The Human Urge to Collect Little Objects
Why our homes need fun, interesting, unique objects.
Trinkets, knick-knacks, keepsakes, curios, little objects. They’re what make our homes our homes. We might all have similar-ish dining tables and couches and bed frames, but trinkets are special — or at least, they should be.
Over the past few years, my collection of trinkets has been slowly growing, each with its own little origin story. It always makes me unbelievably happy to see them sprinkled throughout my home on bookshelves, dressers, and tables.
The relationship between humans and objects
I started thinking about how whenever I go to the museum, there are always rows and rows of beautiful objects, some that are thousands of years old. Hair combs, tiny bowls, mini sculptures, amulets, tools. I came across this article from 2000 about the “ageless need to amass collections.” Here’s an excerpt:
In prehistoric caves dating back 40,000 years, archaeologists have discovered strange curios, including shells and oddly shaped lumps of iron pyrite. They are, the scientists believe, the first evidence of the human impulse to collect.
So, it must be a human instinct. And there can be an extreme side to collecting, too, like people who go all in on collectibles, whether it be vintage stamps or Snoopy memorabilia or something extremely niche. Apparently, Sigmund Freud had a collection of more than 3,000 ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian antiquities.
During my research, though, I came across this article called Collecting as Routine Human Behavior, which discusses how the research on collecting has shifted from a focus on hoarding to more about "personal identity and control in the material digital world.”
As fancy and shiny as technology and all things digital are, we are still drawn to small, meaningful objects. Maybe it’s because they just feel really good to hold, own, display, and love.
I don’t have thousands of objects like Freud, but I do have a few objects that have a special place in my heart. And they don’t have a theme, either. It’s whatever catches my attention. And I’ve noticed that most of the time when I come across the right object and I hold it in my hands, I just know it needs to come home with me.
Sourcing a trinket
When it comes to finding the perfect knick-knack, it’s not something that you can just order on Amazon. For me, personally, the best trinkets are the ones I happen to stumble upon. This might be during a weekend upstate while antique store hopping, or a trip to a French ceramics store in West Village, or maybe just while browsing my favorite curated home goods store.
And a trinket doesn’t have to be old, but I love it when they are. It just makes them that much more special.
No matter what objects you decide to fill your home with, the most important thing is that you’re intentionally bringing in objects that you’re obsessed with. You’re going to see them all the time, after all.
Added on February 9: If you enjoyed this piece, I ended up writing a longer in-depth article for Architectural Digest around the unadulterated joy of trinkets!
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“As fancy and shiny as technology and all things digital are, we are still drawn to small, meaningful objects. Maybe it’s because they just feel really good to hold, own, display, and love.” WOW I loved reading this entire topic, thank you for sharing your research. It made me want to read my coffee table book, “How To Live With Objects” again and again!
Fully agree! It's the little objects I've collected — like a tiny hand-painted bowl from Oaxaca — that I cherish the most. And they cost a fraction of the price of a sofa or chair. It truly is the little things in life that bring the most joy. 🥹