We recently entertained some friends from out of state. They had not been to our home for about 9 years and were inquisitive about where we found our “treasures.” It made me stop and think about just where I did find them. And it brought back some fond (and not-so-fond) memories – I’m happy to share them with you!
Probably my “all time favorite” is our dining room chandelier. It is brass and has a lot of prisms and glass beads. Quite lovely. But it did not always look this way. When I first found it, it was in 3 bags, seated on the floor of a garage.

My sister and I had gone to a rummage sale. She always beat me to the costume jewelry, which was her ‘addiction.’ So I did not even bother rushing to the table where they were displayed. Who wants to be elbowed out of the way every time? Not me.

So I sought bargains elsewhere. I was looking at some porcelain figurines on a table and my foot bumped a bag and I heard a “clink.” I asked the seller what was in the bags. She replied “my sister and her husband are opening a bread & breakfast. They decided to replace the old lighting fixtures with new ones and those bags hold the parts of their cast-off.” I was curious and picked up one bag.

To my amazement and great pleasure, I found a very large, cut glass prism! I looked further and found a lot more. The next bag had the brass arms and the third held the strings of beading. I tried my best not to be too excited and casually asked “how much do you want for this?” Her reply got my heart racing “$5.00” she said.

I am so used to bargain-hunting that before I even thought about it I blurted out “would you take $4.00?” “Oh, sure” she said, “my sister will be glad to get rid of it.” I paid promptly.

When we got to the car, my sister showed me her little pins, then asked if I had any luck. I tried to stay calm and said I thought I had been lucky.

We got to my house and hubby and I pulled it out of the bags. We were in awe. I knew it was in pieces but he can ‘fix anything’, just ask anyone! So, he took it to his workshop and in two days we had it up, replacing our other chandelier. (On an even further positive note, we sold that newer one for $35 at our sale. Probably to the lady who wanted to open the B&B!)
Another of my ‘bests’ is this charming framed picture. It features a little girl who resembles “little red riding hood” and the frame is beautiful. My hubby actually found this one. We went to a ‘block rummage sale’ with a lot of houses that participated. I went to one side of the street, he to the other. Along the way, he yelled to me “do you like this picture?”

I could not see it well, but what I could make out, I definitely liked and responded to the affirmative. He brought it to the car and I took a better look. And instantly loved it! I asked “how much” and he smiled broadly and replied “$5.00.” Yikes!

I rarely find nice jewelry at yard sales and especially so if my sis was along. But we went to a sale along Lake Michigan, ritzy place, and the lady had a lot of Oriental items. Not being a big fan of this décor’, I thought I’d be leaving early. But on her table, underneath a shawl, was a ring. It was gold (I thought it was “the real thing”) and had a green stone. She had $25 on the tag, but instantly said she’d take $20 for it – this was her third day and no one had even inquired about it. I paid her what she wanted.

It just FELT right. When I got to the car, I pulled out the magnifier and verified that it was 14K. The stone turned out to be jade. I wore it for a year or two and then sold it at our antique booth for $125. That was about 7 years ago and someone is probably writing a blog about the bargain they found at our booth. The circle of (antiques) life. Ahh.

When you are ‘into’ antiques, you don’t often go to the sales that advertise ‘kids toys, toddlers clothing’, and the like. But I was with a friend who had grandkids and she wanted to stop. “OK”, I said, “but make it snappy.” I looked at the books and games, nothing old enough to add to the collection or sell. But then something caught my eye and by the stuffed animals and Barbie tricyle, I saw a face peering out – it was a metal horse. I looked closer and discovered it was a very old child’s toy.

Made in England, called a Mobo. It had some wear to the paint, but overall, it was quite nice. He only wanted $15 for it, telling me it was ‘old and had been ridden by numerous kids in the family.’ I did not quibble – paid him and popped it in my trunk. Hubby looked at it and was uncertain – nothing he’d seen before. We put it in the garage.

About a month later he was at a Cracker Barrel Restaurant. There, on a shelf above the check-out counter, was another one! He was excited and asked to chat with the manager. When she arrived, he inquired about the horse – what did she know about it, how old was it, was it for sale, and if so, how much?

