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The Curator
Editorial gallery with grayscale imagery. For writers who collect.
catalogue
Catalogue Entry 112: A Biscuit Tin Turned Sewing Box
A full catalogue entry from the collection: a printed biscuit tin made over by a stranger into a sewing box. Description, condition, origin and the plates as they are listed in the book.
museums
Why Small Museums Matter
The Hollin Street Museum of Domestic Objects has two rooms and one volunteer guide. A short defence of small museums and the kind of attention only they allow.
provenance
Provenance and Trust
Where an object has been is part of what it is. A short essay on provenance, why a good story is not evidence, and how a collector learns to ask kindly.
markets
A Flea Market Morning
Up at five for a market held in a car park. What I look for, who I meet, and the small purchase that cost less than the coffee and pleased me more.
cataloguing
On Keeping a Catalogue
A collection without a catalogue is a heap with good intentions. How I record each object, what the fields are for, and the one entry I would never skip.
collecting
What a Collection Is For
I have kept buttons, tins and railway tickets for thirty years. A measured attempt to say what it is all for, and why the answer is rarely the object.
craft
On the Art of Leaving Things Out
The hardest skill in any creative discipline is knowing when to stop adding.