Collecting, The Official Definition Vs. My Definition

Col-lect: "to bring or come together into one body or place, to gather from numerous sources.." ( This is from my Merriam-Webster Dictionary I still have from elementary school..1975...)

Wikipedia: "The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating merchandise, others focus on a subtopic within their area of interest. Antiques are collectible items at least 100 years old; collectibles are less than antique, and may even be new. Collectors and dealers may use the word vintage to describe older collectibles".

I like both of those defintions, but to me, collecting is a way of life, a means with which to connect with like minded people. An excuse to road trip and stop in every town, which in the US, has at least one antique mall (sorry patient Husband!). I love the excitement I feel when I discover something new, something, even after twenty years of collecting, I have never seen before...Thats when I realize "uh-oh, something else to collect!".

My collecting hobby encompasses everything I do, and my career of twenty years in the film industry as a buyer in the Set Decoration Deptartment, really enabled and fed my passion. Oh, the places I got access to, and the people I met. The numerous trips to thrift stores, antique stores, peoples' homes, really kept my interest in collecting going. I stumbled across many a treasure while working, and I really thank my job for that..It was great fun! I even met fellow collectors along the way, with whom I would have never met, and, to this day, I am still friends with...more on that later...

Amidst all the negative definitions about "collecting", I know, I know, OCD! We can talk about that later, for now, let us focus on the fun, creative, and adventurous part of collecting!

Stay tuned, as I bring you information on some items I collect and will give you a peek at some of my past and present collections....