She was taken aback but responded that these antique items are not for sale and she really knew nothing about it. It was a fairly new restaurant and she explained that when they were ready to build, a ‘team’ of pickers would come to the area and get nostalgic items – they’d also select other antiques from a warehouse and bring them in.

He was a little disappointed, but at least felt it had enough value to be so displayed. We took it to a summer flea market and put a ‘ridiculous’ price of $100 on it. It sold in 12 minutes. We have since seen two others in antique malls. We’ve learned they were made in Kent, England, are circa 1947, and actually called “Mobo Bronco” riding horses. One was in very poor condition and that price tag was $225. The other was in a condition that was similar to ours and had a tag of $350!

Another blogger somewhere, is bragging about this treasure they found from the ‘rubes’ in aisle 11. But we made our profit and had fun – so there!

Another time we went to an estate sale. It was the last day, sometimes a good time to attend. Usually things are half-price or at least there is room to wiggle. We saw these beautiful candle sticks in the basement. The gent who was in charge in that room said they had been in a trunk and not noticed until earlier that day when the trunk had sold.

We thought they were beautiful, but when he said he wanted $50 for them, we played our ‘good cop and bad cop’, being hesitant to make a commitment. Then he thought for a moment and said ‘oh, prices are 50% off today so they could be yours for $25.” Scooped those up and put them in our dining room. A wonderful find!

We continue to shop for additions for our home and some to sell. While it may sound easy, just yesterday we went to 11 garages sales, put 30 miles on the van, and came home with just $4.00 worth of ‘goodies.’ And that’s a pretty strong word for them. “Mediocres” would be a better word. But who knows what the next garage, front yard or estate sale might hold?

“Gotta Collect? Then You Gotta Connect - Join our Collectors’
Community”

I remember browsing through an antique jewelry dealer’s shop as a preteen and noticing a large display of Victorian era black jewelry. There were brooches, rings and earrings, all featuring black stones. I remarked that they must have liked black a lot in the “olden days” and the shopkeeper informed me that it was mourning jewelry, worn when a loved one died.

The wearing of mourning, or memorial, jewelry began in England in the 16^th century. Before long it was common for mourning rings to be distributed at a funeral in memory of the deceased. Skulls and skeletons were popular designs for mourning jewelry for many years, and were often worn as a memento mori: a symbol of one’s own mortality. Eventually these designs lost popularity and were rarely seen after the 1760s.

It was about that time that a more sentimental form of mourning jewelry came into fashion. Scenes of urns, tombs, weeping willows and grieving maidens were depicted, usually in paint or enamel. Human hair was often worked into the scene, perhaps as the branches of the weeping willow. These scenes of grief appeared on brooches, rings and pendants. The scene was often set in a frame of engraved gold, gemstones or seed pearls, symbolizing tears. The name of the deceased and date of death were often on the piece, making it easy for the collector to date the jewelry.

As the nineteenth century wore on, jet became fashionable in mourning jewelry. It grew in favor after the death of Britain’s King George IV and was Queen Victoria’s adornment of choice following the death of her husband, Prince Albert. The Queen was in mourning for forty years, and during that time the court wore black with black jewelry. Hence, black mourning jewelry gained popularity among the populace and black jewelry was even worn by people who weren’t mourning.

Jet is fossilized coal and is easily carved. Mid-nineteenth century jet jewelry was often carved into medallions, serpent bracelets, rings, flowers and crosses, while the styles of the late nineteenth century were much more plain. Imitations such as “French Jet” (black glass) were sometimes used and it can be difficult to tell true jet apart from these. Jet was one of the most common materials used in jewelry by the end of the nineteenth century, and onyx was also frequently used.

Psyche and I continued our late, late night conversation regarding her collection of insect rings. The first part can be seen at this link.

C : So, do you find it easy to disconnect from these collected items once they’ve been yours?

