Domestic matters gave ascended in my personal firmament of late so I've been absent from commenting on MB.
Bill B has kindly taken up the commenting reins and I'm very grateful.
This maybe the case for some while yet.
In the meantime I find I have a spare ten minutes to ruminate on less mundane things than our dodgy oven.
I recently took out some junk to the bin. One item made me think twice. It was an old kid's Spider-Man T-shirt. Being a super-hero related item I had real difficulty releasing it from my hands to fall into that dark maw of oblivion.
Ever since I began collecting, buying and selling toys and collectables, I have been consistently fixated with super-heroes. This manifested itself most often in buying action figures and vehicles at car boot sales, but my addiction stretched much further into anything related to the super ones.
So chucking this T-shirt I realised that something had happened. About 10 to 15 years ago I would had trashed it. It would have been washed, ironed and put in the packing case ready for my next toy fair stand. I always had a few items of second-hand Marvel or DC clothing like this.
Letting it go confirmed that my obsession had waned dramatically and that the 'bug' had faded. Is fading. This is a salutary moment for a one-time zealous collector, the revelation that the spark that once drove me to spend hundreds of hours buying, selling, identifying, cataloguing, ebaying and toy fairing anything and everything super-hero/ sci-fi/ monster/ fantasy/ TV/ pop culture and space related was growing weaker.
Even worse, after the initial tang of nostalgia for my younger self, I am in some ways comfortable with this new less-manic frame of mind. No more rooting on the edges of old rubbish tips for Seventies crisps packets [ and yes, I found some!], no more getting up at the crack on a Sunday to spend all day in a cold sports centre behind my 'Madaboutmonsters' stand [it was great fun though] and no more squirrelling away anything remotely pop cultural. Smaug has well and truly left the Mountain.
Another good example is this Star Wars shaving foam can. I bought it ten years ago specifically for the can.
Yes, I used the foam on various cakes but really it was the act of putting t away that I was interested in. It came out of hibernation last week as part of our de-clutter programme and like the T-shirt found itself teetering on the brink of the wheelie-bin.
It fell in and no ...... I didn't rake it out!
Is your collecting bug fading readers? Have you cut back or modified your squirreling?
Its essential to weed out some items as you collect, otherwise you become a hoarder rather than a collector! My attic is groaning with the weight of stuff, which by virtue of gravity and improper storage is beginning to break down naturally. Its impossible to keep everything too, I think Paul Vreede summed up the collecting thing recently when he suggested that we are only ever 'renting' time with our collections, before they move on. Also, we may be missing the point of collecting too, once the actual zeitgeist connected with a collectable has gone, or we feel no joy in the knowledge that we possess a ertain item, what is the point in retaining it ? I its something with no real intrinsic value - such as a can of squirty soap - theres no shame in disposing of it. If its an actual rarity or something of deep emotional and nostalgic significance, than it shouldn't be thrown away, as it means something to the collector. I have so many different things that I have collected over the years, that it is impossible to actively appreciate them all, A) because I havent time to devote to them, B) because I cant physically access them or C) I don't actually care about them anymore. I am an inveterate hoarder too and will always look at something before I throw it out, in case it can be recycled or upcycled or cannibalised in some way, but this just adds to my predicament and the subsequent mess of junk accreting in the garage!
ReplyDeleteRenting time. I like that. Yes, hoarding. Collecting's evil uncle! Its easy to hoard and I was guilty of it too Bill. We've started selling everything we don't want this year: books, records, tapes, DVD's, CD's, vintage kitsch, antiques and yes, a few old toys! The attic's still chocca like yours. i thought your garage was empty now?
DeleteI recognise the feeling, collecting for financial gain at a later time is a young man's game, I still dive into a catalogue straight to the toy section to see what toys are in and have regular emails from forbidden planet and go to Mattel also, I have a few key pieces from my collection that I will never give up, my greatest thrill was imagining the faces of the people I sold to a few years back! I also have 3 batman t-shirts from 1988 that have been worn and will be worn again at some point (weight permitting), I last wore one in 2008 at a festival, a trader gave me a look that I can only describe as me having shat on his cat! I later discovered he was also a batman fan, I had a big grin on my face!! -Mark J Southcoast Base
ReplyDeleteI was a lot fitter and nimbler in my Thirties and Forties Mark, I agree with you. A bot of youth is a good thing when lugging crates around toy fairs and standing there for hours on end. I did evening toy fairs as well now and then o top of working all day. Nowadays I just wanna curl up with the mutt and sleep through winter! ha ha. Love the Batman story. I've an old BMan t-shirt but more the 90's. I adored collecting Batman stuff at one time. the forst thing I got was a Seventies boardgame my missus found at a fleamarket. Still have it! Right, to the bat cave!
