When is enough ENOUGH?

[PrettySquareGal]

...is when you acquire objects for the sake of the collection, rather than because you plan to use, enjoy, or otherwise profit from them.

When the collection becomes reified - becomes a "thing" with importance and meaning beyond the objects in it or what they mean or do - that's the time to sit down and ponder larger issues.

Yes, it's like it can take on a life of its own and controls the collector- not good, agreed.

 

[Fletch]

Let's not confuse "polite society" with politeness. They often don't exhibit much, especially where money or status are concerned.

As to how I define the greatest collection - I guess it's the one with the highest percentage of rarities. The most stuff the least people have.

That's typically the mark of an obsessive, rather than a passionate collector, because of the sheer amount of raw effort and failure involved in finding it. That tends to discourage the well-rounded personalities, leaving mostly the single-minded, the monomaniacal, and the pathological.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Let's not confuse "polite society" with politeness. They often don't exhibit much, especially where money or status are concerned.

Thanks for clarifying, I misinterpreted this part of your post. I think you're spot on.

As to how I define the greatest collection - I guess it's the one with the highest percentage of rarities. The most stuff the least people have.

That's typically the mark of an obsessive, rather than a passionate collector, because of the sheer amount of raw effort and failure involved in finding it. That tends to discourage the well-rounded personalities, leaving mostly the single-minded, the monomaniacal, and the pathological.

However, many of the elite rich exhibit said qualities in collecting their money to have the ability to acquire their art, no?

 

[Shangas]

"There is NEVER too much! There is only NOT ENOUGH!"

Pasquale the Restaurateur, "Big Night" 1996.

What he said!!

 

[K.D. Lightner]

When I moved back to Iowa to be with my mother, I left some of my hats in storage in San Diego, but brought my best hats with me. There is little room in this small house and I have hats stored in my closet and on a rack in my bedroom, so space was one consideration.

I'd had a couple of good hats early on from GH, scored a couple of nice hats off ebay, including a black Open Road restyled to look like a classic fedora. Then I got a hat from Art and one from Steve (Adventurebilt), plus I had a good "Gus" cowboy hat and a Rand.

About that time, the vintage hats skyrocketed in price on eBay, I was removed from the vintage shops in San Diego where I was able to score a couple of old Borsalinos, so....

I quit collecting. At least for now. I can't even recall what I have in storage, so will have a happy surprise someday if and when I ever get back to San Diego.

karol

 

[HadleyH]

Calling all collectors- I am getting a bit worried about my uh collecting "habit." I want to know how you personally decide when you have collected enough of anything? When you need to rent extra space? Move? Get threatened with divorce? Can't sit on your couch because it's covered in things to sort through before you can put them away???????????? Or worse, all the closets are filled and any empty space is now storage-ready?!

In my case is very simple. When the desire is gone, when the interest is gone, i stop. It all comes in a very natural way, like autumn follows summer so to speak.
I used to colllect perfumes, but now i only like a few and i stick to them.

 

[Viola]

I believe that the greatest collectors are almost always male, both for their intense competitiveness and their purer, more abstract relationship to objects.

Gotta wonder if that isn't more dependant on what's being collected. Some genres are predisposed to drastic gender imbalance.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

I certainly have the obsessive collector gene. Part of the passion for me though, is the bargain. I'm not one to beat up a seller about their price on something but when I find a useful vintage item which I like at a steal, that's when I pounce. This is how I limit my indulgence: By the price tag. And it would be that way for me even if funds were unlimited. I just love getting a deal on this old stuff as much as I love the old stuff itself.

 

[J.L. Picard]

Surrounding myself with vintage items is definitely not a hobby for me but a part of my everyday life. I guess I have to limit my ways of living.

I've started with my Christmas collecting- if it doesn't fit in the allocated storage space I have for it, I can buy more but then something has to go.

Never limit your way of living...it is against human nature..:eusa_doh:

 

[J.L. Picard]

In my case is very simple. When the desire is gone, when the interest is gone, i stop. It all comes in a very natural way, like autumn follows summer so to speak.
I used to colllect perfumes, but now i only like a few and i stick to them.

Perfumes: bottles or perfume per se?

 

[PrettySquareGal]

In my case is very simple. When the desire is gone, when the interest is gone, i stop. It all comes in a very natural way, like autumn follows summer so to speak.
I used to colllect perfumes, but now i only like a few and i stick to them.

Hadley, I can relate to this. My interest does wane over time and shift with some of my items, for example hankies. Now I'm thinking of selling them off except for a special few so I can make room, and fund, my current passions!

 

[J.L. Picard]

Hadley, I can relate to this. My interest does wane over time and shift with some of my items, for example hankies. Now I'm thinking of selling them off except for a special few so I can make room, and fund, my current passions!

PSG,

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a hankie??[huh]

My English is not always so good...

 

[scottyrocks]

Hankie is short for hankerchief. It's a piece of cloth you blow your nose into.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Hankie is short for hankerchief. It's a piece of cloth you blow your nose into.

What? As if I'd actually use them! But yes, thanks for defining them.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Something I'm doing that's safe space, money-wise (when bought at yard sale prices) and fun is eventually replacing some of my new things with old, and there's lots waiting to be switched over! Furniture, rugs, linens, etc.

 

[J.L. Picard]

Hankie is short for hankerchief. It's a piece of cloth you blow your nose into.

Thank you Scottyrocks...One less to learn

 

[K.D. Lightner]

It is always better when I collect small things -- more room to store and display them. I have tons of little riders and horses, some I've had since I was a child. Now I have some mini holiday decorations and a tiny tree on which to display them.

I collect rocks and fossils, many in sphere form. The biggest piece I have is a piece of petrified wood, not much larger than a softball.

My cowboy boots and all my hats are another matter. They take up space. I'd love to take my prettiest boots and display them, but there is just no room.

As it is, it looks pretty weird in our living room: mother's cherubs and Frankoma vases on one side of the room, my Godzilla figures and stuffed bears on the other side.

Two acquisitive people should probably not live together, especially if they have diverse tastes.

It could be worse: I have a niece whose hubby collects antique tractors. Real tractors.

karol

 

[Paisley]

Hankie is short for hankerchief. It's a piece of cloth you blow your nose into.

It's "handkerchief" in case anyone wants to do a search. (Or start collecting them.)

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Hankie is short for hankerchief. It's a piece of cloth you blow your nose into.

Scotty I usually come when eating lunch NOW I know when enough is enough *yucky* This reminds me of my dad. I would not go near his hankies. Also reminds me of a spit wash from my mother OMG you just cured me of my daily lunchtime visits.

I use my linen handkerchiefs to rest my hat on when I am out and about. I also have a really nice fold I use for pocket square in an old navy blazer.

I collect boots and shoes and guitars and amps and items related to Native American spirituality; I even have been given a Native American name ...............

 

[J.L. Picard]

Carlisle,

I am a big fan of Native American items. What is your NA name?

Mine is : theonewhosignthecheck...