Treasures of the Heart: Collections

This month I thought I would hear a lot of April Fools jokes, but the people interviewed chose to speak of collections they had, instead of joking around. Collections can happen at any age at any time and be collected from different places or sources. With collecting, you make something to bring, or to gather together in a group. It could be a childhood thing, collected and added to over and over, and then suddenly dismissed as your interest waned and you got older.

Do you have a collection that you have added to year after year? Did your collection start when you were young? What influenced your collection? Was there or is there a collection you always wanted but never dared to actually collect?

Orin:

I collect joker cards. It is my oldest collection. In high school there were so many different ones. They were the easiest ones to do a card trick with. My goal was to make a whole deck out of different joker cards. I have exceeded this and am still adding to this collection.

Ashley:

I always wanted to collect vinyl records but storage and the value have prevented me. I have a key chain collection I started when I was 12 years old because I really liked them. I have a fascination with them. In my adulthood, I am more excited by them. People have started giving them to me when they go on trips. Key chains are sentimental. There is a connection with the people who give them. I share the same memories with them as when they were traveling.

Tyler:

My interest in things have changed over the years. I am searching, seeking, collecting pieces of hardwood and fruitwood with the future intention of whittling it into spoons and tools. I became more interested when I found out that you are not supposed to stir honey with a metal spoon, that wood is best, to not affect the medicinal properties of the honey. When I was a kid, I collected Legos.

Rush:

I like collecting bullets to make towers. I find them on a rocky road called the Desert Hills. We were stump hunting there. We can make whistles and harmonicas out of bullets too. It is sick! I have a big Lego collection in a large container and a small container. My Legos are mixed up. I use pieces for new things, especially pieces I have never had before. I keep adding to my Lego bin. The more the better.

Chris:

I used to live with a collector. He had 50 saxophones. He loved the instrument. He went to music school to be a saxophonist. He also repairs saxophones as a profession and has an ongoing repair shop. His creativity is expansive, you can see how his mind works and what his interests are. Some of the saxophones have cool engravings, some are antiques and some are unplayable, hanging on the wall. The first thing he did as a kid, was take a saxophone apart and the fascination began there.

Jenny:

I have a collection of earrings from a local jeweler, David Clarkson. I have necklaces… and our wedding rings are from this same artist. I have collected 20 pairs of earrings over the years from him. All are sterling silver dangle earrings. I like the way they hang, they are light. The necklace I wear is constantly commented upon and admired. It has two engraved great blue herons together in a circle. When I was little, I inherited Barbies and Breyer plastic horses from my older sisters. It was their collection, but I claimed it because there were so many to choose from. I did collect Snoopy stuff. I got a lot of hand-me-downs!