Creatives are collectors and I’m wondering about how we collect.
This week I got to see a dear friend’s collections. I could only laugh when I saw the neatly folded, color coordinated stacks of fabrics in her closet. I have a similar fabric collection, but mine isn’t so neatly organized.

She had organizer bins filled with beads, buttons, sewing tools and threads. Everything had a place. I too have a system of keeping like things like this together. However, as I noted last week, my system definitely has a flaw, because I can’t find things when I need them.

My favorite thing in her creator’s room was her embroidery thread containers. She spent a great deal of time unraveling the hanks of floss and re-winding them onto the bobbins. I especially loved seeing the colors grouped so beautifully together in the thread organizer. For years, I tried doing this, but very recently unwound my collection and put them on clothespins. I think my lovely friend had the better idea; they are so beautiful to look at.

I’m realizing it is not only about what we collect, but also about how we acquire and care for our treasures. I know for many of us our families and friends don’t understand. So much “stuff” we have. Yet each itsy bit is an integral part of what we do and what we create. Ultimately it describes, in a hoarded fashion, who we are as creatives.