Well, it happened again. I accidentally started a collection. It began with one little orange dot pot and has grown to, well, a habit. Hello. My name is Beth and I have an addiction to McCoy pottery.
Lately, I have tried so hard to be good. Believe it or not, my home is very minimalist and I surround myself with only items that are functional and aesthetically pleasing, preferring clean lines and open space. I don’t really consider myself a collector, more of a curator of current whim. I don’t like multiples of stuff, I don’t like dusting, I don’t like knick knacks. For me personally, clutter equals noise and I prefer quiet.
You can imagine with my line of work, (and clear personal affection for vintage), the temptation is there on the daily. I am famous for swap outs. Items that I buy at the shop usually end up back there if I go on a new tangent of style. I legit recently sold everything in my living room just so I could start over. That’s been my rule - one new item in, one old item out. It really worked pretty well for me lately . . . until McCoy happened.
If you’re a collector of any sort, you get it. For whatever reason you’re drawn to something, be it an era of style, history, or nostalgic connection. To borrow Marie Kondo’s famous line, “it sparks joy”. You get it. I’m already a great lover of plants (my home currently has 50+ plant babies scattered throughout and that collection is growing) so I assume that’s the reason I began to zero in on McCoy planters.
I keep telling myself I’m limiting myself to only the planters, as they are growing rapidly in number. I made the dangerous mistake of looking on Etsy the other day. That’s when I knew I’d crossed a line. I prefer to find items “in the wild” so seeking them out specifically is dangerous. I recently found four in one day at an antique shop in Russellville. The junking gods were smiling on me!
Let’s just say I’ve had McCoy on the brain. Following fellow collectors on Instagram doesn’t help. Scrolling among fellow enthusiasts only fuels the fire, looking at you, larrye.sparks. His knowledge and collection is out of control in the best way ever.
McCoy Pottery produced a variety of items beginning in 1910, operating until the 1980’s. You can find everything from ashtrays to vases, wall pockets to lamps. They even produced dog bowls! I’m drawn to the simplistic patterns and soothing colors, choosing to limit my collection to only the pastels.
I found this aqua quilted leaf jardiniere at Belle Starr for only $23!!! How could I not? Now if only I can find the pedestal. Until then, this pencil cactus is mighty happy.
The lines to my collection are already blurring. Wasn’t I just going to stick to just the pastels? Then the 1970’s bamboo happened. In multiples. I mean, my dining room is Mid Century with a bohemian twist so they just worked perfectly.
So why do we collect? According to Invaluable.com, folks collect for a variety of reasons. A soothing hobby. The challenge and reward of finding rare, unique items. Simply creating a decorative space for their home. Whatever your reason is, whatever items you collect, there’s a collective (see what I did there) reason us kind of people exist. I’m happy to serve you, whatever your vintage collection is. Because we’re all in this together. And I mean hey, there are worse things to be addicted to.