P : I guess I don’t consider it a disconnection! When I pass an object along to a person I love, I feel like it’s always going to be where I want it to be and it means a lot more because it’s not just my secret, in a little wooden box under my bed.

C : That’s an especially positive way to look at ‘collecting’. Almost zen - things are just passing through. I wish I could look at my Batman action figures that way, but I also see them in a me-run museum someday, to share with people and as a testament to sculpture and illustration and literature.

P : That’s what draws my attention in the first place! I love that these objects have a history. I don’t feel like that history is supposed to halt in my hands. Of course, I have my favorites and they’re a lot harder to let go!

C : I think I remarked something similar recently about the square dancing records I acquired. They have an intense history and I feel like I’m just a temporary custodian. But the 2-foot tall Darth Vader? Not so much emotional connection, but I’d be even more hesitant to ever let him go.

P : I don’t think I would find my rings (or most of the things I collect) anywhere near as alluring if each did not have its individual story, its questionmark! I love to wonder who and how many wore my pieces before I found them. That sort of sharing and recycling is so beautiful to me.

C : So, you have a variety of collections, yes?

P : I do! They usually happen sort of organically - I find myself drawn to an object because of its form or color or WHATEVER, and before I know it, I’m hunting on eBay or in all the local antique shops for items that make me feel something similar.

C : That’s a great way to articulate it. I usually find myself really attracted to a singular thing and suddenly I become obsessed with continuing and replicating the FEELING of it. It makes me feel less guilty about the process of acquisition. So, yeah, eBay and trawling foreign websites until I find some odd thing that I need to use a currency converter to figure out.

P : It’s a really interesting process and in a lot of ways it’s ABOUT the hunt. A piece becomes more special if it was particularly hard to find. You dig up information and history and ideas and suddenly your object has a LIFE. Then it’s really hard to stop.

C : Any examples of things that evoke these same feelings, besides your creepy bug rings?

P : Some of my friends and I send postcards through the mail - not the same thing as my rings, even more personal in a lot of ways, but similar. Aside from that, I collect too many little things to list. I LOVE charms and trinkets and miniatures, I collect vintage headscarves, hat boxes, melamine dinnerware. I just want my life to be colorful. I want my things to be and feel significant, and they don’t have to cost a lot of money to do that (my dishes cost a lot less than if I’d gotten them new). I don’t see a point to buying things because I NEED them, when I could buy them because I LOVE them.

C : Oh, no - I don’t think that the price of things gives them value. It’s the love behind them. The price is just a good backup in case of emergencies. And hunting thrift stores has a lot more charm than trying to edge out Scalper Barry at the local Wal-Mart to get the new Giant Man figure.

P : Totally! The hunt is a huge part of my life and it’s one of the few things I’m certain that I’d like to pass down to my kids, if I have any. I love that we can recycle AND expand our own lives with objects that are so rich and layered and interesting.

C : I’m going to say that you were wearing a monocle and sipping tea with gloved hands, and that at least ONCE you slapped the help.

P : No, add little comments like “Psyche takes a sip of her tea, pushing a strand of silky hair out of her sultry eyes and smiles, translucent pink lips curling seductively as she continues.”

C : “A single silent snowflake fell between us, though we were indoors and it was April. I know not from whence it came, but that’s part of her magic.”

And with that, the clock nearing three AM, Psyche took her leave. Ghosts fluttered nervously as she stood and departed the room, and I was left with my depleted inkwell and quill pen, desperately trying to make sense of the past hours.

It wasn’t too long ago that I made the acquaintance of a girl named Psyche. Yes, ACTUALLY named Psyche, because her parents gave birth to her during a brief period while they were visiting here from Venus. Scientists later found her birth-pod, nurtured her in an enormous and haunted Victorian mansion, and eventually set her loose upon the world, deeming that she couldn’t possibly do us TOO much harm. What does this ethereal creature do with her time among us Earthlings? She collects rings with bugs in them, for one thing.

