The Collections I Keep

As much as I admire minimalism, I’m definitely a collector. I love my stuff!

Moving to New York was a great lesson in letting things go. I knew we had a limited amount of space, so I got rid a lot before the move (plus more when we arrived). And guess what? For the most part, I don’t miss it.

I didn’t get rid of everything though, and I even have a few (small) collections. Today, I thought it would be fun to talk about the collections I keep.

Vintage Cameras

I’ve been interested in photography since I was a kid and received my first Kodak Disc camera. Remember those … anyone? I think I just dated myself!

In college, I studied art and photography and purchased my first SLR camera. It cost a ton at the time, but now that everyone shoots digital, it’s basically worth nothing (not bitter at all!). I even had my own dark room in my parent’s home.

I was a huge thrifter in college, and that’s when I started my camera collection. My best friend and I were visiting my favorite thrift store, and I discovered a few Kodak Instamatics. Each one was unique, and I loved how they looked.

Since then, I’ve added a few more, and I’ve even received a couple as gifts. My favorites are my Brownie and my Land Camera. Nothing in my camera collection is precious or expensive, but I still love all of my vintage cameras.

Masks

My husband is a collector, too. Don’t even get me started on his magnets! Let’s just say that we’ll never have a plain refrigerator.

One of the things we collect together are masks. I think he’s even the one that started it.

I love that each mask is unique. Some are colorful and others are simply carved of wood. We found a few at thrift  and vintage stores and purchased others at museum shops. This is a collection that I’m sure we’ll add to over time.

Books

I couldn’t talk about my collections without mentioning books! My husband and I both love reading, so over time we’ve amassed a ton of books.

This collection shrank quite a bit when we moved to New York. It was so hard to let go of some of them! Do you get attached to certain books, too?

Of course, we couldn’t give away everything. I love reading cookbooks, so I still have quite a few of those. There are also interior design and craft books, style guides, and novels. My husband is a theater lover, so we have plenty of drama collections, too.

That’s about it! I have a few smaller ones, but these are the major collections I keep. I love having these items around me. They bring back happy memories and make my apartment feel like home!

What about you? Do you collect anything?