How to start a small collection

Children love collecting

My grandson always had quite large hands and many of the toy soldiers etc he played with were too small for him. He asked me to help.

I started buying him Action Man figures on eBay. Most of the more modern Action Man auctions still end at very low prices as they are too recent to hold nostalgia value and we very quickly amassed a huge collection. You could see the moment it dawned on him ... "I'm a collector" he said and with a considerable degree of pride.

Children love to collect. It actually doesn't need to cost you anything to start a collection for a child, they can be just as pleased with a collection of shells from beaches they have visited (that was my first collection) as with any more sophisticated items.

Beginning a collection with a child can also be very educational if you combine it with researching items on the internet. A nature table is a free collection on a theme and doesn't really need to occupy a table. In fact, most collections can be started in an empty cookie tin or one of those large sweet jars.

As well as the educational aspect, being a collector also helps to give a child confidence and a sense of worth and their place in this big old mystifying world. You'll be surprised how quickly they will talk in detail about their collection and everything they have learned from it, as long as you help them to research the items.

Small is beautiful!

Action Man eventually has taken over quite a large area, in fact, if you take a look at my many Action Man lenses, you'll see he took over an enormous amount of space. Add to this the fact I have a large collection of puppets, some of which are the size of a five year old child, and you might begin to understand why (almost) all my other collections are small items.

The biggest advantage of a collection of small items is that you can easily make room for more than one collection. Small collectables can be kept on miniature shelves or in biscuit tins or shoe boxes. Why would you keep collectables in boxes? Well, it depends on the kind of person you are and what kind of collection you have. With a collection which has sentiment attached, like perhaps the shells, taking the box down and sorting through the collection is a great excuse for spending moments alone with the memories. Or you may be the kind of individual who likes to keep their collections for their own eyes only.

Someone who wants to share the beauty of their collections with others will want to display them on small shelves. Whether simply for the look or to provide a talking point, displaying your items will give you pleasure every day. The drawback is usually that the items gather dust or tarnish and, if other people handle them, they can more easily be damaged.

Of course, if you have enough space to display a collection of large items, then go for it and consider yourself very lucky. I dread to imagine what I would be collecting if I had more space to fill but it would be wonderful to find out.

What to collect?

Many people may stumble with starting collection as the options are endless. How do we narrow them down?

Most collections follow some kind of theme and are often founded on nostalgia for a time gone by. It may be a recollection associated with an elderly relative which sparks the desire for a collection, or a memory of a favourite place, a childhood toy or a favourite author giving rise to a collection which could consist of objects as divers as postcards and spoons.

A collection might be based around a band, a character, a business or a product but it should be something which interests you. In fact, it's perfectly likely that you already have the start of a collection. You probably already have a collection of music and books but when you look for inspiration to start your collection, look in drawers and cupboards and ask yourself which bits and pieces you are keeping just because you like them. There is the start you need.

Many businesses will send you free stuff (like pin badges) if they are asked, particularly if the enquirer is a child who has written a polite letter. Pin or button badges can be an excellent childhood collection, as can keyrings. In my early teens I had a huge collection of keyrings.

Where to find items for a collection.

There are many ways to find items for your collection but I would recommend raiding your relatives to see what they have as a first step. Elderly Aunts and Grandparents are a great first port of call as often they will have bits and pieces which have lain in drawers for years.

Of course, it depends on what you have decided to collect. Whatever category of collectable you've chosen, there is a good chance that somewhere among your relatives there will be someone with an item to add.

At the same time, you might want to let your friends know that you are starting this collection, they may be able to contribute something towards it or know someone who can. Even if there is no direct contribution available from any of these sources, by spreading the word, you are ensuring that many eyes are available to spot items you would like to add and you could be making it very much easier for them to choose birthday and seasonal gifts for you.

Beyond this, thrift shops, yard sales, car boot sales and local auctions can also be a terrific source. If you are bidding in a local auction then you should decide before you start what price you are prepared to pay and don't go beyond that, the same advice applies to internet auction sites. How will you know the right price to pay? You have the internet at your fingertips and it's a marvellous research tool.

Finding information

The internet can certainly be a very useful research tool but it can also be confusing. If, for example, you want to research page turners, you'll find millions of book reviews and information about the Page-Turner family, not what you're looking for.

Reference books are available for all categories of collectables (some are listed below the guestbook) but these can be expensive to buy. Your local library can be an excellent place to find books on your subject and reading a range of the reference books available will help you decide which, if any, you might need to buy.

Companies which manufature the items you collect can be very helpful in providing information, again, especially if it is a child who is writing to ask.

Older relatives may have some of the knowledge you're looking for, you might be surprised.

Shire Albums do a range of small reference books which are quite modestly priced and are a good introduction to any collectable.

A collection is a dynamic thing.

When I start a collection of something I allocate a budget to the first items I will buy. It's not a huge budget, usually around £30 - £40, and I know I'm not going to get the top quality items in that price range but, in most small collectable categories, there is usually a broad range of items I can pick up and these form the basis of my collection.

First, I watch a number of auctions on eBay in that category. From this I can usually work out (within a week or two) the maximum prices and average prices that items go for. When I decide to buy, I will normally go for bundled items, you know, "11 assorted hat pins", or something like that, partly becuse I know this as a way to pick up the odd surprise bargain and partly because I will keep what I want and rebundle the rest to sell on.

As time goes on I find I have now replaced my original allowance with cash gained from selling on the unwanted (by me) pieces and I recycle that cash into buying better pieces for the collection, which in turn will free up more lower end of the range items to sell on.

The aim is to end up with a wonderful collection which has its roots in that modest allowance I allocated in the first place. My hat pin collection is undergoing this kind of transformation right now and, from my initial stake and a bit of subsequent selling and buying, I now have (amongst others) two Charles Horner hat pins and two Satsuma hat pins, none of which would be available within that original budget. I will have to take photos of these soon and add them to my hat pin lens.

Ideas for a free collection

A man in Australia collected his belly button fluffover 26 years and has recently gained a Guiness Worl Record for the collection, subsequently selling some of his jars to museums. I don't suggest this as a collection but it is an excellent example of some of the weird collections some folks have (he's not married, is he).

Stamps, postmarks and postcards are all available free (for modest collectors).

Naturally occurring stones, crystals, shells and similar objects need to be looked for and can form the basis of great days out with children.

Buttons can be a free collection, I bet you have an elderly relative with a box of buttons.

Pin badges and button badges are often given away free.

Happy Meal toys in complete sets can be worthwhile and popular sets will increase in value in time.

Beer mats can often be had just for the asking.

Matchbooks and other forms of advertising can also usually be had free.

In fact, there are so many potential free collections that it would be impossible to list them all here but I hope those given above provide you with some inspiration to seek out more ideas.

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