What's a good category of souvenirs to collect?
June 25, 2015 7:58 PM Subscribe
I'd like to start a collection of some kind of everyday items from different parts of the world...
I've been enjoying reading this cookbook. The author, a chef, has a collection of knives that she has bought on her travels (more details here).
I would love to start a collection like this: something which exists in every culture, is an everyday item, but comes in many variants. Since I'm not a chef, though, knives are not that meaningful for me.
Any suggestions for things which might be suitable? Whatever it is they should be fairly small and not too expensive; but should in some way be meaningful of the place that I bought them (eg I have a lot of notebooks from around the world, but I don't exactly look at one of them and remember the place that I bought it). Ideally I would also like things which I might be able to use, or at least handle, rather than just display. And they shouldn't be perishable.
When I travel I love to visit supermarkets and hardware stores, if that helps.
I've been enjoying reading this cookbook. The author, a chef, has a collection of knives that she has bought on her travels (more details here).
I would love to start a collection like this: something which exists in every culture, is an everyday item, but comes in many variants. Since I'm not a chef, though, knives are not that meaningful for me.
Any suggestions for things which might be suitable? Whatever it is they should be fairly small and not too expensive; but should in some way be meaningful of the place that I bought them (eg I have a lot of notebooks from around the world, but I don't exactly look at one of them and remember the place that I bought it). Ideally I would also like things which I might be able to use, or at least handle, rather than just display. And they shouldn't be perishable.
When I travel I love to visit supermarkets and hardware stores, if that helps.
Coins!
posted by Small Dollar at 8:02 PM on June 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Small Dollar at 8:02 PM on June 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
You might take inspiration from Kiosk, a store that carries a strange and wonderful collection of everyday objects from around the world, from groceries to paintbrushes and bells. Well worth a visit in person if you happen to be in New York.
posted by three_red_balloons at 8:05 PM on June 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by three_red_balloons at 8:05 PM on June 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
I buy a Christmas ornament every time I go to a new country. They're usually easy to find, can be pretty distinctive, and they always evoke great memories when I bring them out every winter.
posted by JannaK at 8:06 PM on June 25, 2015 [24 favorites]
posted by JannaK at 8:06 PM on June 25, 2015 [24 favorites]
100% 2nding Christmas ornaments. If you can't find an actual ornament, find something that approximates the size and shape, then improvise a way to hang them on the tree. Getting them out every year is always a hoot.
posted by jquinby at 8:15 PM on June 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by jquinby at 8:15 PM on June 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
While it wouldn't work for everywhere, I've had a lot of fun collecting reusable grocery bags from various places we've been. Then I get to see and use them regularly.
posted by brilliantine at 8:17 PM on June 25, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by brilliantine at 8:17 PM on June 25, 2015 [11 favorites]
I do find coins from around the world endlessly fascinating, although that might be a pretty typical response. Maybe spices? They can often last awhile. Or alcohol or soda?
posted by SpacemanStix at 8:24 PM on June 25, 2015
posted by SpacemanStix at 8:24 PM on June 25, 2015
The lowest value coins from all the counties of the world, and maybe from defunct currencies as well, like lira or centimes.
Best part is when someone asks you how much your collection is worth, you can say it only has CENTimental value.
posted by infinitewindow at 8:29 PM on June 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
Best part is when someone asks you how much your collection is worth, you can say it only has CENTimental value.
posted by infinitewindow at 8:29 PM on June 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
One of our neighbors in our old city had an amazing collection of masks from all over the world on a big wall in her living room. I don't think any single mask was particularly expensive but as a group they looked phenomenal. They may be larger than you have in mind though.
When I was a poor student backpacking around I usually bought postcards that reminded me of the city I was in--not necessarily the tourist vista but maybe a striking piece of art or something funny (if I spoke the language well enough to get the joke).
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 8:32 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
When I was a poor student backpacking around I usually bought postcards that reminded me of the city I was in--not necessarily the tourist vista but maybe a striking piece of art or something funny (if I spoke the language well enough to get the joke).
