Thursday, July 29, 2010

Junk Collectors Have Type A Personalities: "A" For Addicted

Collectors On The Couch Series
Kitsch n Shrink Discusses:

Are the personalities of junk collectors WNL (within normal limits) or off the charts? In a nutshell (no pun intended) junksters (junk collectors) have Type A Personalities ...and that's "A" for ADDICTED TO JUNK. Junksters like hanging out with other junk maniacs and consider themselves perfectly SANE in a crazy material world.

The Lines Of Normality Are Blurred For Junk Collectors

Lets face it , when you are talking to another dumpster diver the lines of normality are completely blurred. Come on, only a fellow junk addict could stomache hearing about rescuing an old broken, rusty plant stand from a pile of manure and not passing any judgment on this outrageous behavior.

The Sweat, The Dirt, The Cooties, The Joy

Junksters (addicts) completely understand it when another Type A collector explains the ups and downs of picking (hunting for antiques and collectibles and other valuable or useful junk). The sweat, the dirt, the cooties........the JOY!

Type A collectors immediately sympathize with other junk friends who develop a wicked Poison Ivy rash after stomping around the grounds of abandoned house looking for goodies..What's a bottle of Calamine lotion to an addicted collector who can turn a rusty pipe into towel bar?

Let's talk Amongst Ourselves

And to be totally honest, who cares what the real shrinks say? Let's just talk amongst ourselves. We love what we do, we are a creative, passionate, loyal bunch of junk collectors who would sell the shirt off our backs to the right buyer.
Photos courtesy of http://www.etsy.com/shop/sushipot


C. Dianne Zweig is the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. She is also the Editor of Iantiqueonline.com an actively growing internet based resource community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. You can find Dianne’s fabulous retro and vintage kitchen, home and cottage collectibles at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford, CT, a 22,000 feet antique emporium with an in-house retro cafĂ©.To read more articles by C. Dianne Zweig click on this link: C. Dianne Zweig’s Blog Kitsch ‘n Stuff Email me at dianne@cdiannezweig.comVisit my website, CDianneZweig.comDianne is a member of:The American Society of Journalists and AuthorsThe Authors Guild, Inc.

17 comments:

  1. Dianne,
    OK....I will admit it I am a Type A personality....AND PROUD OF IT!!!!!!!! LOL
    The hunt is half the fun! :):)

    ReplyDelete
  2. At one time I had about 100 odd umbrella handles. I did have criteria though. only wood or bamboo
    Daniel Pierre McClenaghan

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am a Type A personality. I will admit that sometimes I drive by a thrift store, antique store, flea market and have to turn back because the treasure I am looking for might be there if I don't turn back I kick myself all day for it. Addicted.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think I might have to admit it to, there is nothing better than sifting through junk and finding that piece of something you weren't really looking for but are ecstatic you found it! I feel the same way when going to auctions, online and in person. If you haven't experienced the online fun, check out this upcoming auction on Auctionzip.

    http://www.auctionzip.com/aflive.html?method=getCatalogLots&catalogref=JR2NW1X9RC&utm_source=kaminski&utm_medium=socmedia&utm_campaign=10media

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dianne,

    Me too!...me too!...Me too!...When my children were young they would refuse to walk with me because I would stop and pick up every washer, nail and intersting item I would spot. These items were interesting to ME..no one else. Wonderful things can be made from piles of washers....artistic and useful. Speaking of washers I would burn my burnables in the hull of a dishwasher!. There is always a use for something, anything and all things. I have settled with older age into a slower type A personality. My sons call me a hoarder but I do not believe I am. Everything is in boxes and labeled and easy to find. If a friend needs a certain item, they will come to me first to see if I have one...old and new. My collections are diverse: huge minerals and fossils to antique Eisenberg jewelry. I just honor the past and all it give us in this future we are living. I honor the work ethic of the past that produced the items I collect. As said in an earlier comment..."it is the hunt". I HUNT for just about everything in my life. I am not a new retail type of person. Somehow those old nails I have picked up have weathered their life and are still around. I just pick them up and use them again to further lengthen their span of usefulness. To digress into another subject...Types A should always marry other Type A's.... otherwise one or the other will surely dirve each other crazy with their hunts.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Okay My family must of been a junk collector and now I have all of it passed on to me so thats why my stores are filled LOL and my house!

    ReplyDelete
  7. you know I am a junk junky, need a fix every so often, not as bad in the summer time when I am out and about, but in the winter, I get the shakes, shop on ebay way to much, go to the local junky flea market where the same old stuff has set for a couple years, or just sit back and dream of the old days when I could fill the pick up box in 3 hours of furniture and smalls and not spend more than $100.

    and when the shakes gets real bad I go down in my basement and root around to see what I have bought and forgot about years ago,

    Craig PHillips
    B & C Emporium antiques and original hardware
    http://www.b-c-e.biz

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am definitely a TYPE A addict for sure..lol
    I love collecting all kinds of things too. I can't stay away from thrift stores or flea markets. And dolls are my favorite.
    Your blog is so much fun. Glad I stopped by and will be sure to again. :-)
    xo
    Janet Bernasconi
    Janet's Creative Pillows
    www.janetscreativepillows.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm becoming a Type "A" who tries to find vintage items at estate sales without chips, or too much wear. But...I will purchase that broken lamp, with the capodimonte-type base, with the idea of crafting a center piece! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  10. I LOVE treasure hunting it is such a thrill, I have to admit I have way too many collections and I am trying to size down. My hubby really likes the car to be parked in our garage go figure! LOL oxox, Diane

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think both my mom and I would qualify for being type A's! : )

    ReplyDelete
  12. What great treasures. I have some blog friends that would totally adore this post! I'll forward a link on! I saw you on a friends blog and was intrigued with your name so I thought I'd visit.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yes! I have an addiction! I am a Type "A" Junkie!! What some might consider junk, I see possibilities. Guess what? There are many others out there just like us who don't admit it, aren't involved with some of the blogs-nings-social places we are, but there is always a gathering of sorts some where for people like us:-)

    I was bored one day myself, every where I went it was business, business, and so on. So, on a whim I started a group pg with Facebook. Ready for the loongg name?LOL! Thrift Store, Yard Sale, Flea Market Junkies. Told ya it was long. But, all I wanted to do was have a simple place for other fellow junkers to come to & share their stories, their pictures of treasures found, share how they crafted their junk into something new, share links, and etc.

    Anyway, fellow junkers united! Love it!:) Have a beautiful junk filled weekend everyone:)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi, I'm Jeb and I'm a junkaholic. Can't get enough!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Yes we hoarders, I mean collectors, understand each other! There's no one I know in person who loves junking as much as I do, so I have to come to blogland to be understood!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Carol,

    We ALL understand you.....From the Book Title..I'M OK and You Are Ok!".....Junkers Live Longer...........Live Happier........and then Die Happier.

    ReplyDelete
  17. ok...I'll admit it. My name is Barbara and I, too an a junkaholic. I think it is in my genes, and that I was pre-destined to be a junker. I have to have my junkin' fix! LOL! Is there such a thing as JA? Junkaholics Anonymous? Should we establish one? Nah.... it's too much fun. Hoarder someone said? Oooooo what a bad, bad word! LOL! They just don't understand us do they!

    ReplyDelete

ShareThis