Enjoy your collection!

“The more the merrier” may be the case in regard to good friends and great food. But, when it comes to displaying collectibles, more may just look cluttered and prevent you from enjoying your treasures.

Most of us have some type of collection that we display in our homes with pride. These collections can range from rare fresco paintings, music boxes to action figurine collections.

My grandmother became an unwitting collector of porcelain pig figurines much to her amusement. One day in the early 1980’s she came home from a weekend trip with two small pig figurine that she fell in love with and brought home. She showed off these cute piggies to friends and family and had many laughs over their sweet facial expressions.

Grandma was not an easy person to shop for, and the joy that she showed towards these “pigurines” inspired several birthday and Christmas gifts that she received over the next few years. As word began to spread about her interest in piggy themed collectibles  it did not take long before she amassed a large collection of pig inspired nick knacks, hand towels, pictures, clocks and more!

As she filled her curio cabinets and shelves with her new collection, the original figurines were pushed to the back of the display and began to collect dust. Eventually, grandma thanked family and friends for their thoughtfulness, but asked that we refrain from adding to her collection, as she was out of room.

Do we enjoy our collectibles when they become unmanageable?

I have found that we do not! In order to enjoy our collections, whether they are favored pieces of pottery, favored China or our favorite chess pieces from medieval times, we have to be able to see them to appreciate them.

Collections are best enjoyed when favorite pieces are highlighted and clutter is removed. The best way to do this is to pick out your favorite pieces and highlight them in a display. If there are many favorite pieces and the collection is too large to display, how about rotating your display. Carefully pack up your pieces that you wish to display in the future, and store them in an easily accessible place. Plan on rotating your display seasonally, or as often as you prefer.

Caring for your collection 101

Nearly all materials show signs of aging over time. In order to preserve your treasures 

be sure to do the following.

•   Keep collectibles out of direct sunlight
•  Store items away from heat sources
• Control room humidity
•   Protect from dust and oil (includes the oils on our hands that can accumulate from handling)

Most important….Enjoy your collections!