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| Home Sweet Home Vintage Celluloid Brooch |
Nostalgia is defined as “a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one’s life, to one’s home or homeland, or to one’s family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time”.
There can be comfort in the past… an collectible or even a scent can elicit a special memory The smell of a freshly baked apple pie , for example, can transport you back to your Grandma’s kitchen!
Over the years of selling online, many customers have informed me they purchased an item because of its connection with the past. The collectible, a reminder of a place, time or person, a tie binding their heartstrings.
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| Charms that spell LOVE! |
So often a customer relays the message “Oh, this brooch reminds me of my grandmother” or “My mother had a charm just like this when I was growing up”. Or sadly they owned a piece and it was lost, they are so grateful to find it once again. Collectibles are so nostalgic! Treasured keepsakes.
During my childhood, our family spent summer weekends at a relative’s home. Recently, I drove through the area and a nearby factory emitted an odor that took me back in time. I found myself driving down the street just to look at the house where we had formed such happy memories, my relatives, however, long gone from the home.
My grandmother was not really a saver; my mother relates how she threw everything away because she did not want any clutter, oh Grammy I am not like you! Still, I am lucky to have a few of her treasures: her silverware, the monogrammed initial “S” mirroring my own married surname. As she aged, she instructed me to pick out something special for myself so she could witness my enjoyment! I choose a Hummel, and that figurine evokes remembrance of my sweet and loving grandmother.
Sometimes a certain collectible embodies a loved one. A customer who grew up in the United States but now resided in France purchased an antique compact as an affectionate memento her of her beloved mother and a military item that represented her father. Both her parents had passed and I was glad to provide the tokens of sentimentality and interested to hear her stories that connected with her past.
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| Vintage compact set |
Nostalgic tokens can preserve a cherished memory. What memento do you possess that provides reminiscence?
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| This laughing bunny reminds me of my late mother-in-law |
For a collection of sentimental tokens pictured above and more please go to my ETSY shop:
