Help me awaken my inner hoarder

June 3, 2012 8:11 PM

I want to start a collection of weird objects. But what should I collect? Details inside.

I'm inspired by my friend's collection of small rocks and crystals but I don't want to copy it. What I like about her collection are the same criteria for what I want in my collection:

1. Visually stimulating and awe inspiring;
2. Not difficult or expensive (under $30 each) to add new items;
3. Each object has a story that is not just a personal memory;
4. Not difficult to house or care for;
5. The objects do not have another function besides sitting on a shelf.

I'm open to kitschy objects as long as they meet criteria #1.

So, what should I collect?

posted by Jason and Laszlo to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (37 answers total)

Antlers, bones, feathers, horns, etc.
posted by carmicha at 8:25 PM on June 3, 2012

Glass bottles: colorful to display, can have historic ties to all kind of things (regional dairies, breweries, perfume makers, etc).
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:26 PM on June 3, 2012 [2 favorites]

Elias Ashmole is the traditional prototype. You might want to study his biography for a short time.
posted by bukvich at 8:30 PM on June 3, 2012

My calculus teacher in high school used to collect telephone pole insulators during long rambling walks.

Before I had a Hoarders-related freakout and threw away all my collections, I used to collect hockey pucks from every NHL rink I visited.

You can also press and dry flowers and leaves.
posted by rhythm and booze at 8:32 PM on June 3, 2012

Good luck charms
Military medals
Glass eyes
Fossils
Nuts or seeds
posted by The otter lady at 8:36 PM on June 3, 2012

Virgin Mary and saint statues
political pins
sea glass
keys
old scout badges
old photographs to make up a new make believe family
salt and pepper shakers
posted by Isadorady at 8:42 PM on June 3, 2012

Pressed leaves (and sometimes flowers). Once they've been pressed, you can slip them into clear sleeves, and those can be placed in frames, or kept in books, and you can swap them out for variety (and to keep sun damage down.) As you collect them you can write quick notes about where they're from and why you picked them and slip them next to the leaf being pressed - and they look nice in a frame, too.
posted by Mizu at 8:42 PM on June 3, 2012

Collect collections of things!

You get 3-12-ish items of the same (small) thing, arrange in a shadow box, label & display. Then repeat until you have a collection of collections.

Think of insect collections - a display case will have a set of related insects, then a different case will have an entirely different set of insects.

Personally, I'd theme each collection with a travel trip so that each trip has a display case, but there is a different set of items for each trip. They'll be interesting, memorable, and diverse.
posted by jpeacock at 8:45 PM on June 3, 2012 [5 favorites]

I'm a collector of many things. That being said, I'd never develop the collections I have unless they were things I'm interested in. We could give you a list a mile long with interesting things to collect but I feel like you're not going to get anywhere unless it's something you're somewhat passionate about. My suggestion is to go to your run of the mill antique mall and browse and see what catches your eye. Pretty much any object you find will be found again from various other sources. Most of my collections I have started that way. For example, I have an obsessive collection of vintage crewel embroired pictures. I'd never even noticed them before the day I fell in love with a set at my local antique mall. But they're everywhere and I never noticed them before because I wasn't looking for them.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 8:50 PM on June 3, 2012 [2 favorites]

political buttons. They're a great, small history of a place in time. I used to have a set of replica buttons, but eventually I didn't have space for it. I still find them nifty.
posted by Mad_Carew at 8:52 PM on June 3, 2012

keys
locks
pick a card (jack/joker/whatever) and gather a collection of that card represented in various decks
compasses
old medicine bottles or tins
Matryoshka dolls
pick an archetype (the devil, for instance) and collect representations of that thing
teacups
piggy banks
toy cars
light bulbs (thinking old, cool ones)
sporks
posted by haplesschild at 8:52 PM on June 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

ganeshas.
owls.
mexican christian icons.
erotic art.
posted by messiahwannabe at 8:52 PM on June 3, 2012

I've been adding to my cabinet of curiosities (well, Ikea shelf of curiosities) for a few years now, and I try to find something interesting each time I travel. So far I have a centipede, a Sherlock-style magnifying glass, a couple of fossils, some volcanic rocks, a hinged dental model, a mugshot, a stereoscopic medical image of Tuberculosis Verrucos, and a bunch of other stuff. I love that each item is different and yet unified by the fictional conceit that it's from, say, the private collection of a gentleman naturalist circa 1850. It's a lovely way to collect souvenirs, and each one triggers a memory of a different place, far away, where I was happy.
posted by hot soup girl at 9:02 PM on June 3, 2012 [4 favorites]

How about a flexible category to give yourself some leeway to choose whatever items fit those criteria:

• Things that are blue
• Things that are lighter than a feather
• Things that are first on a list
• Things that rhyme with a particular word

posted by XMLicious at 9:03 PM on June 3, 2012

Old pictures or portraits of people.

I acquired some old (from the 1920's) photographs at an estate sale and I have no idea who the people are in them, but it felt like they needed a home. It's kind of fun making up stories about who they were, where they were from, etc. Someday I might post the pictures online and maybe someone will know who they are.
posted by littlesq at 9:06 PM on June 3, 2012

It needs to be something you like looking at enough that it outweighs your dislike of dusting it occasionally.
posted by fiercecupcake at 9:16 PM on June 3, 2012 [5 favorites]

I had a friend who had a fun collection of the old-school plastic toys that they used to give away with happy meals and the like. She displayed them in an ikea bookcase in her dining room. The rest of her house was sparsely furnished and decorated so it was this great spot of color and added a bit of whimsy to her otherwise utilitarian house.

I also know two art museum registrars. They worked on loan exhibitions so frequently got to travel as couriers. One collected snow globes and the other those "floaty pens." Both displayed them in their offices. Someone from the museum carpentry department made a wooden rail type thing that went along the top of the cube so that the floaty pens could be displayed upright.

But really you can collect anything. There are people who collect barbed wire for crissakes. I"d agree with others that you should find something that you're interested in. And if it's something that people can buy for you, be forewarned that once word gets out, you may get whatever it is for every birthday and other gift-giving holiday from now to eternity (even if you tire of it after a few years); or at least that's happened to a few friends of mine.
posted by kaybdc at 9:16 PM on June 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

Best answer: People who collect rocks are not like others - you're question is wrong!!

-----

I wish I could extrapolate endlessly on this, but you have to be one of those people to follow it...

My understanding is that people who naturally gravitate towards rocks and minerals (and trees, absolutely) have a thing about nature. So this isn't about a collection, it is about nature. Get it?
---

What you admire is your friend's ability to sense what rocks (and trees!) are saying to him. Your friend has an affinity to nature - you do, too!

----

Pick up whatever stones you fancy. Get a good book about stones to illuminate why and when.


-----

Yeah. This.
posted by jbenben at 9:17 PM on June 3, 2012

-Pick one of your favorite books (classics are best) and find as many copies as you can based on how cool the covers are. Or just different types: foreign language, illustrated, children's edition, reader's digest, etc. Having a shelf full of different copies of one book is an interesting conversation starter.

-Kitschy souvenir thimbles and spoons. Such as these from Mount Rushmore.

-Join Postcrossing.com and get postcards from all over the world to put up on your wall.

-I think there was a post here a while back from a couple who collected hundreds of the paper fortunes from fortune cookies.
posted by book 'em dano at 9:43 PM on June 3, 2012

I have a bit of a weakness for those pressed pennies. You can get them in the oddest places, and they are only semi-common, so there's a little bit of excitement when you spot one.
posted by Iteki at 9:52 PM on June 3, 2012 [3 favorites]

I like rocks and minerals, too. Rock shows are great run -- you meet so many interesting people. You could choose to collect rocks that glow under black light! Or meteorites! Or pyrite suns!

Antique and vintage postcards are fun to collect as well, especially if you are familiar with the places they depict.

Community cookbooks -- the kinds that used to be put out by churches and schools -- are fun sometimes.

Carnival Canes.

Tiki mugs!

Pressed pennies!

Glass paperweights. Bullet pencils. Matchbooks.
posted by Ostara at 10:07 PM on June 3, 2012

Ceramic lambs, obviously.
posted by town of cats at 10:35 PM on June 3, 2012 [2 favorites]

I started with a strange ugly little mule, and then kept getting more strange ugly donkeys and mules. I have a small collection of bobble-head mules and a bigger collection of mule salt and pepper shakers. The neighbor collects chickens, but they have to be crowing roosters, and they all stand on one leg. She said she limited it so that her house wouldn't be overrun by chickens.

Marbles are nifty and easy to store.

If you like living things, try lithops.
posted by BlueHorse at 10:52 PM on June 3, 2012

Colourful jars filled with water from different streams / rivers / oceans or snows.
posted by Under the Sea at 10:58 PM on June 3, 2012

If I recall correctly, the head of Music Theory of the conservatory at The Hague had a growing collection of pencil sharpeners (random link about what I mean here) on display in his office.
posted by Namlit at 11:02 PM on June 3, 2012

The elements?

There was a RadioLab episode a while back where they were interviewing Oliver Sacks about his collection of the periodic table of elements. Basically, he collects samples of some sort of specimen of each element in the periodic table. I can only imagine how fascinating that must be to see (and if I remember correctly, a bit toxic...uranium?). I guess other people do this too, and some have literal periodic table tables!

The table in that previous link is Theodore Gray's, the co-founder of Wolfram Alpha--here is Oliver Sacks visiting him and his collection.
posted by This_Will_Be_Good at 12:19 AM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

Bezoars.
posted by Meatbomb at 2:42 AM on June 4, 2012 [4 favorites]

Mounted insects.

Trilobites.

Poke around ebay and see if anything catches your eye.
posted by Surprised By Bees at 3:27 AM on June 4, 2012

A teacher of mine collected squares of toilet paper from all over the world. It was interesting because the softness of each reflected the economic status of where he got them.

One of my childhood dentists collected famous people's toothbrushes. Whenever he had a chance to meet a celebrity, he'd take a fancy new-in-box toothbrush and ask the famous person to trade. This was about 20 years ago, though. I have no idea if such a thing would fly nowadays.
posted by The Potate at 3:37 AM on June 4, 2012

Although I think MaryDellamorte is right about needing the objects in the collection to speak to you in some way, I'll suggest matryoshka dolls. They can take many forms and can be quite beautiful, and there's something pleasing (at least to me) about a collection of things-within-things that allows for both sameness and variation.
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:40 AM on June 4, 2012

Salt and pepper shakers.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:55 AM on June 4, 2012

Antique mug shots
posted by quiet coyote at 5:44 AM on June 4, 2012

Back in college I started a few collections of found objects. My favorite is my collection of found playing cards. They're variably dirty and scruffy, but they're free, easy to store, and would be cool to look at if displayed in a nice frame. They also start to jump out at you after a while. I now find a card or two a month, more if I'm actually looking.
posted by denriguez at 5:52 AM on June 4, 2012

I personally collect antique wooden factory parts. I guess I'm attracted to bits of engineering. Or something?

I found two of them that belonged to the Atlanta Fulton Cotton Mill, circa 1875-ish, or so they told me. These were both around $15. I found a larger one in North Carolina, which was around $30.

Then I moved to New York and found two more: a small one for $30, and a huuuuuuuuge one for $60.

The best part of collecting these things is that it doesn't actually turn you into a hoarder—I've only found five over the span of 10 years or so.

Here's a pic. And here's another. And another. Ok, and one more.

(Nevermind the price. That's some total "retail" crap.)

So your list:

1. Check. Visitors always remark, "What ARE those things?"
2. Check. They're not especially fragile, and (so far) they've been inexpensive.
3. Check. Two of them I'm pretty sure are from the Atlanta cotton mill, just after the Civil War. And if that's the case, these either survived Sherman's burning, or were made to rebuild the mill after the burning. Cool! Also, possibly a mystery!
4. Check. They sit on stuff.
5. Check. No function at all. Not anymore, anyway.

Good luck!
posted by functionequalsform at 6:35 AM on June 4, 2012

I know someone who collects dirt from the graves of historically significant people.
posted by gentian at 6:50 AM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

MaryDellamorte is right, pick something that has meaning for you.
Years ago when I travelled a lot for work, I'd return with "typical" refrigerator magnets from the place I'd been: A little Eiffel Tower, a little hot pepper from NMexico, etc. Actually I'd get two, one for my collection and one for the cat-sitter, who usually got a laugh out of it. One good thing: There's always a natural place to display your collection of kitschy fridge mags. On the fridge.
For years I collected postcards, but only vintage kitschy alligator postcards. This was fun, and didn't take up much space, and encouraged friends to try to surprise me with cards I didn't have. And artist friends made cards for me, and potter friends made gator cards for me. It was great while it lasted. After a while, I got bored.
But I'd developed an interest in old Floridiana, and lately have collected vintage rattan furniture. Some of it's pretty valuable and it's now all over the house.
Only now we've been thinking of moving--abroad, or to the Pacific Northwest--and what would we do with a bunch of (heavy!) rattan?
Not to mention a bunch of alligator post cards . . .
So, one thing can lead to another, and the first collections don't have to hold your attention forever.
They really are a good way to add a sense of focus to your life.
posted by fivesavagepalms at 7:08 AM on June 4, 2012

It's my belief that the best collections just sorta...happen. They spring up out of some interest you have, partially with tending, mostly through happenstance. Your interest could come from a hobby, or from relics of memory, or merely an amusement at the prettiness or silliness of an item.

My mother collects nutcrackers because my dad bought her one every Christmas. Then I bought her a few at a time, and she bought herself a couple. Now her collection is large enough that it can't be contained on one table but has to be spread about the house during the holidays, sometimes tucked in greenery like an odd little square-jawed surprise.

I'm a birder who has a lazy gathering of bird guides, though it's more like I collect the bird sightings in my journals and in my head.

I also have a tendency to find foreign coins in the oddest of places, such as the penny from the Bahamas in my dentist's office.

The point is, don't make the pursuit of the collection the thing. If you want real memories to be linked to your collected items, then ask yourself what you're interested in. Maybe you like history, or nature, or electronics, or animals or some combination of interests that others think is cool or even just weird.
Maybe you go to the movie theater all the time and you've never considered that many of the movies you've seen are linked to a happy time for you...and you still have all the stubs.
Maybe you go to concerts all the time and buy the t-shirts.
Maybe you've always liked pictures of dogs but never bought any.
Maybe you....I could go on and on.

Just go with the flow. Don't force it. If you aren't actually interested in collecting these things, you'll get bored faster than you realize.
posted by DisreputableDog at 7:58 AM on June 4, 2012