What do you think of when you hear the word ‘collector’? I imagine neatly organised cigarette cards, a full set of Ordnance Survey maps from the 1950’s, or perhaps every single orchid ever discovered, all neatly labelled and grown in identical pots. For me collecting is something done by more disciplined and focused people than myself: people who are systematic and perhaps a little obsessed.

Just part of a cherished collection of royal memorabilia

Recently though, we have been talking to royal memorabilia collectors building up case studies for our client Peter Jones China. And it made me realise that collections aren’t all about cataloguing and seeking out rare examples. These collectors told me about the way they associate each piece of their collection with a memory or a significant occasion – maybe a royal wedding, but just as likely a holiday when they found a plate or a cup in a junk shop on the sea front.

And I realised that I’m a collector too.

It’s just that I haven’t settled on a particular theme. I did a mental catalogue of my home this weekend and found any number of embryonic collections waiting to blossom into a full blooded obsession - admittedly some have more potential than others . Brightly coloured glass; 70’s jewellery; models of birds; jeans (a sort of catalogue of thin and fat times in shades of blue); things for getting stains out of clothes (I have masses of them); Welsh blankets; Spanish shoes, cricket balls… and so it goes on. I may not have an exhaustive list of each item or any idea of which are the vital pieces I have yet to find, but I can remember the circumstances of each acquisition and for me it’s the extra meaning that distinguishes my collections from the rest of the clutter in my home.

I’m not alone. Check out Lisa Congdon’s 365 day illustrated record of her collections.

My mother would raise an eyebrow and suggest that this is merely evidence of a well-developed ability to shop, but I like to think I am just a methodical and intellectual collector looking for the right singular idea.