The Un-Shopping Ritual
Un-shopping is a ritual that Kathy and I engage in after a big shopping excursion. If you shop, you must un-shop...or, at least, that's how it works in our household.
The ritual begins when we return from our shopping trip and gather our shopping bags together in the living room. We settle in, ready our beverages, and then begin pulling things out of the bags, one by one. Almost as though we were game show hostesses, we display each item, describe it lovingly, then ooh and awe over its fabulousness. Sometimes we decide we want to split the item between us, as may happen with a baggie of identical charms. Other times, we praise the one who found it for her discerning eye. If you were to listen in this weekend, it would sound something like this:
"Look, vintage receipts! A ledger page from 1895!"
"Oooooh! That'll work great on that project you have planned."
"Skull beads from Mexico!"
"Niiiice! Can I have some?"
"A papier-mâché triptych to decorate for your office wall!"
"Too bad they didn't have two!"
It's a form of celebration and in our minds, appreciation it is the necessary counterpoint to the shopping frenzy. I can't remember how we came up with the ritual (I think it was Kathy's idea) but we've been doing it for at least eight years. A shopping excursion simply wouldn't be complete without it.
Today's un-shopping ritual involved items that we bought at the San Mateo Rubber Stamp & Paper Arts Festival today. We used to go every year but we missed last year. This time around, the show was much smaller than the last time. That was okay, because we really only went so we could shop at the Studios Blackbird booth. They always carry lots of hardware items, charms, and Mexican doo-dads that are perfect for collages, assemblages, and shrines. Given that their shop is located in San Luis Obispo, over 200 miles away, it's a lot easier to see them at a show.
Between Studios Blackbird and the retro-hip stamps from Cat's Pajamas, we really lost our heads. But oh! Such cool stuff! I can't say we are remorseful. At any moment art-making might burst out and I'll be ready.
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