Do you remember your collections from childhood?  A few of mine included Pooh Bear(seriously, how did my friends talk me into that one?!), frogs, bunnies – I’m seeing a pattern with the animal thing.  Barbies of course and Star Wars – that is a collection passed down from father to children, no shame in this one!  As I have gotten older I have decided that I don’t really want to have a bunch of “collections” anymore – and by collections I mean figurines and things that sit and collect dust as much of my childhood collections did.  I do have quite a few teapots and vintage rolling pins but my intention is to actually use them instead of setting them somewhere to look pretty and unused.  I like my possessions to have character and look well loved.

I am not by any means saying that a collection of an item for decor is pointless as long as you get some joy and satisfaction from it.  One thing that I have found intriguing as of late are mannequin parts and dress forms.  A little creepy right?

I think they’re wonderful and incredibly interesting and I want to get my hands(pun completely intended) on as many mannequin body parts and dress forms as possible.

Vintage pieces have so much character and a story to tell.  I like to daydream about where the mannequin may have come from and the type of people that saw it everyday.  Did little children have conversations with it while their mothers dragged them along for weekly shopping?  What kind of clothing hung on it’s shoulders and did people talk about the expression on it’s face?

Hands can tell you so much about a person.  Can they do the same for a mannequin?  Maybe, maybe not – but it’s fun to imagine.

Currently, my collection is small.  It consists of 4 plastic heads covered with linen that I picked up from a thrift store and this little number which I just took home with me yesterday:

I’m not exactly sure what I will do with them yet.  Maybe I will decoupage one of the heads like they do at Forever 21.  Or maybe I will hang jewelry on my new little guy and attempt to hone my drawing skills by looking at him.  The possibilities are endless and I intend to fully exhaust them with my new collection interest.