Status Update on the Copycat Collector!

It's been 2 1/2 years since I gave you an update on the State of the Collections, and since I want to keep this blog available for future possible contributions, I thought today might be a good time to share some thoughts, and my (our) current status.

My last update was in July, 2016, shortly after my husband Bruce and I relocated to Utah after I was downsized from my job in New York. We left our little one-bedroom apartment in New Jersey, moved temporarily into my brother's spacious home in Utah, and got all of our belongings out of storage, where they had been since we closed our California home in the winter of 2012-2013- not long after I completed my year of collection blogging here on the Copycat Collector.

Although we kept a lot of things, the majority of our furniture, collections, and junk were sold or liquidated.

Priorities change. Now, we are living in a small town home in a small town in Utah County, Utah, and this is probably where we will stay. The joy I used to get adding to my collections just isn't there anymore. The biggest reason, is that I don't have anywhere to put them. In California, we had a 3800 sf home, with tons of cupboards, closets, and shelves for display. Our house was full, but not junky. But if I had even a tenth of my old stuff out here, we would look like we needed to be evicted by the health department; and frankly, my darling husband wouldn't stand for it. As it is, when I do come home occasionally with something "new", he rolls his eyes. I get it.

Another reason, is that the things that used to light up my eyes, just don't any more. There isn't much that I want to buy. I spend far less time and money at antique malls and thrift stores as I used to. So, in a lot of ways, that's a win-win: more money for me to keep, and more treasures for others to find.

A few "new" additions to my collections: a few dolls online friends have sent me in the past few months since I started sharing my toy designs on Instagram- mixed in with some oldies!

Although the plan was always to sell my collection leftovers, in reality, I have hardly sold anything since that initial downsizing in 2012-13. Most of my unwanted stuff is stored in boxes waiting until I "get around to it".

But the good news, for collecting fans, is that I still have some things around me that bring me happiness that I can share. Most are still on display, while others are readily available in boxes in closets. Luckily for hubby, most of that junk is in my studio, which is packed pretty full.

My ephemera collection is still with me. It's small, lightweight, stores flat, and I keep it in a nice decorative box in my studio closet. I still have a lot of my vintage photo collection: same reason as the ephemera. You can see those here and here and here. (There are more, but you get the idea). I still have the majority of my children's vintage school books and readers. You can see some of them tucked into this shelf in my current studio below: (If you search for the term "school" in the search bar of this blog, you will find dozens of my various school book collections.

My studio is where much of what's left of my collections lie, including my vintage readers

I still have my green pottery, my Franciscanware, my Depression glass.  I kept most of my autoharps.  In boxes still lie my vast collection of children's and other old magazines.

As far as my toy collection, that's been mostly sold. I have some precious treasures remaining, but most of them had to go. It was just time.

A few of my vintage toys including dolls, typewriters, vintage hankies and some other treasures

The one collection that has in fact grown, is my cache of vintage Valentines. They are inexpensive, store flat, and look so adorable on display. Here are some of them out on my shelves at the moment:

This fun display includes a few of the new ones I got this year

So now, as I have been perusing my former life as a collector, I'd like to conclude with a couple of links that featured photos and details about my 2011-2012 collections. It actually makes me hyperventilate a little... wow, I sure did have a lot of stuff!
Here's the first part.
Here's the second part.
Feel free to browse through my year's worth of collections. I warn you: it will take awhile. If you're looking at this site on your desktop rather than the mobile view, you can see some of my highlight collections on the right side of this blog.

Now I've got that out of my system! Happy collecting!

COLLECTION #164: Happy Valentine's Day from the Copycat Collector!

As you might have noticed in the past couple of weeks, I'm a big fan of Valentine's Day. In honor of the day, I thought you might enjoy seeing the totality of my Valentines collection.

Mostly vintage, but a few reproductions, and some fun newer stuff sprinkled in. Just lots of hearts, lace, sweetness and light. I hope you have a great Valentine's Day!

COLLECTION #163: Vintage Western-themed Valentines

I love western themes: Cowboys and Indians,  wide-open spaces, horses, cattle, cactus, Mexican Senors and Senoritas. Western themes were really popular from the 1920s through the 1950s... from silent movies to Roy Rogers, Stage Coach to Gunsmoke. I have lots of Western themed collectibles, and these cute li'l Valentines are right up there with my other faves.

I love my giant sized Mexican boy & girl on a burro. The sombrero folds over to what used to be a 'tissue ball' hat. (it's now pretty mushed and torn).  My guess is this one is from the late 30s or 1940s.

The others are probably from the 1940s or '50s, but the cute li'l roping cowgirl and cowboy is definitely 1930s vintage.

I hope you enjoy my western Valentines, and don't mind that I've roped you into another one of my Valentine collections. I'm not horsing around, and I won't steer you wrong, (I think it's time I ride into the sunset before you brand me 'loco'!) Yippeee yi ki-yay!

