🦛 collecting + foraging + archiving
ISSUE #174
MAKING
Part of the reason I created the Curiosity Cabinet was so I’d have somewhere to document all the odd, random things I’ve been squirreling away over the years. Give them the light of day and, just maybe, be inspired to do something with them.
I added a new drawer this week: Felt Animals. I have no idea where they came from or how long I’ve had them. I just know I’ve been saving them for a “future project.”
When I started scanning them for the Curiosity Cabinet, an idea finally surfaced. I started thinking about papers that would pair well with each animal, which led to a series of bespoke spiral-bound notebooks. They’re currently in progress.
You can see the full collection of felt animals and their paper pairings in the Curiosity Cabinet.
FELT ANIMALS + PAIRED PAPERS →
Help solve a Curiosity Cabinet mystery.
I’ve identified every felt animal except this one. I have no idea what it’s supposed to be. Hit reply with your best guess.
LOVING
FROM THE ARCHIVES | MAR 17, 2024
Every morning I set out to forage for ingredients. I make my way down the quiet tree-lined street, excited to see what I might find. Most days I go home empty-handed but sometimes I hit pay dirt. My go-to spots are not secret or hidden — they are in plain view of anyone walking by. But I am in search of things most other foragers are not: books.
I take the same route in search of the same three things: cookbooks, children’s board books, and various vintage volumes – science and math, dictionaries and the odd book of poetry or music.
After passing the old stone church, I take a left and halfway down the street is the free little library. I find most of my collage fodder here. I peek in and spot a cookbook, quickly flip through it, but put it back – the pages are too glossy, the publication date too recent. There is also a plastic, comb-bound church recipe book. I grab that – I’m amassing a collection of these for a true historical perspective of American home cooking.
I close the small wooden doors and continue my walk. I take a left and then another to circle back and hit up my second spot. I’m coming up on the little-little library, aptly named because it’s about half the size of my first stop. This one is usually stocked with paperbacks, self help and fiction. But occasionally I get lucky – like coming across ramps or morels in the forest.
Today, I score a huge Oxford English Dictionary and three classic Martha Stewart cookbooks. My arms are overflowing and I make the hard choice to leave one of the cookbooks behind. I head home with my haul to tuck away in my ever-expanding art pantry.
One year later: I still forage most mornings. Since then, I’ve discovered two more Little Free Libraries, which has doubled my chances of finding my next great book.
THINKING
“That which we elect to surround ourselves with becomes the museum of our souls and the archive of our experiences.”
— Thomas Jefferson