Collecting and curating are buzz activities on the Internet. The web makes it possible to classify information like never before. Now that we use Pinterest, Tumblr, Flickr and their sisters, we can bookmark, flag, collect, curate and classify items that are of value to us. I use Pinterest to see beautiful ideas and to connect, but there are some fine examples of carefully considered folders linking themes and colours from other contributors.
The idea of being a curator is evident in our homes. We all have collections that are personal to us and when we found an article from The Women’s Room about the fascinating website Obsessionistas we had to take a look. The website highlights some very unusual collections, some exotic, others more mundane. Objects that in the singular might be passed by, but because they are grouped become more fascinating.
Founded by Graham Powell , course director of MA Product Design at the Birmingham Institute of Art & Design and his former florist wife Helen, Obsessionistas describe their motivation for establishing the site.
‘We love collections.
Inspired by both our own and our friends’ quirky collections, we created Obsessionistas to share and celebrate the wonderful addiction of collecting.
We love to feature the unusual, the playful and the irreverent but recognise that even the most commonplace and mundane of objects can be of interest to the obsessionista when relentlessly collected and /or beautifully documented. Our interest lies not only in the nature of the objects themselves but also in the act of collecting and the passion and individuality of the collector.’
You really could lose hours on this website, and as interesting as the collections are the collectors themselves. Ranging from bizarre Air Hostess uniforms to Antique Typewriters, Airline Sick Bags to Mixers and Blenders, what comes across is how absorbing and loved the collections are.
Here are a couple that caught our eye –
The collector: Lee Hewett, artist and designer, Nottinghamshire (UK).
The collection: Bouncy balls.
The collector: Helen Powell, Warwickshire, UK.
The collection: Vintage hairdryers from the 1920s through to the 1970s.
I can’t claim to have the diligence of the collectors featured on Obsessionistas, but collecting is a personal thing, about personal things, and there are memories bound up in the objects you have found, the how, the when, the why….
My collections – a huge number of pre-loved Penguin Classics. I love the bold graphics and the brightly coloured spines. We lift them off the bookshelves to take to events to make table legs for displays. A little irreverant but I don’t think the publishers or authors would mind.
Sugar shakers come in so many shapes and the way they reflect the light is very pretty to me.
These flour bags from Carrs, the flour producers in Carlisle, were an undiscovered bonus in a lot I picked up at auction. We have used them to create an interesting wall display in the office, and I love looking at how the graphics have evolved. I often wonder at what some one’s intention was in saving and collecting them. One day, if I haven’t offered them back to Carrs, I might make a cushion or two out of them. And why can’t we buy our flour in bags now?
Enjoy getting lost in the pictoral libraries of the Obsessionistas website. And do leave us a comment about your own collections. Use our link at the bottom of the page to access CoolCrafting’s Pinterest, to follow us, and find out more.