Why I collect.

Does a collection form where curiosity and completism meet?

Admire the remarkable collections of Rob, Callie Leed, Neil Smith and Margot Whelan as they reveal the catalyst of their collection’s conception, as well as the items that hold a deeper meaning to them. What can initially be perceived as a ‘dust collector’ may reveal pertinent insights into our collective humanity via these knowledgeable curio connoisseurs.

"As a girl who came home with shells in my pocket, it's nice to know that others acknowledge the beauty in collecting."

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Rob (Foster)

I don't consider myself a collector, more a restorer of items for posterity. Even as a child, I was always pulling things apart to see how they worked – or didn't work. I have an affinity for clocks, Meccano, record players, gramophones, radios, treadle sewing machines, barometers, music boxes, clock-making tools and proper, USA-made Aladdin kerosene lamps.

I was an apprentice watch and clockmaker with the time switch department of the State Electricity Commission in conjunction with RMIT. In those days, time switches were used to turn on hot water heating, heat banks, public lighting and a myriad of other things. The clockwork mechanism was used as a backup system in case of power failure.

My first clock acquisition of any significance was a French marble and slate clock I purchased when I was 18 years old. It needed extensive restoration, but I am approaching 67 and it is still in use today. It has been with me in several houses over the years and holds very special memories. I have several grandfather clocks in the house, and they all operate, some chiming every 15 minutes, like a friend in the background reassuring you all is well.

As for my interest in pianos, pianola and reproducing player pianos, it started as a youngster with my aunty’s pianola. I loved to pedal and watch the rolls go around as I tried to read the words and sing along. That pianola was to be my first pianola purchase. It required restoration, and so the learning process began again, in an entirely different field to clocks and watches.

I like to think that I am finished accumulating, but there is always something that awaits a saviour to bring it back to life. Shane, my partner of 35 years, has "banned" me from any more purchases… but time will be the best judge of that!

Callie Leed (Wy Yung)

Overlooking my succulent garden framed by farmland, my studio is a sanctuary from a neurotypical world: serene, yet bursting with inspiring curios.

I am a collector by nature, and this filters into my life and work. While I was a vintage and antique dealer for a time, I now collect for my pleasure. The list is endless – framed bugs and beetles, industrial wood patterns, mid-century modern clocks, succulents, art glass, china paints, vintage Meccano, matchbox cars and more. But my collection of over 80 antique trunks and vintage suitcases (conveniently housing many of my collections) and my enamel collection stand out.

My curiosity about trunks started with a family trunk a friend lovingly restored. Still a teenager, I then found one at a clearing sale in Mt Taylor and had my uncle bid on it for me. It was $20 well spent, as a couple of decades later I still enjoy its chipped green lead paint and distressed wood.

As a full-time enamel artist, I’ve experimented with many historic forms of enamelling and amassed a large collection of related items: homewares, signs, cloisonné vases, trinket dishes, jewellery, books and even souvenir teaspoons. Last year, I started a Facebook group to connect with other enamel artists in Australia. It has already grown to 400 members.

The envy of enamelling colleagues is my ridiculous collection of over 1000 different enamel powder colours, manufactured to be fired onto metal at about 800°C. I’ve collected about 80% of what is commercially available, with many colours no longer in production. I’ve imported most but am occasionally delighted by a Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree find.

I like to collect things others aren’t interested in—items underappreciated in their workmanship and beauty.Perhaps this relates to enamel, too, as it’s a difficult artform to master. However, because it is glass on metal, people can sometimes discount its value.

Two of my works were recently accepted in Alchemy7, the 19th Biennial International Juried Enamel Exhibition in the United States. The competitive application process accepted only 30% of works and highlighted the best contemporary enamels produced in the last two years. Being a part of this international enamel collection is an acknowledgement of my artistic passion and lifelong collecting habit. As a girl who came home with shells in my pocket, it's nice to know that others acknowledge the beauty in collecting.

Neil Smith (Lake Tyers)

For many years, I was a secondhand dealer part-time, involved in markets and a couple of shops selling second-hand collectables. I've always had a bit of an interest in going to clearing sales, auctions and railroad sales.

I’m not exactly sure what got me onto funnels. I think I picked one up at an auction and found it interesting. Now, I’ve probably got a couple hundred, with at least 150 different ones.

I like things that are practical and have a design element to them. Funnels, because they've been designed for so many particular purposes, come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. They're interesting to look at, but also very functional. They are also relatively inexpensive, so I can have a collection without necessarily spending a huge amount of money. The more I started collecting them, the more fascinated I became – especially with what I call ‘depression funnels’, which are funnels people have made out of tins, similar to depression furniture.

My funnels have been exhibited at Lemon Hill Gallery, but mostly they just hang in my shed. I don’t clean them up because they’re work things. Some are a bit crude and oily, but that’s their life. I did at one stage also collect homemade wooden pieces and ended up with quite a lot of those, but these days I’ve decided one thing's enough.

I think if people didn’t collect things, we would lose our history. It’s through these items that we can gain a better understanding of our world.

Margot Whelan (Traralgon)

About five years ago, I went to Canberra, where a couple of my daughters were living. A friend shared that she was collecting Carlton Ware and to grab her anything I saw while I was there. I found some, but they didn’t fit with her collection, so I kept them.

I’ve always collected – coins, rocks and even a glasshouse full of plants at one stage. I think collecting is probably an incurable disease. I started collecting Carlton Ware, and the more I got involved, the more I learnt. Half of it I’ve probably forgotten by now, but if you put a thousand pieces in a room and there was one piece I didn't have, I'd know which one it was.

I’ve been baking and catering for many decades. I started making yo-yo biscuits when I was twenty-odd and got a few courses in, then people started saying, “Make me some and I’ll pay you.” I've done lots of weddings, 21sts and everything – and I’ve managed to raise half-a-dozen kids in the middle of that. I started to work from home when the kids were little, but over the last 40 years, I’ve had a separate registered kitchen. I’m about to turn 84, so I’m not baking as much as I used to, but I’m still making things for people who ask and doing a bit of stuff for home.

I’ve got two rooms full of Carlton Ware now, plus some in the dining room and kitchen. There are lots of beautiful pieces, about 5000 in total. I had a lady in the other day who nearly fell over. She couldn’t believe it. There are probably about 20 pieces I’ve never seen that I’d love to have, but I'm just about past the stage of wandering around antique shops.

You’d be pushing it to find anything in Australia for sale that I haven't got anyway. They’re all pretty special to me, but I have a piece from a friend’s collection that her husband brought me over after she died. Things like that mean a lot.

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Gippslandia - Issue No. 32

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