whatever the reason, this collecting lark has been going on for a very long time: about 12000 years, when humans stopped being nomads.
I have no idea what folk considered valuable then, but items would no doubt had to have been useful. Nowadays … not so much, if at all. I’ve got a friend who has found the ‘time’ to collect clocks, and another who’s crazy about jewellery. I’m a great fan of Joanne Black, who’s an excellent columnist for the NZ Listener. She collects books, but also china, and is shortly moving back to New Zealand. Her anxiety about travelling with all this makes me feel a whole lot better knowing that someone as famous as she has ‘feet of clay’ as well.
One good thing, I suppose, is that Joanne’s and my collections don’t take up huge amounts of room and the fragile environment is not suffering. At least we’re not into sports cars or huge concrete sculptures, for example. And incidentally, should anybody want to grace me with a ‘going away’ pressie; you’ll know what to look for. Just saying.
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