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 8:32 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
I usually buy something made by a local street vendor -- a piece of art or jewelry would be the most common type of purchase, but I've also bought handmade oils, handwoven or embroidered fabrics, or a collection of dried and pressed native plants.
They may not be super emblematic of their country of origin on first glance when others see them, but I know where I bought each one, and I remember the conversations I had with their creator, and that is more meaningful for me personally.
posted by ananci at 8:40 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
They may not be super emblematic of their country of origin on first glance when others see them, but I know where I bought each one, and I remember the conversations I had with their creator, and that is more meaningful for me personally.
posted by ananci at 8:40 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Because you like supermarkets, reusable grocery bags are an option. I buy them when I'm on vacation and when I use them it's a nice reminder of my trips. However, I don't try to keep them forever or anything, so it's not a permanent collection. Even they wear out after a few years.
I work in museums, and stole an idea from a former boss. Whenever he visited a new museum, even if it was just a 30 minute drop-in at a conference or something, he bought a postcard. His office wall was covered with hundreds of postcards. I've followed suit, but what I've done is to buy the postcard and write a note to myself on the back with the date of visit - about something I loved seeing there, or what I was in town to do - and put them in little flip-through photo albums. I like that it becomes a sort of professional diary. I've also heard of people writing postcards to themselves when traveling - sending them home, so they arrive with postmarks and all, but you keep a record of your own travels through the postcards. Could hardly be more inexpensive.
posted by Miko at 8:43 PM on June 25, 2015 [13 favorites]
I work in museums, and stole an idea from a former boss. Whenever he visited a new museum, even if it was just a 30 minute drop-in at a conference or something, he bought a postcard. His office wall was covered with hundreds of postcards. I've followed suit, but what I've done is to buy the postcard and write a note to myself on the back with the date of visit - about something I loved seeing there, or what I was in town to do - and put them in little flip-through photo albums. I like that it becomes a sort of professional diary. I've also heard of people writing postcards to themselves when traveling - sending them home, so they arrive with postmarks and all, but you keep a record of your own travels through the postcards. Could hardly be more inexpensive.
posted by Miko at 8:43 PM on June 25, 2015 [13 favorites]
I also buy postcards whenever I travel somewhere--nice ones that I enjoy looking at. I keep corkboards at my desk at work and at home and cover them with the nicer postcards so I can look at them whenever I like. Every so often I rotate them out.
We do the Christmas ornament suggestion as well. Really gives character to the tree.
posted by sciatrix at 8:52 PM on June 25, 2015
We do the Christmas ornament suggestion as well. Really gives character to the tree.
posted by sciatrix at 8:52 PM on June 25, 2015
Somebody I know saves all of his travel vouchers: plane ticket stubs, transit cards, bus tickets, etc. He's traveled a lot and he saves everything. He's got a shadow box hanging up behind his toilet (I'm sure you can think of a nicer place, but he's probably got a great multiple times per day view of that wall) and every time he comes home from a place he pins the new ones in. He shuffles them up from time to time, too.
It's a neat little collection and dead easy to pack as a souvenir since it's just slips of paper.
posted by phunniemee at 8:52 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's a neat little collection and dead easy to pack as a souvenir since it's just slips of paper.
posted by phunniemee at 8:52 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
I used to travel a lot for work. It's hard to say one particular thing, but I bought a few nice things that I thought were lovely and unique at each location:
- artwork and paper cuttings from china
- clothing from thailand and france
- pottery from turkey
- a huge girly pink umbrella from japan
- a beaded fruit bowl from south africa
- bright bags and a "hoptimist" from denmark
- a blanket from guatemala
- for free: a recipe for a really spicy hot sauce from cameroon
I love that each of these things are a part of my daily life and still remind me of each country and place. So another idea is just collecting things you think you can use!
Also, magnets can be a cool, colorful fallback - for awhile I tried collecting only magnets that were of women, but this actually proved to be hard! Or perhaps a small accessory, like belts or hats.
posted by watrlily at 8:52 PM on June 25, 2015
- artwork and paper cuttings from china
- clothing from thailand and france
- pottery from turkey
- a huge girly pink umbrella from japan
- a beaded fruit bowl from south africa
- bright bags and a "hoptimist" from denmark
- a blanket from guatemala
- for free: a recipe for a really spicy hot sauce from cameroon
I love that each of these things are a part of my daily life and still remind me of each country and place. So another idea is just collecting things you think you can use!
