I am NOT Collecting…Really!

I tell myself that I am not collecting anymore (at my age it makes more sense to be downsizing!), but as a vintage lover and seller I’m always looking. And yup sometimes I buy for myself!

Several months ago I was looking at antique sterling silver creamers. I’ve bought many over the years, but almost all of them I’ve sold or are listed in my online stores. Like these two beauties. I absolutely adore these two tiny creamers, both English dated1885, both found them too small for my needs. I was happy displaying them, but decided it was time to let them go.

[You’ll find these in my Etsy store: bird creamer and stamped creamer.]

Which left me creamer-less and in the market so to speak. So after a bit of searching and negotiating I bought myself this creamer won by Mrs. Milton Miller at the Audubon Country Club Ladies Golf Championship in 1913! (Do wish they would have used her first name! I detest when women are hidden behind their husband’s name.) It’s the right size and not so precious that I worry about using it. (And I do use it.)

But for this second purchase I have no excuse other than I was sick with a spring cold and had too much time on my hands and found myself perusing eBay. Being in low spirits I was particularly vulnerable to the antique siren call!! That’s when I spotted a sterling silver baby cup by famed U.S. silver makers Wood & Hughes (1833-1899).

It was beautiful, but what grabbed me was the name Mabel. Such an old-fashioned name. One you just don’t hear anymore. (I had a great aunt MayBelle, a variation.) The name has Latin origins and unexpectedly means “lovable.” Isn’t that sweet? In 1880 it ranked 22nd in the names used for girls. It plummeted in the 1950s/60s (ranking 966th), but is now regaining popularity! Who knew??

This cup is also engraved “Xmas” and “1890.” I’m guessing this was Mabel’s first Christmas and this cup was a generous gift by grandparents or an aunt and uncle. Pure conjecture on my part but fun to imagine.

Mabel is long gone, but her cup remains, and in remarkably good condition. (Many silver baby cups end up with dings and dents from energetic use.) I’ve already used this for a small bouquet of flowers. And yes it could be used for libations, say for a bit of mead.

But honestly I’m hoping I don’t get sick for a long time…it’s a bit costly when I am!! 😂

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Typically when I buy something for myself, I let go of something else–one in and one (or more) out. And that helps stem my personal accumulating. Still I feel I could be letting go of more so I’m going to work on that but I also know I couldn’t go “extreme.”

This delightful YouTube couple John and Bev got rid of their house, cars, and almost ALL of their belongings and spend their money and time traveling the world. And they are having a blast. It works for them.

But for me one of the joys of traveling is eventually returning home–to my own bed and comfy quilt, my own coffee mugs, my own stuff. I am a nester. I take pleasure in beautiful things and comfort and in the familiar. For me to constantly be at the mercy of someone else’s decor choices and in unfamiliar abodes would slowly, but surely, drive me insane.

Anyway, all this to say I would never by choice be an extreme minimalist, but I do see the benefits of having less.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Karen