Collecting

I have a passion for collecting, probably too many different things. Right now I have one small cereal bowl of Spode's Blue Italian dinnerware, the pattern on the dishes in the picture (the large soup tureen, is to me the holy grail of this line of dishes, far too expensive for me right now, but someday).





Something I have never yet collected, because they've been so flippin' expensive, are Hummel figurines. Tiny little things, but worth a few hundred dollars apiece. Right now, though, their value has plummeted, which I can't help thinking is a 'good' thing for those of us who would like to be able to own some Hummels. In fact, I hope their value remains low for awhile (or forever, either way) because I don't actually have money to buy them even though they are no longer so expensive. Look, I'm talking about being passionate about collecting something - it doesn't matter what the value is to anyone else if you are passionate about it. You have a natural joy and appreciation that comes from the item, so it doesn't matter if they're "worth" anything. Their worth is not in money. Still, there's something to owning things that you value that are considered high quality and worth having. But ask me if I'd rather have one Hummel figurine or a cross stitch magazine or pattern that I might not be able to give away, much less sell. (as to the spode, I suppose I would rather have that than the xstitch designs). Although, when I find a way to have both, I am doubly pleased.