Also, magnets can be a cool, colorful fallback - for awhile I tried collecting only magnets that were of women, but this actually proved to be hard! Or perhaps a small accessory, like belts or hats.
posted by watrlily at 8:52 PM on June 25, 2015
Best answer: My dentist has a display cabinet full of toothpaste from around the world, which patients have brought him from their travels. It's more interesting than it sounds, especially stuff from Third World countries.
I love to cook, so I look for bilingual or English-language cookbooks of the local cuisine on my trips. I also like kitchen gadgets, but only if they are very useful or very distinctive (bonus if they're both).
Unusual hobby-related tools are also fun. I like to sew, and I know that someday I will NEED that wickedly long Hawaiian needle for stringing flower leis. I also like to get fabric - some countries have amazing fabric stores - and those textiles and the garments I make from them definitely remind me of various trips.
posted by Quietgal at 8:59 PM on June 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
I love to cook, so I look for bilingual or English-language cookbooks of the local cuisine on my trips. I also like kitchen gadgets, but only if they are very useful or very distinctive (bonus if they're both).
Unusual hobby-related tools are also fun. I like to sew, and I know that someday I will NEED that wickedly long Hawaiian needle for stringing flower leis. I also like to get fabric - some countries have amazing fabric stores - and those textiles and the garments I make from them definitely remind me of various trips.
posted by Quietgal at 8:59 PM on June 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
Toothpick holders are in every gift shop and they don't take up much space.
posted by PSB at 9:40 PM on June 25, 2015
posted by PSB at 9:40 PM on June 25, 2015
I collect coffee mugs, because I enjoy drinking hot tea, and mugs are plentiful and inexpensive. Every time I reach in to the cupboard I literally get to pull out some fond memories from that particular trip.
posted by LilithSilver at 10:10 PM on June 25, 2015
posted by LilithSilver at 10:10 PM on June 25, 2015
-Earrings: I have a mix of cheap street vendor stuff and nicer ones.
-Public transportation: this one doesn't always work out, but don't places have really neat metro cards. My favorite is Istanbul, which when I was there at least, still used little metal tokens.
posted by matildatakesovertheworld at 10:24 PM on June 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
-Public transportation: this one doesn't always work out, but don't places have really neat metro cards. My favorite is Istanbul, which when I was there at least, still used little metal tokens.
posted by matildatakesovertheworld at 10:24 PM on June 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Beer koozies! If you drink a lot of canned beverages.
posted by radiomayonnaise at 10:34 PM on June 25, 2015
posted by radiomayonnaise at 10:34 PM on June 25, 2015
I always try to buy some local honey. Not a permanent kind of souvenir but a treat that lasts a few months after the trip. Then I keep the jars. It's always a truly local food and the container art work is remarkably diverse...
posted by Tandem Affinity at 10:44 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Tandem Affinity at 10:44 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
All my bookmarks are train or plane tickets to places I've loved.
posted by Elsie at 11:05 PM on June 25, 2015
posted by Elsie at 11:05 PM on June 25, 2015
Things I buy:
- art! I have a collection of art from around the world. The styles are all different but they fit together because they have a certain line or aesthetic to them. I buy them from street vendors or slightly nicer places, but they're all proudly displayed in my home. I remember each trip quite fondly as a result.
- spoons, other serving utensils, dishcloths, table cloths, cloth napkins and usable pottery: they are often handmade, small, portable, evocative of a particular place. You can get hand-hammered spoons, steel-forged giant forks, delicate ceramic spoons, hand-thrown pottery bowls or spoon rests. They don't all need to match: when you have a dinner party, the table can have a nice table cloth (also with a story) and the candle sticks, servingware and serving dishes can be a bit unique. My dinner plates are all from a set, so the other things add pattern, life, texture and a bit of humor.
