Collecting
the things people were more obviously drawn to, were snapped up right away,” she says. On a limited budget, she began to look for “things I was drawn to that were a little bit different” and settled on a slow but steady accumulation of vintage portraits via auctions and antique shows.
“There are so many massproduced things in the world,” she says, “and I think there’s something really exciting about bringing something like this into your home versus something from Target or Ikea that you see in three other people’s homes the second you walk in.”
The sense of the unexpected and the handmade is a big part of what gives collections their cool. Architects Dan and Julie Wheeler have filled their home with objects they are passionate about: midcentury salt and pepper mills from the Danish company Dansk Designs; toleware from Chicago designer Georges Briard; vintage hose nozzles and a collection of vintage paint-by-numbers paintings that spans three floors. They routinely map out thrift stores to hit when they travel, enjoying the hunt for new treasures together.
“We’ve collected only things that had real purpose and use,” says Dan Wheeler. “It’s accessible from a cost point of view and they’re not seen as high art elements but more as evidence of the common man, in a way.”
Studying the minute variations in each iteration of a pepper mill feeds Dan’s fascination with “design evolution, and all the variations that occur over time. It relates to how we practice architecture, and how I teach architecture.”
For the Wheelers, as for most collectors, time is also part of the collection. As their house began to age, more paint-by-numbers paintings went up to cover cracking plaster, a simple and aesthetically pleasing solution.
It wasn’t just collections piling up — it was memories too. The Danish designs Dan loved brought forth his childhood, when his parents, both designers, collected Dansk designs to use as everyday household objects. Julie’s collection of Fisher-Price toys dates back to when their children, now grown, were toddlers. “Both Julie and I have collected things that meant something to us from the past,” Dan says.
For Arden Fanning, a freelance journalist who writes for Vogue and lives in a loft in Noble Square, collecting is also a physical tie to memory. Her collection of vintage faux Louis Vuitton bags was inherited from her mother, an attorney who passed away a few years ago.
“My mom was a total Texas babe, and she had a really cool style,” Fanning says. “It was so her to have the fake Vuitton — maybe some of it’s real, nobody knows, but I like to think that it’s all fake because that makes it more funny and less gross consumerism.”
Fanning’s collections are also useful objects, she says. Basics such as Q-tips and toiletries are stored in a collection of blue glass pieces, mostly gifts from her husband, which match the color of the blue topaz in her engagement ring. And the faux Vuitton serves as all-purpose storage, corralling everything from her wedding dress to her laptop, pens and notebooks.
“I feel like people get really attached to their objects and don’t let them live,” she says. “I do like the idea of letting your objects live with you and continue to serve their purpose. I think you should use the things you have and if it breaks, fix it.”
In other words, don’t be timid. Collecting is all about jumping in.
“Start with something you’re interested in,” says Dan Wheeler, “that’s tied to your profession, or your childhood, it could be anything, really.” Here’s what you need to know to get started.
“Too much” is not really a thing.
Since collecting is psychologically tied to organizing objects, true collectors will store or display their finds in some kind of organization, or give them a practical use. (If anyone asks, this is one thing that makes you a collector, not a hoarder.) Repetition is not only fun, it makes collecting chic. “Once you get beyond three it starts to become a collection,” says Dan Wheeler. “One is a single object, then you get two and it’s kind of lonely and then when you get three they start to have a dialogue amongst themselves and a family starts to assemble.”
Go for objects with a story.
Maltby’s portraits have histories that can be researched, but they’re also a jumping-off point for stories of her own. “Even if they don’t have a story that comes with them, you can’t help but look at them and think, ‘What was this person’s story and where was this piece before it wound up in my apartment?’ It’s fun to create that narrative.” The story behind collections is what makes them personal, whether it’s historical detail or just a good yarn about the trip you took to find your next treasure.
Collecting is a social network.
A collection instantly gives you something to talk about, and once you dive into searching and researching to find more pieces, you’ll find yourself connecting with other collectors. “The sense of friendship and social bonding with other collectors is one of the main things that people value about collecting,” says Mueller.
Practical collections are good collections.
Not only is it hip to elevate everyday objects to cult status, it keeps collecting within your price range. “It’s cost-effective,” says Dan Wheeler. And the more tied to real life your collection is, the easier it is to use and appreciate it in your own daily life.