Collections

I think most people have a collection of something. We start as kids collecting marbles or coins or leaves or Star Wars action figures. As we get older, we might graduate to antiques or art or other things. Regardless, it's great fun to collect.

One of my great collections is Nativity scenes. I joke that this time of year we should open our home as a Christmas museum and charge three or four dollars a head. Boxes and boxes yield the over two hundred sets that I have collected over most of my 38 year life. Ornaments my parents gave me as a kid. Sets that friends and colleagues have given me over the years. Ones that I have bought on my adventures across the country and world. And some of my favorites are unique or kitschy ones from EBay and garage sales. (I could make a gingerbread Nativity scene with my set of molds and I have an example of just about every plastic one made in the 1950's.)

My collecting bent isn't confined to the holidays. I am always on the look out for pyrographic (wood burning) art pieces and furniture. My "other half" has hundreds of crosses. So, wherever we are, it's a treasure hunt. At garage sales and flea markets. Online and in stores. And the thrill of the chase is as exciting as the collection itself. I've became a pseudo-museum curator. I only want the finest and most unusual examples to add to the collection. It's about quality as much as it is about quantity. As a matter of fact, as your collection grows and gets better, you might even consider "deaccessioning" some of your pieces of lesser interest or quality.

So what do you collect? Whatever it is, it is sure to add interest and personality to your home. And don't forget that a collection can be just a few items. And any kind of objects are fair game. So, get out there and start the hunt!