Basically: I pick up actual art that goes on my walls, or something functional for everyday use or special occasions, and use them all frequently.
If you had to pick a single item, I'd vote for a spoon or other food serving instrument. They're small, often quite specific to the local area, always handy for jams and soups and cheese and cereal and tea and sugar and ice cream.
posted by barnone at 11:36 PM on June 25, 2015
- art! I have a collection of art from around the world. The styles are all different but they fit together because they have a certain line or aesthetic to them. I buy them from street vendors or slightly nicer places, but they're all proudly displayed in my home. I remember each trip quite fondly as a result.
- spoons, other serving utensils, dishcloths, table cloths, cloth napkins and usable pottery: they are often handmade, small, portable, evocative of a particular place. You can get hand-hammered spoons, steel-forged giant forks, delicate ceramic spoons, hand-thrown pottery bowls or spoon rests. They don't all need to match: when you have a dinner party, the table can have a nice table cloth (also with a story) and the candle sticks, servingware and serving dishes can be a bit unique. My dinner plates are all from a set, so the other things add pattern, life, texture and a bit of humor.
Basically: I pick up actual art that goes on my walls, or something functional for everyday use or special occasions, and use them all frequently.
If you had to pick a single item, I'd vote for a spoon or other food serving instrument. They're small, often quite specific to the local area, always handy for jams and soups and cheese and cereal and tea and sugar and ice cream.
posted by barnone at 11:36 PM on June 25, 2015
Refrigerator magnets! My mom has magnets from 5 continents.
posted by town of cats at 11:37 PM on June 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by town of cats at 11:37 PM on June 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Coasters? They're practical, everyday, and I bet most places that sell to tourists will have some that are decorated with geographic/cultural designs.
Or how about beer mats advertising local brands of beer or whatever?
posted by bentley at 11:45 PM on June 25, 2015
Or how about beer mats advertising local brands of beer or whatever?
posted by bentley at 11:45 PM on June 25, 2015
Seconding fridge magnets, and also bottle openers and fridge magnet bottle openers.
posted by Dr Dracator at 11:58 PM on June 25, 2015
posted by Dr Dracator at 11:58 PM on June 25, 2015
I also travel a lot, and I usually pick up magnets, postcards or Christmas ornaments. My favourite part about ornaments is that they can be as classic or ridiculous as you like- for instance, I have one of Santa climbing the Eiffel Tower I got from Paris.
posted by Tamanna at 12:02 AM on June 26, 2015
posted by Tamanna at 12:02 AM on June 26, 2015
Not sure if you're male or female, but I like to buy jewellery and accessories when I travel. Earrings, scarves, tote bags, all small and easy to carry. Every time I use the item I'm reminded of the place.
Textiles are also a good collecting category that have practical use. Eg decorative pillow coverings, place mats, throws.
posted by exquisite_deluxe at 12:59 AM on June 26, 2015 [3 favorites]
Textiles are also a good collecting category that have practical use. Eg decorative pillow coverings, place mats, throws.
posted by exquisite_deluxe at 12:59 AM on June 26, 2015 [3 favorites]
I'm a total weirdo.
Rocks, Shells, Pieces of (drift) Wood. Also Pine Cones, Dried Pomegranite Husks. And similar.
My most special Rock is kept in a carved wooden box in the style of an ancient culture from another place I value. Because they go "together" in a weird way (Dark Jade I found in a riverbed in Yosemite, was compelling enough to save but seemed out of place until years later I lived in NZ and learned about Maori Tradition of GreenStone at the entrance of their LongHouses - YEAH!)
You do you. That's my criteria.
posted by jbenben at 1:03 AM on June 26, 2015 [3 favorites]
Rocks, Shells, Pieces of (drift) Wood. Also Pine Cones, Dried Pomegranite Husks. And similar.
My most special Rock is kept in a carved wooden box in the style of an ancient culture from another place I value. Because they go "together" in a weird way (Dark Jade I found in a riverbed in Yosemite, was compelling enough to save but seemed out of place until years later I lived in NZ and learned about Maori Tradition of GreenStone at the entrance of their LongHouses - YEAH!)
