Collecting: Vintage Spoons

Posted by Blueprint

It's a given that Blueprint's contributing style editor, Scott Horne, has impeccable taste. (He also has a wicked sense of humor.) His discerning eye (along with those of our incredibly talented home department) was a large part of what made the pages of Blueprint frame-worthy. So when Scott endorses something, we listen.

One day Scott brought in a tiny silver spoon that he found at a flea market to add to his collection. We found it surprising that such an aesthetically evolved person would have a collection of silverwear, especially since most spoon collections seem to consist of kitschy commemorative spoons found in gift shops. Scott's spoons are art objects in and of themselves -- all unique, handmade, and slightly bent from use -- and laid on a stack of papers, one tiny spoon would make an unusually handsome paperweight. But of course, Scott had already styled the spoons in a more interesting way. He arranged the spoons in vintage bowls, put them in a wooden box that sits on his coffee table, and added a fork and simple metal objects -- a horn, ring, etc. -- to complete the arrangement. We thought it looked too beautiful not to share.

Scott's spoon collection sits artfully arranged on his coffee table

Collecting is a passion of many Blueprint-ers and Martha Stewart staffers. We find collecting to be a very personal hobby -- learning what objects someone obsesses over can be very revealing. What do you collect?

Comments

[joey]

i collect mismatched ceramics, chunks and slices of rock crystals, magazines (all the cooking mags, colors, nat geographics), samples of products, books, glass jars...

[Sheri]

dishtowels, bowls, juice glasses, tea & coffee wares

[Kristi]

I have a few collections that I've been adding to over the years-- paper mache tole trays, silverplate platters and bowls I find at Goodwill, food tins, hanging stars, North Carolina pottery, and glass balls or pendants I hang in my windows.

[colleen]

I collect vintage globes, white matte pottery, pink planters, apple crate labels from Washington state, glass cake plates and picnic baskets. Probably too much, right!?Whenever I get tired of something, I sell it on eBay or in my little space that I have at an antiques store.

[Jana]

I started collecting talavera pottery a few years back and now I'm adding in polish pottery and any sort of fun vintage pottery I stumble across. Why eat off a boring plate when you can eat off a hand painted one is my motto.

[Susan]

I collect antique charm bracelets (they are so expressive of past lives) and black and white photos from the '50s. It makes me sad to see family photos floating about at thrift stores - so I like to give them a home where they are cherished for their mystery!

[Julia]

I collect vintage buttons, lace and ribbons, cookie cutters, MAGAZINES: Blueprint, Metropop, Milk, Grafik, vogue, chatelaine(from the 50's-60's), teacups.

[Diane]

I didn't realize how many squirrels I had until a friend's 10-year-old daughter said, "You have a lot of squirrels here." I said, "I know, I love to watch them play outside." She said, "No. I mean IN the house." Gulp.

[Denise Fontaine]

My altered art shoes have been selling like hotcakes and were posted on Ullabenulla's blog.Wow! my artwork was mentioned on Eco Chic Weddings! No snow in Boston! Happy New Year! Denise

[jhayne]

this year, i started to collecting ornaments (or small items like keychains that can be repurposed as an ornament) from every place we travel to. we did quite a bit of traveling this past year and it was fun being reminded of all our great trips when looking at the tree. it also gives me a 'focus' for when deciding on a trip keepsake.

i also have a 'little' obession with anything black and white, particularly small little ceramics figures, tea cups and the sort.

[Nicole]

I always give up on collecting too soon - I get a few of something and then get tied of having the same old thing in a hundred different versions.

However, those spoons look amazing.

[Erica]

elephant tchotchkes... all neatly displayed on my ikea lack shelves!

[Jay]

Archie comics!! I've been reading and collecting them (mostly double digests) since I was 8 (over 20 years) and the collection is spread throughout my parents home and my apartment.