Tuesday, September 9, 2008

spoons

What we collect says a lot about who we are and what inspires us. I'd been planning to share these pictures with you and then I read this about collections. I decided to write up a full post to go with the photos. I'd been helping my mother at the barn... sorting her collections, and I found this spoon.


My grandfather carved it for my grandmother in the year 1946. They spent several weeks camping on the beach at Montauk (Long Island) each summer when my mother was a little girl. I grew up listening to Montauk stories. To be able to hold something in my hand from that magical time in my family's history felt incredible. Remember, I am the nostalgic one...keeper of memories. I can imagine my grandfather whittling this spoon by a campfire to sound of the waves lapping on the shore.


I have another spoon that he created for my grandmother...this one he hammered into shape.

I kept it safely tucked in a box until very recently. Now it lives in my sugar bowl and I use it every morning for my coffee or tea...tasting that handmade utilitarian beauty with every sip. Long ago, before mass production, many everyday items were infused with the style and craftsmanship of their maker.

Back to my mother's collections...we dug up a bunch of spoons to share with you. Remember what I said about collections speaking about their owners. I didn't know my mother collected spoons, but I had to laugh. Over the summer my sister and I were having iced tea and we both stirred in our sugar and didn't remove our spoons. When we took our first sip we realized we both have the same habit of drinking all of our beverages, cold or hot, with a big spoon clanking against our mouth..."just like mom!" we exclaimed. Our mother likes spoons and so do we... here's a bit of her collection...




Brought back from China by my great grandfather in the 1920's

My grandmother's bakelites...




Mexican enamel-ware and tiny tin spoons...


Not technically spoons...but I thought they were beautiful...

Miniature spoons from Indonesia...the one on the left is from a coconut...


What I love about this collection is that we put them to use...no dusting needed! Pin It

16 comments:

  1. Thank you for imbuing my day with nostalgia with your beautiful stories and observations.

    And, your chair below looks just great! You must feel very proud. You'll enjoy sitting that much more!

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  2. What a wonderfully evocative story (and a precious collection).

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  3. Love the story of the Montauk spoon. The whole collection is so beautiful and practical.
    A very fun post.

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  4. Oh how wonderful, I am so loving your mother at this point for all her treasure keeping.

    I have to tell you, I have the same red handle bakelite slatted spoon from my grandmother. It was one thing I HAD to have and we use it the same as she did, to "sift" meatballs out of sauce.

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  5. These are lovely! I really enjoy the thought of that beautiful spoon your grandfather made resting in your sugar bowl.

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  6. The handcarved spoon gives me goosebumps. How lucky you are to have it.

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  7. Thank you for sharing one of your and your mom's beautiful collections! I so admire your ability to weave your personal history into these lovely spoons. I wish I could have expressed my feelings as eloquently!

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  8. I am sure you have already realized that I am a collector of many different things. I put almost all of them to functional use whenever I have the opportunity. I think of it as bringing them back to life. I have some very special tiny tea spoons that belonged to my husband's oma in holland and we think about her every time we use them.

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  9. Thank you for appreciating the history behind the collection. I am so sentimental, and it's such a pleasure to share my stories with such kind and sweet new friends.

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  10. each and every one of these gorgeous and wonderful!

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  11. OH I love spoons too! Especially serving spoons. Something about our family sitting together at the table in front of a hand made meal, giving blessings each in our own special way and spending an hour or two in each other's company every night. Now THAT is family to me, and serving spoons pour some love out of the crock right onto your plate!

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  12. Thanks for sharing your collection. I found your blog off of One Pretty Thing, thinking my cousin, Maya Luna of Sacramento had a blog. Your name is that common lol! :)

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  13. That Montauk spoon is SUCH a treasure! What a wonderful piece of history!

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  14. What a great collection! I love them all.

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  15. I absolutely love this collection. Every piece! Your family is so talented...what a wonderful legacy.

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