Last week, while we were out running errands, I was listening to a question and answer session on the radio. The question for their listeners was, “What do you collect?” and they had tons of people calling in to share their weird and interesting collections. People called in and shared about their massive beanie baby collection or crazy key chains that they had begun collecting.
The two things that struck me when these people came in were two things that have always bothered me about collections. The first was that the collections were usually started by someone else in their family or by a friend. It started with the love for one particular thing and it became as though everyone in the world now knew exactly what to get them for Christmas. And their birthday. And their anniversary. And to help cheer them up.
The second thing that seemed to resonate with me was that almost everyone who had a collection had it stored somewhere. When asked where they kept their thousand key chains, the listener would say, “In my basement.” Other
answers varied, but they all boiled down to them being put away in boxes because people didn’t have a place for the items or didn’t know a good way to display them.
These are the two things that have always bothered me about collecting items (not to mention all of that dusting). I like to enjoy items, but I don’t enjoy collecting things unless they are useful and are used in some capacity in my home.
I did become obsessed with collecting one item though and as I tsked-tsked the people that called into that radio show, I realized that I had done the same exact thing. My beautiful apron collection, while worn daily, was becoming a disarray of items that were tucked away in the depths of a pantry closet and were brought out rarely. I love aprons and I appreciate their beauty, but what beauty were they bringing me pushed in the back of a closet?
I went to Target and purchased two bronze hooks. The total cost was less than four dollars and I had my husband mount them on an empty wall in our kitchen. I picked four of my favorite aprons and hung them from the hooks.
I am now enjoying my aprons and the true beauty of them in a much greater capacity than I was before. They make me smile when I see them and each of them was given to me by someone special in my life.
Sound Off: What do you collect and how do you display them? Do you have a collection of something stored away?
It seems I keep reading about people who love aprons. I only have one and never think to wear it.
I’ve collected French/Eiffel Tower stuff for years. Until our son was born, we had a “French room,” something I had dreamed about. While preparing his room, I decided to pare down my collection, so now my favorite pieces are scattered throughout the house.
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I love aprons too, but I only have two. I have plans to sew some more though.
I collect books and I really need a better way to store them. I only have one over crowded bookshelf and then some boxes in the attic. I also collect crafting supplies which is more of a bad habit. I have a seriously unrealisitc perspective on how much I can actually use.
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All I collect is books! Your aprons look so cute though…I really need to get one–or some! An apron would look just fabulous over my tank top and yoga pants, ya think?
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That’s how I roll
I think my neighbors get a kick out of them. I think I freaked my nieghbor out one day when I walked out in a tank top and short with an apron over it. I didn’t think anything of it, but he gave me the strangest look. I think he might have thought I was naked under there 
HA!
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I collect books – loads of books, but those are easy to put on bookshelves. I also collect bees and beehive related items that I display on a shelf in my kitchen. In my dining room I showcase all my chocolate sayings and Hershey tin collectibles.
The aprons are just lovely. They add a nice homey touch!
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I collect antique kitchen gagets including rolling pins….I use the smaller pieces to decorate the back-splash….I put the rolling pins in an old wine rack.
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As a packrat, I collect everything but, no, no one item that I specifically collect
I love your apron collection. Very pretty. They add nice texture and color.
My favorite way to display items like this: instead of hooks, use drawer pulls/knobs. They probably would have been a little more expensive than your hooks but they add an additional layer of texture and visual interest to a display. It’s easy to mount them — buy a bag of special two sided screws; one side has machine threads which screw into the drawer knob and the other side has wider self-tapping threads that can be screwed directly into wood or into a plastic anchor.
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