COLLECTION #162: Valentines and Vintage School Books

I remember so well the excitement and anticipation of Valentine's Day when I was a little girl in grade school. The fun of making or buying cards, picking which ones would go to which person, finding a 'special' one for that little boy I had a crush on, and best of all... receiving a bunch of cute Valentine cards from all of my friends. The process went something like this: bring the signed & sealed Valentines to school on Valentine's Day. Place them all into the special, previously decorated Valentine box or bag. Wait an eternity until time for the Valentine party. Someone who was previously designated as the postman, hands out all the cards, walking around the room, up and down the aisles, torturing us with his or her slowness and capricious way of distribution. Then, when they are all passed out, the opening begins. Some of the cards are handmade, obviously a lot of time and thought went into these cards. (Some children made them themselves due to financial considerations, but in my book, the handmade ones were awesome!) Some cards just had a name scrawled in childish letters on the back. Others might include a little note: "to my best friend", or "I like you". Some weren't signed at all, but had a cryptic message: "guess who?" or "an admirer". In my school it was encouraged for the children to give a card to each student, so that no one would be left out. So, it was rare for a child to go home with fewer than 20-25 cards on Valentine's afternoon. Usually, after the cards were given out, there would be a Valentine's party, complete with pink, heart shaped cookies and punch or milk.

I would gaze at my cards for hours, looking at the cute images of cowgirls, birds, kitties, and the like. One memorable card was from my 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Owen, who gave me a Mickey Mouse card. What I loved wasn't the card, but her beautiful handwriting. The way she wrote my name made me feel so special.

Even at that early age, I preferred the cards printed on heavy, matte stock, to the cheaper, shinier cards.

 Since Valentine's Day was celebrated so colorfully at school, I thought it would be fun to feature some of my school books that contain Valentine stories, songs, and activities. I even have one school primer, by Lyons and Carnahan, called Valentine Day. It was published in 1934. I adore the sweet illustrations.

I think one of the reasons I collect vintage Valentines today, is because of those happy school memories. I don't collect sophisticated, grown up romantic cards- only the cute cards designed for school children. They are the happiest cards of all.

COLLECTION #160: The Valentine That Chaged the World

 
Ok, maybe it didn't really change the world. But it certainly tilted the earth on its axis for my family. This sweet little Valentine postcard from 1908, marked the beginnings of a long-distance relationship. From Idaho to Minnesota, this little postcard Valentine traveled, from a man named William Ward, to the lovely Martha Gruetzmacher of Owatonna, Minnesota.

The sweethearts met on a train. Isn't that romantic? It was the summer of 1907, and Martha traveled from Minnesota to Portland, Oregon, to visit a cousin. Somewhere between here and there, either to or fro, she caught sight of a handsome man outside the window of the train, which was standing at a station. He was pacing back and forth, occasionally glancing into the window of the train. Just before it started again, this same man walked down the center aisle, and stopped next to her. "Is this seat taken?" he inquired. Well, it certainly wasn't taken. And neither were any of the other seats in the nearly empty car. Martha was puzzled why he wanted to sit next to her, but in the next few hundred miles, they got acquainted. He asked for her address, and when she returned home, they began a correspondence.  I have no idea how many letters or postcards passed between them between 1907 and their marriage in October 1909. But it doesn't matter, this is the one I have. His written words are rather casual and impersonal. But the printed words on the Valentine surely expressed the feelings of his heart.

You might have guessed by now that these strangers who met on a train, were my own grandparents. My Mom's mother and father, who took a chance on love, and changed our world forever. 

A layout I created about my grandparent's courtship

COLLECTION #159: Vintage Animal-themed Valentines

Without further ado, my vintage Valentines with Animal Designs. (Not to be confused with vintage Valentines with Animals Playing a Supporting Role)

Long-necked Love

Love Birds

Puppy Love

Love you, Ducky!

It's either a dog, or faux Mickey Mouse!

Monkey Love

COLLECTION #158: Vintage Music Valentines

It's Music Monday! And today I am sharing my music-themed Valentines! Aren't they cute!  I love the two simple ones- one with a fun vintage record player, and one with a banjo... one can't have too many banjos in life!

Love the cute little harlequin playing a saxophone, and the two little singers with their songs of love.

But my favorite is the little pop-up campers, singing around the cooking fire. I'm not sure if the little boy is playing a banjo or mandolin, but he looks like he's putting his whole heart into it!

THE WEEKEND COLLECTOR: The Cedar Chest Blog

It seems that many of the collector blogs and websites I discover are about ephemera: that is, paper collectibles, such as postcards, letters, brochures, Valentines, old photos, and printed material of every kind. Since we're in February, I'm always on the hunt for more vintage Valentines.

I discovered the Cedar Chest Blog, where I found lots of fun ephemera you will certainly enjoy. I was immediately attracted to the Valentines, but discovered lots of other fun stuff. I hope you take some time to stop by and check out what's in the Cedar Chest!  (You can also find a link to her Etsy shop, where you can purchase some of her fabulous finds!)

COLLECTION 157: Vintage Valentines- Sports Themes

I have about a zillion vintage Valentines... I thought it would be fun to share them with you by category, rather than bunching them all together. It was fun to discover that I had six of them with a sports theme! And how much fun is that? I even have a bowling one! So, two football players, a baseball girl, a bowler, and two jockeys... one male, one female.

Bowling for Love!

Oops, looks like someone's getting her butt kicked!

I hope you enjoy my little sporty Valentines!