Gifting a Collection

A few years back my family started a new Holiday tradition. We all seemed to be lacking in funds for gifts. The three of us decided, my mom dad and I, to give each other gifts that we'd either found, or already had. It made for quite the interesting Christmas. I think I received the best gifts ever that year. Now we try to continue to bring an element of up-cycling to every Christmas. 

Some of the strange, heartfelt and special gifts I received on that fateful holiday included letters written by my grandfather to my grandmother while he was in the war, my great grandmother's lamps (which had flanked my parents bed for two decades) and a tiny vinyl box-pictured above. 

I was used to my parents sending me odd things in the mail. Ever since I had moved to California, every few months a package would arrive and surprise me. My roommates and I would gather around and see what treasures were hiding. Once there was an old barbie phone that really rang. One time there was a shrink wrapped cookie-just one-because my mom wanted to show me that she'd just purchased a shrink wrapper. One year my dad sent me a box of 17 knives, 3 rolls of duct tape and a bottle of carpet cleaner. I asked him what he thought it was that I did in my spare time. 

The vinyl box was amazing. Not only did it have that sweet gold design on the front, but it folded out on all four sides. I opened it slowly. I was totally amazed. Inside of this fantastic wrapping was three little sea horse skeletons. 

These were not just any old sea horse skeletons. They had been my dad's pets. When I was a little girl my dad used to breed fish. Our entire basement was fish tanks-floor to ceiling. I used to go down there with my boom box and dance in front of the tanks, illuminated by the wavy light. I'd pretend I was in an MTV music video, dancing to Stevie Nick's milky voice singing on my moms Fleetwood Mac tape. And it all came back to me. 

It was a beautiful thing, this gift from my dad. Not only did it bring back happy memories from my childhood, but I now have my very own sea horse skeleton collection. 

Give the Gift of Collecting!

For the Love of Pyrex

Dear Pyrex Obsessed,
I was wandering around Etsy earlier and I came across a few sites of handmade goods using Pyrex. I know, I know, why ruin such a beautiful thing.. But it's quite special to see our beloved Pyrex in a whole new light.

Erin Ink custom design has a number of adorable Pyrex prints and cards at reasonable prices. Coming out of Virgina, Erin Ink has been selling on Etsy since 2009. I just love the simplicity of her prints. 

5 X 7 Print $8.00

5 X 7 Print $8.00

Tile Magnet $4.50

Jeff and Mark over at BootsNGun have been selling high quality up-cycled lamps on Etsy since 2009. I adore these sets of lights made out of vintage Pyrex!!

Up-Cycled Pendant Lights, Set of 3 $230.00

Up-Cycled Pendent Lights, Set of 2 $140.00

Husband and wife team of scarboroughseashells have been crafting out of Rhode Island for over 10 years. Specializing in glass material, the pair creates with seashells, sea glass, and mosaics.

Sterling Silver Pendent $45.00

Great ideas for the extras from your Pyrex collection, or gifts for a Pyrex loving friend!

"1000 Ideas For Creative Reuse"

In my family, Tuesdays are library days. With lots of room, thanks to the stroller up-grade, I can now check out books for myself, along with the board books and Charlie & Lola dvds. This last Tuesday I selected a book called "1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse" by Garth Johnson. 

 What a wonderful discovery from the library. This thing is packed with page after page of inspiration. So many artists and craftsmen are featured. And the entire things is broken down into organized sections. Did I mention how lovely the photography is too? 

I'm always on the look out for new ideas of things to collect, or ideas for my existing collections. "1000 Ideas For Creative Reuse" sparked the collector in me, introduced me to some artists I hadn't yet heard of and brought a big smile to my face. I'd like to share.

Elizabeth Morisette: 
Elizabeth Morisette created a series of vessels using unusual objects. I love the zippers seen here. As a sculptor Morisette is challenging our idea of traditional sculptural materials and continues to make pieces with everyday items. She has a blog where she updates and informs about her upcoming shows. 

Margaux Lange:
Margaux Lang is making one of a kind jewelery pieces using Barbie parts. I've seen her work before on the Etsy open page. It was great to see her again in "1000 Ideas For Creative Reuse." Her pieces are so well done. I love the humor/tongue-in-cheek aspect. Lange has a beautiful Website with many, many pieces available. Midge's Mind is her adorable blog. If you are interested in any of her pieces you can find them on her Etsy page.

Jarod Charzewski:
Jarod Charzewski's exhibition "Scarp" at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art in South Carolina speaks mountains of our consumer based culture, our desire to acquire, and how these themes affect our global landscape. I find all of that fascinating, but what really drew me to this piece was the colors. And Charzewiski's ability to collect a vast amount of the same thing, in this case clothing, to re-arrange it into something different and beautiful. I can only imagine what went into gathering 5000 pieces of clothing, transporting, storing and setting up. I bet Scarp is amazing in person! On Charewski's website you can see what he has been up to lately.

....Kinda makes you want to do something with those collections, huh?

I Collect: Nancy

My mom is so cool. Thats why she is being interviewed for The Collect Collective! About 5 years ago I was asked to participate in an art show involving dioramas. The idea was to create a"dream room" diorama. For some reason I thought my mom (who had always collected mini things) would like to make one too. I called her up and gave her the proposal. A few weeks later she shipped to Oakland the most beautiful shoe box "dream room." She's been making her own dollhouses and miniatures ever since. 

My Name is:  Nancy Willcox
 
I collect:  miniatures

Its been going on: since childhood
 
I look for additions to my collections at: Anywhere !!  Sometimes miniature collectors look at things differently. As an example, at a restaurant, I see the little container with cream in it for coffee and know that it would make a perfect miniature garbage can.  But mostly I  go to garage sales, holiday bizarres, stores and the Good Will.
 

When I find one I feel: thrilled!
 
The star of my collection is: a miniature Swarovski crystal perfume bottle that I got at a consignment store for $2.00.   

The oddest piece in my collection is: Dried grape twigs (from real grapes).  They make great miniature trees for a fall outdoor scene.

A way my collection has gotten me into a tight situation:  I sometimes run across something I REALLY have to have and end up paying more than I budgeted to spend.
 
Some other things I like to collect are:  crystal prisms, books by author Daphne du Maurier and antique glass doorknobs

My family and friends think my collection is:  AWESOME

 

 Thanks for sharing Nancy!

Tony Cragg

Tony Cragg is a British born artist who rose to fame during the 1980s with his recycled object installations. His use of shape and color is careful yet humorous. From across the room his sculptures appear to be simple shapes, but up close they are small communities of found objects: metal intermingling with plastic, a broken hanger, a cracked plastic plate, a miniature army man. Cragg won the Turner Prize in 1988.