Collectors

An enchanted cottage in Canmore, Alta., is home to an amazing ‘collection of collections‘

Fond memories can be visible in many forms and sizes, every day, all the time. They are there like good friends who stay and share all the important moments of days gone by. If you stepped into my cottage in the mountain town of Canmore, Alta., you’d see what I mean. Some 27 collections are on display in my home. From the entrance all the way to my upstairs bedroom, the unique shapes and colours of these collections blend in to become one with the wood-panelled interior. And each item tells a story of another time and faraway places.

Friends call me a multi-faceted woman, having been a Calgary alderman, psychologist, teacher, artist, author and marriage commissioner (so far I have done more than 6,000 weddings!) and the “collector” of these many collections. In my book Nomi Whalen, She Collects Collections— which is still available on amazon. ca— I talk about the origins of many of my assemblages, which include walking sticks, birdhouses, angels, musical instruments, Chinese chops, thimbles, tiny boxes and, of course—one of my favourites—gnomes. All are a huge part of the magic of my enchanted mountain cottage. Many of my cherished items reside on the fireplace mantel in my studio, but some also live outside, like the gnome wedding couple, which has become one with the huge rock in front of my cottage.

How can a woman love “stuff” so much that she spends close to a lifetime filling her house with thousands of things? Well, you might query my motivations, but honestly, things just came together as a whole over the years. The colours, shapes, sizes and variety work in harmony there on my shelves, in the kitchen, living room, bedroom, bathroom, studio and garden. They are one, reflecting the different shades of many countries and people, all bearing stories and memories to be told.

Wherever the eyes of visitors wander in my enchanted cottage, they’ll spot a unique item

that belongs to a collection. But why are there so many?

I have had so much fun collecting, some might suggest it has become an addiction. Perhaps. After five decades, I continue to hunt for more stuff. My eyes are always wide open; in every village and every country, I search for what I could add to any of my collections, making thousands of unusual finds. In addition, many of my friends and even couples I have married will turn up with new items for my collections. It is addictive, even for visitors, to add to my various collections—even if only with a set of new berry napkins for my strawberry collection.

It was more or less my mother who got me started when she brought me a silver thimble encrusted with turquoise from Mexico, back in the ‘70s. Why thimbles? What made them so appealing was the size. I like small things. Shortly afterwards, I somehow would see thimbles everywhere. The variety amazed me, and I just began bringing them home.

My two oldest and largest collections are tiny boxes and thimbles. They are not the stuff you can buy in any souvenir store. Many are quite valuable and have extraordinary stories. For example, one of the thimbles in my collection is made out of real gold and belonged to Russian royalty during the time of the last czar. It was given to me by a bona fide descendant of his family.

My collections are my living memory of yesteryear. They are also an educator for my grandchildren, as they want to know the stories of origin. For visitors, my collections are pure joy. But I’ll tell you a secret: my fondest collection of all are my children and grandchildren. ■