You do you. That's my criteria.
posted by jbenben at 1:03 AM on June 26, 2015 [3 favorites]
Whatever it is, either go for something very small (so you can have a lot of them without them taking up a lot of room) or go for something you will actually use in your daily life. If you're not careful a collection can easily become this big pile of dusty useless stuff in your house that your family has to sift through and throw away when you die. Newspapers and other printed matter will turn into piles of yellow, moldy sadness. Colorful figurines will become dusty little burdens that fill up your shelves and sit there staring at you with their little faces that stopped being cute 40 years ago. I hate to be Debby Downer, but really, collections can really go bad on you if you don't plan them out.
Think, like, matchbooks. Saltshakers. Thimbles. If you could travel the world and still fit your whole collection on one little shelf, you're doing it right. Or maybe glasses you'll actually drink from. Combs. Things you'll actually wear, like watches or socks or something.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 1:18 AM on June 26, 2015 [6 favorites]
Think, like, matchbooks. Saltshakers. Thimbles. If you could travel the world and still fit your whole collection on one little shelf, you're doing it right. Or maybe glasses you'll actually drink from. Combs. Things you'll actually wear, like watches or socks or something.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 1:18 AM on June 26, 2015 [6 favorites]
Bring home a bottle of local beer from each trip. When you get home and are missing your holidays, drink it, and then keep the bottle as a souvenir.
posted by penguin pie at 1:26 AM on June 26, 2015
posted by penguin pie at 1:26 AM on June 26, 2015
Since scent seems to be a great way to trigger memory, I will look for small scented items such as small solid perfume tins, and wear the scent while I'm at the location. Later, the items are fun to look at, and very evocative of my travels to take a whiff of.
posted by thebrokedown at 1:32 AM on June 26, 2015
posted by thebrokedown at 1:32 AM on June 26, 2015
We buy kitchen stuff. We have jugs, glasses, salad tongs, chopsticks, bowls, baskets, various spatulas and spoons, etc, all with stories of where we've been.
posted by olinerd at 2:50 AM on June 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by olinerd at 2:50 AM on June 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
Not just postcards. The stamps on the postcards are important. Go to the post office and get weird stamps. You can use more stamps than you normally need, or higher denominations than you need, just to use the stamps you like. Mail them home to yourself as you go with little descriptions of where you were. Postcards to yourself like diary entries. And the stamps.
When you get home, you can make a trip book or scan them all for online display.
posted by pracowity at 4:20 AM on June 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
When you get home, you can make a trip book or scan them all for online display.
posted by pracowity at 4:20 AM on June 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
Bottle caps. Lots of countries have their own brands of soda/beer. Small, free, distinctive.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 4:22 AM on June 26, 2015
posted by TWinbrook8 at 4:22 AM on June 26, 2015
It's always a piece of jewelry for me - these earrings from Greece, that pendant from Italy, the other ring from India. Mostly silver because it's relatively inexpensive, but I have a few nicer pieces, too. Never fails to evoke a memory when I wear it.
posted by ersatzkat at 4:46 AM on June 26, 2015
posted by ersatzkat at 4:46 AM on June 26, 2015
My sister buys a keychain for my dad from every place she goes. Key chains are perfect because they are EVERYWHERE, small, and inexpensive. Some are the classic tourist type with the name of the place written on it in big letters, others are more unique (like the fabric (like a small stuffed animal) locust keychain she got in (I think) Egypt but I can't recall). She travels a LOT and has for most of her life, so the keychain collection is pretty awesome. Every christmas my dad sets up a smaller (~2.5 foot high) christmas tree just for the world keychains she bought him.
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 5:05 AM on June 26, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 5:05 AM on June 26, 2015 [2 favorites]
I used to do mugs but then that swiftly spiraled out of control and I was facing some tough choices about who to keep and who to toss when my collection outgrew my shelf space.
Now I go for the tackiest, weirdest, brightest magnet I can find in a place. Of course, I next moved to a place with a non-magnetic fridge. So, until I move again, they live on the radiators and the washer/dryer.