DeleteTheres no doubt that I enjoy the collectable stuff that I have.Only one room of my house is set up with shelves for display.Everything else is stored in the attic or in the front bedroom closet,all in plastic totes clearly labeled.Every few months or so,if I have the spare time,I will pick a theme or genre,pull out the totes with that subject matter,and have a blast!Its especially fun when I have company,I feel like a museum curator.its also an opportunity to check electronics,photograph things I haven't seen in a while,Mash up different toy lines...its all good!Now,as far as future(even present)spending and adding to my collections...I must proceed with caution.This years Jurassic World purchases,for example, were more numerous than expected and tricky to place on display.This coming Spring,theres a new Godzilla movie on the horizon,with re imagined characters Mothra,Rodan and King Ghidorah,the merchandising possibilities are huge.Can I behave myself and show some restraint?I am optimistic,yet cautious.I traveled an hour to a toy fair back in September which was chock full of all the things I love.I didn't spend a cent,but enjoyed looking and talking with enthusiasts.I also went to a vintage record shop an hour and a half away,only buying a T shirt for my brother.I don't think my bug is fading,its just maturing!I wish you the best ,Woodsy.You will find your way.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way of enjoying your toys Bri! Just brilliant. Wish i could come over and join in! Wonder what your next theme or mash up will be? I can't wait for the next Godzilla movie. The last one was breathtaking!
DeleteLooking around the home, I'm aware that I've a compulsion to collect and preserve the vintage, bygone and unusual - things I like, Woodsy. Our house is overrun. These days, many of the items function as decor. I long since stopped trying to conform to the norm. Instead the decor has created a quirky, eclectic and uncompromising look of its own, which fails to seek the approval of a conformist world. I enjoy being a temporary custodian. I like to gather and preserve the past in my own way. There's something comforting and reassuring, sitting here amongst the nostalgic things which make our house a home and fuels our memories and imagination. I really don't want it to change. Although I sometimes wonder which token item I'll be allowed to take, on that dark distant day, when it's my turn to be wheeled into the Care Home and say goodbye to the things I love. Meantime, I'll make the most of my family and I'll carry on collecting :)
ReplyDeleteWise words from the Tonester. I like your idea of a temporary custodian. Its a wonderful attitude you have and along with Brian F's positive vibe I feel invigorated!
DeleteI have great difficulty parting with things, and I don't think I could ever just 'bin' something - unless it was damaged beyond repair or practical use. Whenever I look at something, there's a memory attached, and if I were to part with it, it would be like parting from the memory, as the item is how I access that memory. I do need to thin out my collection though, and one day, when I'm older, I'll see what I can bear to part with. However, I'll be doing my best to make sure they go to good homes where they'll be loved and cherished.
ReplyDeleteI recognise that Kid. Some things I can never part with too. My bigbox VHS collection is one such treasure. Trouble is it takes up a lot of banana boxes should we move one day!
DeleteYeah, after some time in hobby you simply doesn't have enought space for it all so something "have to go". You also doesn't have time to do stuff with your's collection. Simply only one things grows larger - the amount of times you think "maybe it is too much for me?".
ReplyDeleteNow I simply doesn't have space to put new item in - but there is still lots of what I want to get.
The backlog is growing bigger too, but I have less and less time to build (and paint in right temperature).
It is easier when your's family/significant other (or otter) is into it too - you simply live in small museum. But problems starts when you are not sure where "museum" ends and where starts the garbage of clustered random "collectors items that nobody normal would see as worth anything.
Collecting is costly hobby, both in money and in time. Doesn't matter if those are postal stamps or "that one series nobody even remember but I loved it 30 years ago". But without it we would be dead, dead and hollow inside as a miracle of evolution that collected to survive since the begining of first primal tribes.
ha ha, well said Ran, a primal scream for the true collector in us all! I love the line 'dead, dead and hollow inside'! I feel the bug rising again!
DeleteSeems like were all on the same page with collecting - vive la collecteur!
ReplyDelete