Years ago I took a ceramics wheel-throwing class and made many pottery bowls in different sizes. I didn’t have space to display all of them and, as you all know, I try to keep things that I use in my home! But I didn’t want to give up my hard work, so I put some of the nicer pots in my kitchen cabinet and stored the rest.
I use the pots so much that every once in a while one gets accidentally broken. It is annoying to break a favorite pot, especially when there are pots that are less-favorite that seem to stay whole forever! The bright side of losing a favorite pot, though, is that it makes room to bring out another pot from my collection. When I have guests over for a meal, friends occasionally notice a “new” bowl on table. Because I know that sooner or later I will use them, I am comfortable keeping the rest of my pots in storage.
Since I started using my own pottery I’ve developed an eye for beautiful ceramics, and my mother always said that it is good to support a fellow potter. So every once in a while, especially if I recently broke a pot I loved, I will buy a gorgeous new pottery bowl despite the pieces I already have in storage. Having a flexible “break and replace” policy lets me enjoy all the best parts of having a collection, including the thrill of finding something gorgeous and new, without outgrowing my limited space.
One way to tame the instinct to turn beloved items into a collection of clutter is to make them into a “working collection” like my pottery. Do you have similar collections of things that you use as much as you collect?
Beautifully written– and a really nice way to think about what we have and what we choose to use, to beautify living space. I enjoy all of your posts because they read more like personal essays..and make me think! 🙂 caryn