Don't Buy New Stuff...Recycle the Old!

The Velveteen Rabbit or, How Toys Become Real is a book written by Margery Williams, published in 1922.  The story "chronicles the story of a stuffed rabbit and his quest to become real through the love of his owner."

Most adults have a special place in their heart for their toys...memories of their childhood when they were most happy, awash in innocence. It can be more than that, of course. Family heirlooms such as a stamp collection that has been passed down from generation to generation, or a collection of spoons....or indeed, a collection of any kind that someone spent time, money and emotion to create to enjoy and then to pass down to family.

It's sad when those memories can no longer be shared by the person who gathered them, or that person's family, but it's uplifting when the items that inspired those memories – are transferred to another person to inspire new ones.

That's part of the appeal of collecting antiques, of acquiring "collectibles." Connecting with a bygone age...even one that's only a few years old, infuses people with history, with knowledge...with a connection.

But it's more than that, of course.

Today, we live in a disposable society. (Well, we've lived in a disposable society for years, but the problem is now becoming acute.)  Items are made to be obsolete in a year or so, to be thrown away so that yet more items will be bought. Every town has a landfill chock full of garbage...and when that one is full another patch of land is selected for yet another landfill...and then yet another.

Instead of purchasing newly created items, therefore, the informed buyer who furnishes their apartment or home with already created furniture, paintings and other decorations, is actually being "green," saving the environment one step at a time and also creating a "nest egg" for their retirement as these things most always appreciate in value.

There's an old story that is often told:  a child walks along a beach covered with thousands of star fish, throwing them back into the ocean.  A man comes along and says, "Why are you bothering? There are so many. You can't possibly make a difference."  And the boy tosses a star fish into the ocean and says, "I made a difference to that one."

It is the same way with reducing one's impact on the environment by "recycling" perfectly usable items rather than allowing them to accumulate in landfills. Especially when these items are either lovely pieces of furniture, merely "outmoded," or that can be made lovely again with a little tender loving care. 

Memories...and green fields.

That's what you'll find at The Velveteen Rabbit Antiques & Collectibles