I like the magnets because they are small, cheap, often explicitly say where I got them, and I can revel in just how very awful they are. I'm a sucker for a good glitter encrusted dolphin holding a tiny thermometer- they speak to my glitter encrusted soul.
posted by Bibliogeek at 5:42 AM on June 26, 2015 [2 favorites]
Now I go for the tackiest, weirdest, brightest magnet I can find in a place. Of course, I next moved to a place with a non-magnetic fridge. So, until I move again, they live on the radiators and the washer/dryer.
I like the magnets because they are small, cheap, often explicitly say where I got them, and I can revel in just how very awful they are. I'm a sucker for a good glitter encrusted dolphin holding a tiny thermometer- they speak to my glitter encrusted soul.
posted by Bibliogeek at 5:42 AM on June 26, 2015 [2 favorites]
I once knew a guy who collected heart shaped rocks.
He didn't necessarily find one on every trip, but he did remember the story behind finding each one. So did his son, who was 8 or 9 at the time. It was very sweet.
A few were pretty big, but mostly they were small enough to fit in a pocket, and so were easy to transport.
So while this isn't something you can buy in every place, maybe it is something to be on the lookout for.
Beyond that, I'm really surprised nobody here has owned up to pilfering hotel soaps. There's a really great anecdote here on mefi about how to get unlimited hotel soap. It's funny but I don't have the time to hunt it down. Perhaps because they're not really permanent if you use them. And the assumption that you're staying in a hotel (with free soap!) at every stop is a big one.
posted by bilabial at 5:51 AM on June 26, 2015
He didn't necessarily find one on every trip, but he did remember the story behind finding each one. So did his son, who was 8 or 9 at the time. It was very sweet.
A few were pretty big, but mostly they were small enough to fit in a pocket, and so were easy to transport.
So while this isn't something you can buy in every place, maybe it is something to be on the lookout for.
Beyond that, I'm really surprised nobody here has owned up to pilfering hotel soaps. There's a really great anecdote here on mefi about how to get unlimited hotel soap. It's funny but I don't have the time to hunt it down. Perhaps because they're not really permanent if you use them. And the assumption that you're staying in a hotel (with free soap!) at every stop is a big one.
posted by bilabial at 5:51 AM on June 26, 2015
I used to do mugs but then that swiftly spiraled out of control
I still do mugs, and I'm considering adding an addition to the house so I have enough space to store them. So, yeah, I know what you mean. With hindsight, something smaller is good.
I do enjoy having Saturday morning coffee from a mug that reminds me of someplace I have fond memories of.
posted by gimonca at 6:37 AM on June 26, 2015
I still do mugs, and I'm considering adding an addition to the house so I have enough space to store them. So, yeah, I know what you mean. With hindsight, something smaller is good.
I do enjoy having Saturday morning coffee from a mug that reminds me of someplace I have fond memories of.
posted by gimonca at 6:37 AM on June 26, 2015
I have a relative with a collection of Mentos wrappers from around the world. They're neatly emptied, pressed, and framed, with country of origin neatly noted nearby. They come in a dizzying number of varieties globally, it turns out.
I mention primarily as a "sky's the limit on this thing!" anecdote rather than as a suggestion, though some of the foreign Mentos flavours are pretty tasty...
posted by kmennie at 7:10 AM on June 26, 2015
I mention primarily as a "sky's the limit on this thing!" anecdote rather than as a suggestion, though some of the foreign Mentos flavours are pretty tasty...
posted by kmennie at 7:10 AM on June 26, 2015
I also do Christmas tree ornaments (or something small that can be turned into an ornament if I can't find one). I started my daughter with small snow globes but that became a problem with TSA rules for carry on luggage so they had to be really small ones which were harder to find. My son does decks of cards which I really like. Easy to store, can be used, easy to find (even airports have them), inexpensive and you can find ones with cool pictures of attractions, scenery etc to remind you of the trip.
posted by maxg94 at 7:21 AM on June 26, 2015
posted by maxg94 at 7:21 AM on June 26, 2015
Came to say Christmas ornaments, with the caveat that keyrings function as christmas ornaments from places that don't really do christmas, or tree decorations, but I see I have been beaten to it.
