Okay, I have a confession to make! I am a compulsive collector! I love collecting things that I find interesting in my daily life - fabric, paper, books, stamps, buttons, labels, apple stickers, flowers, feathers….. the list go’s on forever. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a hoarder, (my husband would disagree!) I just like to collect things that are meaningful to me or that I have a spiritual connection to. Constantly looking out for things throughout the day brings an extra level of excitement in my daily routine. I became a much more observant person and I found myself appreciating my surroundings and everything I own a lot more. The problem is that I ended up with stash and containers full of random things in my studio! Did I mention that I am not a very good orgainser either?
All these little bits and pieces I find day in, day out, are ordinary yet extraordinary. They are the trail left behind of our being and living, the sediment of our activities, the remainder of moments passed; they speaks to us in ways that no words can describe. Okay, I might sound a bit too sentimental here, but this is truly how I feel when I pick up these things. I know some of you will understand exactly what I mean. This collection of random stuff is one of my biggest sources of inspiration. I draw from them, make collages out of them, send them to my pen pals, create things with them…. I like the idea of turning these ordinary unwanted things into something beautiful, once again bringing joy into our lives. We are currently living in a throw away society, the amount of waste we produce collectively is phenomenal. I often feel guilty when I buy new clothes or new stationeries, as I feel that I have already had enough, but I simply can’t resist the excitement of getting new things. At the same time, I think it is important for us to remember that we need to enjoy ourselves. So I came up with these strategies to help me to counter that guilt.
a. Think carefully about what I buy. Do I already own something similar? Do I need them?
b. Can I buy them second hand? Or swap them with someone else?
c. Make sure everything I buy will be used and loved
d. Challenge myself at least once a week to use an old item in a creative way.
e. Mix and match the new things with things I already own.
So far, these strategies are working well (in both my wardrobe and my studio) and I have had so much fun putting the new and the old items together. I found myself thinking more creatively about how to use what I already own and most importantly my collections are getting a healthy new life.
I was thrilled to receive the April box, everything in this box is really useful yet interesting. They could be easily used with my existing stationery stash and my collection of ‘things’. I particularly love the Classiky bon bon,- the vintage illustrations on these cards are so cute. I also enjoyed playing around with the Sunday Sunday washi tape and the Chamil Garden’s Café Stamp. So here you go- I made a junk mailer using items from the Stationery Selection boxes and my private collections! I use a calendar from an old Frankie magazine to make a folder and placed envelops inside to hold the treasures I want to share with my pen pal. I’m especially pleased with the hanging Classiky bon bon tag.
I filmed myself while I made this but my phone played up, so please enjoy the strangely mesmerising slow motion in the second half of the video ;)
Link to Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIqPy9-sonc
For all the collectors out there, what do you collect? And how do you manage or use your collections? Tell us by sharing your ideas here or you could share by #thestationeryselection on Instagram. Can’t wait ☺
I hear you about the note books. I have quite a few beautiful notebooks I collected over the years and remain unused in the cupboard. I am hopeless when it comes to beautiful paper and paper goods. However, I have been trying to use them for different things this year, so far so good. To answer your question about the twine, I taped the end of the twine at the centre of the folder, so no twine will be hanging out at the bottom end :) My parents have lots of teapot sets sitting in their cupboard, and some of them have migrated over to my cupboard over the years. Teapots are amongst some of the most beautiful household objects to look at. In fact, I have a couple of books on teapots in my collection! ps. I have run out of room for books……
Wow Connie this is beautiful I have never heard of a junk mailer before. I saw you put the twine cross wise on the inside of the folder, I’m assuming the twine at the top was used for the hanging tag (very clever) what happened to the twine at the bottom?
I collect notebooks don’t really know why i just love them i don’t use them I just love them, I also collect tea/coffee sets and I have absolutely no more room to store any more sets but that doesn’t stop me from buying them. Thats a few of my collections I seem to have way more.