Bower bird

Collecting. Most people collect something, whether it's paper clips on their desk or extensive catalogued shelves of books. The casual or the fanatical - which one are you?

My obsessive collector tendencies are usually reigned in by practical considerations, such as space or money, but if neither were obstacles, I shudder to think of the 'collections' I would accumulate. One day earlier in the year, I decided I was all about Little Golden Books. Literally a few days later, ahem, about 70 arrived from a bulk impulse purchase on eBay. The majority of my collections revolve around paper, and so are books, stationery, stickers, papers, ribbons and the like. But I won't say no to small tins, robots, and buttons, and dream of the perfect piece of furniture which would display all of these at once.

I visited a great shop called Doug Up On Bourke, a self-described 'industrial antique warehouse' where I took this photo of teapots. Despite not really needing more than one teapot, and despite not even being passionate about any of these teapots and jugs in particular, I had to fight an impulse which said 'Start collecting teapots! Now!' Not healthy, I'm sure.

What do you collect? Or do you simply dream of starting a collection? Have a look here for some inspiration/collecting fanaticism.