Project Description

I’m always finding and coming across stuff – memorabilia it’s called – or was it junk?

Anything vintage or antique has become junk at one time before it became unexpectingly valuable years later. You don’t hoard stuff for years expecting to sell it and become a millionaire! But of course some have – how lucky. It’s about been in the right place a the right time or just hoarding the stuff people want years later.

I’m not obsessive collecting memorabilia, if it’s popped up for free or cheap and I liked it I’ve kept it. It helps having all this space in the shop, it help to fill up the gaps. Others have saved anything and everything to do with a Lambretta – signs, posters and stuff and god I wish I knew what I know now when I started out – these things fetch an obscene amount – it’s sick.

Some things I just like. One time 20 plus years ago I was at an auto parts fair and saw a big Michelin man off the roof of an old lorry – I wanted it, after walking around a few times, me and Rob miller counted all our spare cash in our pockets and we couldn’t get to the £600 been asked – but it was so nice I wanted it. Time went on and you forget these things, then 20 years later one similar popped up on ebay and I got it for less that £100!

I was a fat child, my dad always called me Mr Bibendum the Michelin man, it was a memory and you can’t not like a cute fat tyre man, so I have a couple to remind me. In Nanna and Grandads office was an old type writer, I would bash away at it for hours in there as a kid, Mum tried teaching me to typewrite as it was her job and did all the invoices – memories. Grandpa had an old Black backelite telephone so I have one to remind me of playing with the buttons and watching them go round and round and the amount of people who’s picked up the receiver and said ‘hello’ to a dead phone! Today it’s the latest must have mobile or tablet that comes and goes – but wheres the memories, not for me but I’m sure the grandkids will say I remember playing that video game one day!

As long as it’s nice or cute or fits in or it’s got that memory I’ll have it but I don’t go out of my way – this stuff costs too much these days.