You might be able to tell that I love collecting! (For a real good look at my collections, come see my Collectibles page). Collecting and thrifting for pleasure has been a passion of mine over many years. I say ‘for pleasure’ because I can’t seem to part with anything. It is very rare that I end up selling any of my purchases! OMG, and I have been hoarding them for years. It was only until our latest move that I started consolidating everything and saw how much ‘stuff’ I had. Oh dear.
My First Country Auction
Collecting is a past time that many Country folk enjoy. Attending Saturday auctions at a nearby farm or in town is a lot of fun and you never know what you might find. Country Auctions were often sadly a sign that a farm had been sold or someone was retiring and moving into town. There were always lots of interesting antiques and odds and ends to look at. I remember my Grandpa taking me to my first auction at a farm about 20 miles away. He saw I had my eye on a wooden box (pictured below) and he surprised me by buying it for me. I still have it and it is one of my favorite memories of him.
That must be what started me on this journey of collecting, thrifting, picking and garage sale shopping! I remember moving from the farm to the big city of Regina, Saskatchewan. I was introduced to garage sales. OMG, it was like an auction every weekend, but you didn’t have to bid on anything.
Hobbies and Habits
Farm folk love hanging onto stuff, and keeping memories from the past alive and displaying various memorabilia in their home. Below is the beginning of my red and white enamelware collection. Some of these are from our farm.
Sometimes collectors will collect the oddest things. For example, I have a fairly good sized collection of View Master reels, which I started collecting many moons ago. These include scenery from around the world, cartoons, and of course, the Fairy Tale collection. I also have been collecting some old coins going back to the early 1900’s. And then there are my stamps, my old Barbie and Dawn dolls, and then a collection of Princess Diana books and a large Lady Di doll. The list probably goes on and on. Collecting has become a hobby and a habit. I will say a good one!
One of my favorite collections is my miniature antiquarian book collection. I started collecting classic literature in miniature form about 25 years ago, and then expanded to odd titles, including doctor’s advice from the early 1900s (very strange theories and practices!) One of my most valuable books is a 3rd edition Peter Pan with Rackham prints inside 🙂 The photo below shows a few books from my collection.
More Collections
I also have my farm memorabilia (see collectibles page), newer Blue Willow collection and Ironstone collections, as well as more enamelware and kitchenware. As you can see, I definitely enjoy collecting collectibles for fun. Check out my Blog displays on those, such as:
Antique and Vintage White Ironstone
and
My Latest Blue and White (Blue Willow) Display! (snippet below)
YouTube videos on Thrifting
If you like thrifting, you might want to subscribe to my YouTube Channel where I show my displays and talk about my thrifting adventures! Here is a sample:
Country Collectible Guides and Books
When you get more serious about collecting and thrifting for pleasure, sometimes its good to buy an authoritative book on the subject. I do enjoy looking at country collectible guides, antique valuation books, etc. There are so many collecting hobbies to choose from. Here are a few guides available on Amazon that you might find useful to decide on what you want to collect. I have a few antique collecting books as well as display books, from the authority herself, Martha 🙂
Antique Collecting Guide – Miller’s
This is the ultimate guide – I have bought a couple of these over the years.
Blue Willow Collecting:
A bit of research on Blue Willow was really helpful when I started collecting this pattern.
More Guides on Collecting:
Kindle Books on Collecting:
DVD on Antiquing:
As always, some of the links provided may be affiliate links and I may earn a small commission off of the sale of these products, but the price you are charged is not affected.
Don’t forget to check out my Collectibles page, which I will keep adding to, as well as my other displays, recipes and blog items on various country topics, and of course my Latest in Country Music – Country Music Calendar!
Since writing this post, I have been expanding my vintage enamelware collection. Don’t forget to check out those displays from the blog menu at the top or on my YouTube channel.
Also, if you like videos, my YouTube channel (Search Everything Country CA on YouTube to find my channel) now has most of my displays.
I hope you enjoyed this page on collecting and thrifting for pleasure!
🙂 Bonnie