REFLECTIONS ON COLLECTIONS

“I have been drawn to antiques my entire life,” Amy Whitebread Melin, of Illinois, shares. “I grew up going to garage sales with my father who also enjoyed ‘old junk’ and also going to antiques stores with my paternal grandmother who herself had various collections. Although we had different antique styles, my grandmother passed along her appreciation for the beauty, talent and hard work that went into making so many things from the past.

“I love to imagine the people before me who have gotten lost in the pages of a well-loved old book. Or who sat down and paid bills at my 1800s desk—which I discovered a beautifully scripted ‘taxes’ written on the side of one of the secret drawers. It’s the little surprises that keep me searching for more. Every piece I ever buy,

I ask the previous owner if they know any of its history. Its age. Where it came from. How it was used. And if nothing is known, I turn to Google. Because what good does history do us if we can’t learn anything from it?

“I hope someday my children grow to love antiques as much as I do. But if they don’t, I hope they at least know to appreciate and respect the craftsmanship of the past and history lessons antiques have to tell.”

Learn more on Instagram @thevintagebreadbox.