As I typed, "
I do not collect bridle rosettes," last week, I got to wondering - what else DO I (not) collect? Or maybe the real question is, how many collections do I actually have?
There were more than I thought.
Certainly, model horses are my biggest, most extensive collection of all.
My office (called the "horse room" by my family) is my favorite spot in my home.
That model horse collection includes several subsets within it.
There are the Hagen Renaker DW (Designer's Workshop) horses. These are kept downstairs in the living room in a china hutch.
My early Monrovia DW Sherif with lovely shading who does very well at shows and has Top Tenned at NAN several times and been Reserve National Champion.
Then there is my collection of Circus Horses and Ponies.
I have three Freeman-Leidys with a fourth arriving later this week. They are very hard to find and quite fragile, and I love their chunky, clunky clinkiness.
My Steha Circus Pony - there is a white version of this horse, but it is tough to find Stehas in good condition and with all their tack. This one was a lucky find on eBay.
Two original Hagen Renaker Circus Ponies. These were also made in the 1980s with blue, yellow, green, and maroon harnesses. I have a lot of those in my collection.
Shiken and other companies copied the Hagen Renaker Circus Ponies and then made other companion pieces to join them. (They are charming!)
A further sub collection is related circus items. (Related to the model horse hobby, not simply the circus itself. I actually do not care for circuses.)
Breyer's Corky and Bimbo set. (Photo credit to the eBay seller I bought this from.)
Hagen Renaker circus elephants. (They are so cute!)
Hagen Renaker circus dogs.
And even an old book about Corky and Bimbo!
It was while looking for circus ponies on eBay that I found my first pair of bridle rosettes.
They are very unique and stunning, in my opinion.
My second set of bridle rosettes (I am finally admitting that I collect them.)
I also find myself accumulating vintage Christmas ornaments that I had as a child.
This was my favorite of all, and the original one from childhood. I had it until last year when it broke. My daughter, Jessica, knowing how much I loved it, found one on eBay for me. It was a bit costly, but so worth it. (Thank you so much, Jessica!!)
We had a set of four of these Donald Ducks in green, pink, blue, and gold when I was little and I am trying to find them all. (Photo credit to eBay seller.)
I am a voracious reader, usually with several books in progress at one time. So naturally, I am now looking for vintage books that I had as a child.
Like the Timber Trail Riders books.
But I also collect children's classics books since that was one of the foundational underpinnings of my class and used to teach literature, vocabulary, even reading in and of itself.
I have old teacher's books in my collection of vintage books, too.
And this amazing gem which I found when we lived in Illinois.
It's a book about Tippecanoe County, Indiana where I grew up and where I now live.
Written in 1916, it is a love story set against the backdrop of the Battle of Tippecanoe.
The Wildcat Creek (actually a river) flows through the woods behind my school and then into the Wabash near my home. Needless to say, I was thrilled to see a chapter devoted to it.
This next collection is kept in tubs and I am actually dispersing most of it - my Star Wars things. I started collecting after the original movie came out in 1977 and so have some really nice things that are now highly collectible.
Others I bought for fun, not collecting. Like this Darth Vader action figure case. Occasionally I would bring it to school and let my students play with the action figures. (These I would find at garage sales specifically so my kids, grandchildren, and students could play with them without worry.) My students could never believe that their teacher had Star Wars action figures but they were always happy to play with them!
They found it hard to believe that I was a comic book collector, too!
Like I said, most of my Star Wars collection is for sale, but I am keeping my Leia items because she is my favorite character.
I will probably sell these in a few years, too, but in the meantime I wanted to enjoy them a little longer.
I am hanging onto my glasses so that my grandchildren can use them while visiting.
In addition to my large Star Wars collection, I had a pretty extensive Star Trek collection, too. I pared that one down several years ago. What is left is packed away in a tub so I don't have any photos to share. Like the remainder of my Star Wars collection, I'll probably sell those items in a few years, too.
My friend, Susan Bensema Young, got me started collecting Breyer's blankets with a post on her blog,
Timaru Star II.
She's also good about telling me when a hard to find blanket is up on eBay or MH$P. (I bought three this week - thanks, Sue!)
Last up is another, "Do I really collect these?" but as I look around my office and in the closet, I think I do.
Vintage horse show ribbons!
Many of which I won in local shows when I was a teenager.
For several years I have had a pin on Pinterest where I was saving ideas for what to do with these old ribbons. I had thought to make a quilt but had found many other intriguing ideas. Something I plan to do in the next year or so - if I can bear to cut up these lovely vintage show ribbons!
Last but not least, and not a collection (yet) but something I absolutely LOVE and keep out full time in my office is this vintage equestrian tablecloth that I found at an antique store about five years ago.
Isn't it neat? And you can bet that if I find more like this, they will be coming home with me, be it napkins, table runners, or whatever! (I am actively looking!)
So, I do collect a lot of things. And my guess is that I am not the only hobbyist who has other mini and sub collections going. Is it because we are simply collectors at heart and find other aspects of collecting appealing? Or is it something else? All of my collections reflect something about me - my love of horses, reading, science fiction, and so on, so perhaps that plays a role. We love something and then find items that reflect that love, tangible ones that we can hold and admire.
Perhaps collecting is just a way of enjoying what we love.
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