Collectors of bugs can easily purchase lucite-encased specimens from any reputable retailer of insect ephermera, and usually at cheaper prices than it would cost to properly pin-mount the insect. Lucite is an inexpensive material, and it will preserve the insect in an airless, perfectly visible space with far more protection. It’s the leap of wearing these on rings that loses most people.
I digitally cornered Psyche, one rainy night, and gave her an inquisition regarding her curious habits. My interest in various bugs has been noted here before, and I’ve rarely met a girl who isn’t immediately repelled by anything with more than 4 legs. I’m sure they exist, they usually just evade my notice. Surrounding herself with the unusual, the thrillingly awkward and the grandma-thrift-store chic, we spoke.

Collin : Okay, miss, can you describe the origins of your particular collection of bugs in lucite… on rings?

Psyche : I guess it started because of my obsession with miniatures - I’ve always loved lockets & secret compartments. I began to research lucite jewelry because of all the suspended flower jewelry floating around. My searches soon led to much more interesting pieces - ants, beetles, spiders, crabs… and I became sort of obsessed.

C : Is there some kind of emotional reason to collect these, or is it just the fact that they’re really neat?

P : I kind of see them as tiny wearable art - little scenes that I can carry around with me all day. There’s a bit of magic involved, similar to the way I used to feel as a kid when I’d shake a snowglobe - AND because they’re really neat & make me seem like a total creep goth child. My favorite one and the only one I’ve paid serious money for is a yellow dome ring with a clear top - there’s a tiny crab, a shell, and sea grass. It makes me so nostalgic. I could stare at it all day.

C : Do you think that the frozen-in-time, can-never-be-touched thing is part of that magic?

P : Certainly! Especially when we’re dealing with dead bugs. I don’t think i’d be nearly so enthusiastic if there was a possibility that I’d have to TOUCH one of them!

C : Are you generally repulsed by bugs and arthropods?

P : I’m not repulsed - I find their forms completely fascinating, but I much prefer to observe from afar. I don’t want them crawling on me.

C : Now, to collect these things, have you made any strange emotional or financial sacrifices? Any unreal encounters? I can’t imagine that these would be normal people you’d be dealing with.

P : Sacrifices, no. Thankfully, hard as they can be to find, they’re also not widely sought after, so they’re generally pretty cheap, small & in all ways harmless.
I wish I had a scary-bug-lady story to share. Most of my weird encounters usually occur when I’m wearing these rings. They’re certainly conversation starters.

C : I’ve been known to wear some huge, clunky Marvel Comics lenticular rings that people notice. You can watch Bruce Banner turn into the Hulk.

P : Then you know! I enjoy the comments, but not so much when my cashier starts to scream about the repulsive creature on my index finger. It’s like “Lady, it can’t hurt you! It’s dead and has spent the last 30 years encased in lucite. What more do you want?”

C : So they’re completely impractical, like most things that people collect. Do you ever find anyone criticizing the fact that you collect things?

P : Not really, thankfully. Some of my collections do get a bit out of hand and I’m able to limit myself if it comes to that, but most of the time I just sort of see my collections as little assortments of treasures. I imagine someone else getting a kick out of them 20 years from now. Now someone owning ONE bug ring would be a little weird. A hundred makes sense! I don’t collect just for the purpose of hoarding things. I love the idea of always having something special and unique and intimate to give to the people in my life, tomorrow or next year, or in fifty years.

C : Is there some kind of ‘holy grail’ item that you’re always looking for?

P : It’s all about variety. Flowers, shells, and ants are the most common embedded objects. I’d love to find some really unusual things/creatures, or at least a few more rings that do to me what my favorite does - that become their own little worlds and take me with them!

C : That’s very generous. I don’t think that materialism and ‘having more’ plays into the minds of people who really love what they collect.

P : No, I don’t either, but I LOVE to give, to share my self with the people I care for, and I’ve always collected in part to assuage my fear that I’ll run out of something, and that i won’t be able to demonstrate that part of myself any longer.

Psyche graciously provided all of the photographs seen here, and her and I went on talking for some time about the nature of collecting, how to capture and freeze parcels of time, and the quantum mechanics of the human soul. Please stay tuned for the continuation of our conversation!