Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Little Joys // Postcards, Postage Stamps & Paper Goods, Oh My


In the never-ending task of organizing all of my things so that I can re-claim and re-decorate my bedroom, I went through my ephemera collection yesterday.  Right now most of it is tightly nestled in photo paper boxes and small plastic bins, but I’m working towards getting everything displayable.  One day everything will be tucked into nice albums and binders that will rest on my coffee table.

I started collecting in my junior year of college.  Always a snail mailer, my first passion was for postage stamps, but I quickly became attracted to the materials the stamps were attached to.  Today I also collect postcards, art cards and ads from art shows, and everything else in-between. 

Looking through everything on days like this is one of the most rewarding parts about collecting.  There’s this little rush of comfort and content I get from filing through familiar pieces and sorting out new additions.  I once read that collecting is the result of an unused trait leftover from the days when we were hunter-gatherers.  There’s something really beautiful and primitive about that, don’t you think?

 photo boxes full of fine art advertisements

 new stamp arrivals from China, Japan and Korea ready to be sorted

 a box full of unsorted paper goodies

one of my favorite pieces; this hung on the wall of my old studio to remind me to take a breather and smile each day

4 comments:

Maggie said...

Oh my... I almost get giddy seeing other people's ephemera. I love that you collect art cards. I wish I still had the art cardsfrom the galleries I visited in New York, L.A. and D.C. I really love the ephemera from other countries. Best of luck with your collection.
Maggie
Soyprincesa2
Swap-bot.com

Shary said...
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Lauren said...

That's the nature of ephemera. Super easy to collect and so hard to utilize, but at least it's pretty and fun to look at!

Lauren said...

I do too. I'm definitely a collection voyeur, and love getting international additions.

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