I started a series where I wrote about My Vintage Story and invited others to share their vintage stories with me, so I could share them here on the blog. We all love to read about vintage, right?
This week’s guest is Pam from TheCollectibleChest. Here is her vintage story…
Pam, TheCollectibleChest
My love of antique and vintage items began with childhood memories. Over the years I’ve collected many items that have a special meaning to me and in exploring, I found so many other things that spark my passion. As a young child growing up without much, I never had toys to play with other than marbles, jacks, and books.
I loved looking at the Sears & Roebuck catalog and dreamed about all the things I would buy if I could. I would go through each page and pick out one item on each page that was my favorite. When the catalog expired, I would squirrel the book away and begin to cut out all the pictures of things I wanted and paste them in a scrapbook. I was so excited when my Aunt gave me some old fashion magazines from the 1800s to early 1900s. All those beautiful dresses, hats, stockings, and boots went into my scrapbook too! I was fascinated by the long dresses, button shoes, and big hats. So paper dolls, along with the old tin toys, and paper ephemera with the bright lithograph colors and stunning graphics attracted me.
Thus, my love of these items started my collecting. I have added items over the years that I have grown to love and always look for the unique and playful things that bring a smile, a memory, or excitement for some newly discovered item. As you can imagine, my collection grew considerably and when I retired last year, I felt it was time to share my items with others in the hope it would invoke those feelings too. Sometimes I was lucky to find more than one of something and I started a scrapbook again like I did when I was a child. I have kept originals of most of my paper collection and intend to pass them down to my children. They hear me talk about all the beautiful advertising and paper ephemera pieces and now they will have them to remember the things I loved so much and became part of my journey in life.
I opened my shop in the Fall of 2010 with only a few items and have steadily added my treasures since retirement. I needed a name for my shop when I joined Etsy and my mind went to all the toys I had collected. I tossed around “The Toy Box”, but that didn’t cover my diverse inventory and finally, “The Collectibles Chest” came to me and it seemed like the perfect fit for ALL of my items!
I have a Robbins crate label in my shop which has beautiful lithograph colors and the graphics of the robins and pear are so realistic. The colors and detail are amazing and it reminds me of Spring and how each year after the long Winter, I look for that first robin of the season. To me, it’s a symbol of life awakening after the blanket of snow as the grass turns green and trees and flowers start to bud welcoming all the birds and animals to come and visit again.
Another item in my shop that I love is an Oriental shelf sitter doll. He is so intriguing to me even with the damage to his face and the tatters in his clothes. I wonder who created him and where he’s traveled since the 1930s. He is such a magnificent shelf sitter that has led to many conversations with others who are curious too.
I fell in love with a little hedgehog friction toy that was made in Germany. He is so cute, and I knew immediately I needed him to come home with me. He has a cute upturned little nose and black coat and when I rev him up or sit him in my palm, he brings a smile.
I could go on and on with all my favorites, but decided to share these few with you and if you want to see more of my favorite treasures, stop by my shop.
It gives me great pleasure to hear from my customers and some send me pictures of what they did with an old piece of paper or an item they have displayed. Their thoughtfulness in sharing this with me is so appreciated and I am always amazed at their creativity. I am so grateful to know these old things will be loved by someone else. So even though I may not have all the items that have become so special to me in my possession, I have the memories and the smiles keep coming as others get to enjoy these treasures from the past.
Hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane!
Thank you for sharing your vintage story, Pam!
Share Your Story!
If you would like to share your vintage story with us, please click Adventures in Vintage – My Vintage Story and fill in the form at the bottom of that page. Don’t be shy! We’d love to hear from you.
Wow that’s awesome! I can’t wait to visit!
I loved your story, Pam. I too am a life long collector but now that you mention it, I wonder if the Sears & Roebuck catalog is what got me started? My sister & I would sit for hours pouring over the catalog and picking our favorite on each page. I will remember “One, two, three, pick” forever. 🙂 Just imagine how thrilled our parents must have been to see the catalog in their mailbox knowing the girls would be occupied for hours.
Thanks for bringing back such wonderful memories.
Pam, I loved reading your story and following along with you on your journey. Thanks so much for sharing this adventure with us! It is a common story amongst us who share a love of vintage.