the relic

personal collection: typewriters

collector: Brandy Fedoruk & Rebecca Dolen, The Regional Assembly of Text

There is a widespread fascination for collecting relics from the past. Hence why museums, antique stores, flea markets, craigslist, eBay and garage sales, are thriving endeavours. Perhaps many of us wish to live in the nostalgia of simpler times, holding on to memories that are older than us and believing things were better then. Perhaps it’s because objects were in fact, made better then. The typewriter is a testament to the beautifully made machines of the past. With little expertise, but a strong penchant for logical maneuvering, one can oil, bend and bolt one of these metal beasts back into working condition. Friends, Brandy Fedoruk and Rebecca Dolen, owners of the sweet little store The Regional Assembly of Text, have an expansive collection of typewriters. These antique machines are not for sale but are available for walk-in use or when the store conducts their Letter Writing Club.

Do you have any collections of relics that you wish to share with the collective? Do you have any questions for us? Let us know!

Click the link below to send us a message.

➤ ask us a question

open collection: tchotchkes, the personal relics

When surveying friends on their practices of collecting, many were quick to respond that, yes, of course they collected, but when I asked what objects they collected, their answers were vague.

Oh, just small collections, three figurines of clowns, a series of beach rocks…

Well, it’s more like a series of vignettes… oh and I have a small collection of round things…

I have these specific vintage earthenware plates, and five to ten sun-catchers…

I asked several friends to send me photos of their collections and realized that the best way to describe these items, was as tchotchkes. The Oxford dictionary describes a tchotchke as “a small object that is decorative rather than strictly functional; a trinket”. My friends’ tchotchkes span the various collection themes: some ordinary objects, some gleaned from nature, most evocative, but all serving as relics of each of their owner’s personal history.

• Look around your personal space, do you have your own collection of personal relics?

• What do they mean to you?

• What stories do they tell?

• What memories do they hold?

If you would like to share your personal relics, let us know by sending us your name, and specifying that you would like to participate on the Collecting Tchotchke Padlet, and we will add a column just for you.

Check out the Padlet below, to see the personal relics that have already been added.

personal collection: pencil sharpeners

collector: Hiller Goodspeeed

Like the typewriter, the pencil sharpener, though still commonplace, is quickly becoming a relic of the past. (Did I hear they don’t even teach children cursive anymore?!) Illustrator, Hiller Goodspeed’s main medium is pencil, particularly of the soft variety, with pencil leads spanning between the slightly softer than normal B, all the way to the smudgy dark markings of the 6B.

Hiller is an avid collector of many different items, though he holds a special pride for the small yet heavy metal objects that make up his pencil sharpener collection.

Check out the short video interview below to learn more about Hiller and his collections.

• Do you collect any similar items to Hiller? Or did his interview remind you items that you actively pursue?

• Hiller’s collections form a large part of his identity, and as a highly visual person, it makes sense that his identity is evident in the physical objects he surrounds himself with. What is your relationship with objects? Does your identity have outwardly visible aspects?

• Does Hiller’s interview serve as inspiration for you, and if so, how?

Click on the link below to share your thoughts and reflections on the discussion board.

➤ discuss the relic...

open collection: brise soleil

Attributing to the mid-century beach aesthetic that exists around the city of Vancouver, particularly in the West End neighbourhood, is the iconic and ubiquitous geometric concrete bricks known as brise soleil, or to some, breeze block. Their architectural purpose is to “provide shade, circulation, protection and privacy” (Atomic Ranch). These concrete bricks come in a variety of different designs and are a wide array of colours due to deterioration or interesting paint applications. I consider these bricks as architectural relics, and often wonder if they are still in production today, or if advances in architecture have produced more effective technologies.

Regardless, their simple geometric beauty makes them easy to spot on a neighbourhood walk and collecting photos of the different varieties can be an ongoing expedition, even while vacationing in other locations.

• What kinds of brise soleil exists in your neighbourhood?

Click on the link below to submit your findings to the collection.

➤ submit to this collection

for the love of flaws

“...in repairing the object you really ended up loving it more, because you now knew its eagerness to be reassembled, and in running a fingertip over its surface you alone could feel its many cracks - a bond stronger than mere possession" (Baker, 1998, Sec. 4).

Every object has a story to tell. Whether it is passed down from generation to generation, in the hands of a stranger, given as a gift, found in a public place, or bought brand new, each object has its own history and identity. As it is passed through the hands of possession, personal narratives are projected onto it, shaping its characteristics and symbolic representation cherished by each owner.

Objects, as with all material things, are impermanent. They are also fluid, dynamic, and constantly changing to mold to their surroundings. As their lifespans shorten and lengthen, their sentimental and monetary values do so as well. They are repaired, modified, and polished again and again. What is a flaw to one may be an aspect to beauty to another.

• What do you think is the intention of Baker's statement above? Do you agree with it?

• Have you repaired an object dear to you? What is its sentimental value?

• Have you lost an object dear to you? What is the story behind it?

• Do you have a cherished a relic or an antique object? What is the story behind it?

• Have you found a broken or old object and repaired it? What drew you to the object, and why did you decide to lengthen its lifespan?

• Have you made any major modifications to any objects? Why did you alter it from the original?

Click on the link below to share your personal narratives on the discussion board.

➤ discuss the relic...