Collecting is an infinitely complex…yet simple & personal…way of expressing yourself. We all love to collect in certain ways but do it for SO many different reasons. I wanted to take this post to talk about a few of those & to remind everyone…there is no wrong way to do it or get into it as long as it stays healthy (more on that in a later post). And remember that while I am defining some particular collecting styles, there are many who combine these in their own ways so treat this just as a general guide & let me know if you have other reasons for your collections below or as @Zenspath on Twitter or Hive.
So to me, collecting falls into a few categories: Personal, Financial, Curiosity, Activity, Aesthetic, & Inspiration. Let’s look a bit more into each one individually.
Personal
First up is Personal collecting. This one is truly an individual based collection because the reasoning behind it will be something important to that person. I wrote an article recently about my own personal collection that goes into why it means so much to me & why regardless of cost or size…it is the most valuable to me as an individual. Check it out here.
Financial
The second type is Financial Collecting. This tends to be for those that have a collection, but mainly for the need to gain a financial benefit from it. They tend to find things & research their value vs the cost of getting it as the deciding factor of whether to acquire something or not. They can have a connection with the items & appreciation of them, but they stick to the idea of profiting from it as a means financial stability or extra income. This is also how different specialty stores start up like Comic Books, Toys, etc. The modern version of this leads to online places like eBay, Amazon, or other online locations to maintain a way to sell their collections without the overhead of a building’s cost.
Curiosity
The third type of collecting is Curiosity Collecting. This one is one of the more random as your collection is more spread out based on things that peak your curiosity as your life goes on. The rhyme & reason is harder to explain beyond an individual curiosity & the memories or ideas that certain things spark. Part of the fun with this type of collection is for the person to show it off & explain the ideas & inspirations behind each piece. Stories are usually associated with each one to help bring some clarity to what could best be described by outsiders as a “dissonant collection”.
Activity
The fourth type is Activity Collecting. This brings in collections with requirements to do things, learn things, & generally further your skills as you perform them. Model collecting & 3D printing can be parts of this as you learn the skills with each one you build to further & improve the next ones. Models can scale from simple snap together ones, to more complex glued ones, all the way up to custom builds & kit bash to make a truly one of a kind design. 3D printing brings in the skills to perfect your printing based on the materials, time, & complexity then can evolve to new materials, new printers, or even learning to build the models yourself to share, sell, or print for your own sets.
Aesthetic
The fifth type I mentioned is Aesthetic collecting. This is in regards to filling out a personal or public space based around a theme or idea to create an feeling in an environment. Mini arcade machines that you would look at but not necessarily play, or statues in a particular theme would fit into something like this. I had a collection of robots in my old office that didn’t fit into a single series or anything but did fit a theme that I wanted for the room itself. Robot toys of all sizes & types lined the walls before I had to give up that office as my family grew.
Inspiration
And the last type of collecting I will talk about today is an Inspiration Collection. This is one that tends to be for those more creatively inclined that helps to facilitate the creation of other works through the inspiration of the things around them in a space. Be it art, writing, film making, YouTube, etc. This type of collection can be one of the most fluctuating as it can focus on the idea of what the individual is trying to create at the time. Whole changes can be made based on their work or it can be maintained if there is a theme based around their personal ideals.
As I stated at the start of this, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to collect for each individual, but to understand some of the different types also helps to show how each of them can connect & help each one grow. Each one can help the others achieve their collecting goals in one way or another to coexist in a shared hobby.
A collection of collectors if you will.
Jeremy E. Powers, Sr.
@Zenspath