It's definitely a lovely way of having things that you actually use, but that aren't in the way/cluttering up/difficult to find.
posted by AFII at 8:16 AM on June 26, 2015
It's definitely a lovely way of having things that you actually use, but that aren't in the way/cluttering up/difficult to find.
posted by AFII at 8:16 AM on June 26, 2015
My wife collects dog poop bags that you find in dispensers in parks. We have about 30 framed in our bathroom.
Also, coasters.
posted by humboldt32 at 9:38 AM on June 26, 2015
Also, coasters.
posted by humboldt32 at 9:38 AM on June 26, 2015
I once knew a guy who came upon a large number of test tubes just before he began a year hitching/camping across the US & Canada . He began filling one with the soil from each new campground. The date was written on the cork closure and he kept a simple log of the locations.
I met him a few years later when he had settled down enough to display them. The result was simple and elegant yet the gradation of color and particle size created a lovely canvas.
They made for good conversation too. The differences in soil had intrigued him. His curiosity about the soil resulted in him learning much about the geology, agricultural traditions and history of each area he journeyed through .
posted by cat_link at 11:59 AM on June 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
I met him a few years later when he had settled down enough to display them. The result was simple and elegant yet the gradation of color and particle size created a lovely canvas.
They made for good conversation too. The differences in soil had intrigued him. His curiosity about the soil resulted in him learning much about the geology, agricultural traditions and history of each area he journeyed through .
posted by cat_link at 11:59 AM on June 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
I have seen the test tube thing done with beach sand as well -- very impressive display, especially once you get the pink Bermuda and Hawaiian black sands.
posted by apparently at 12:49 PM on June 26, 2015
posted by apparently at 12:49 PM on June 26, 2015
jquinby: ". If you can't find an actual ornament, find something that approximates the size and shape, "
i.e., keychains
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 1:03 PM on June 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
i.e., keychains
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 1:03 PM on June 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
Small animals or other figures - stuffed fabric, glass, carved wood, stone, metal, assembled craft, or any others you run across. What's nice about these is that they're small, can be unique, and can almost always be found in street markets, rather than tourist shops. You can collect them for years of trips before they really turn into a space problem.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 2:14 PM on June 26, 2015
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 2:14 PM on June 26, 2015
Another vote for Christmas ornaments. Works out great - even if you can't find one you can usually find something that can be made into one. Magnets are also great, as they are often cheap, small, and hold up for years.
posted by belau at 9:24 AM on June 27, 2015
posted by belau at 9:24 AM on June 27, 2015
I like to get stuff that I use. I have pens from all over the world. I keep them on my desk at work and use them all the time.
If I buy magnets, I try to get the ones that have clips, since we keep our grocery list and dentist reminders and stuff like that on the fridge, so using a clip magnet from Vermont is more fun than the OXO ones. I like the kitchen gadget idea above, and I'll have to think about how to do this without overwhelming my already-well-stocked kitchen.
For a while I collected decks of cards from everywhere, and we used them a lot, but I don't play so much anymore and now I have 30 decks of cards in a box.
I also buy toiletries. They only last a little while, but it's really fun to use sunscreen that's printed in Italian or hair spray from France. It's a conversation piece at the gym.
posted by CathyG at 9:21 PM on June 27, 2015
If I buy magnets, I try to get the ones that have clips, since we keep our grocery list and dentist reminders and stuff like that on the fridge, so using a clip magnet from Vermont is more fun than the OXO ones. I like the kitchen gadget idea above, and I'll have to think about how to do this without overwhelming my already-well-stocked kitchen.
For a while I collected decks of cards from everywhere, and we used them a lot, but I don't play so much anymore and now I have 30 decks of cards in a box.
I also buy toiletries. They only last a little while, but it's really fun to use sunscreen that's printed in Italian or hair spray from France. It's a conversation piece at the gym.
posted by CathyG at 9:21 PM on June 27, 2015
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posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 8:01 PM on June 25, 2015