It isn't a secret anymore!

I collect porcelains.

So far I have a perfectly eclectic little menagerie of animals; which includes a penguin, a skunk, a rabbit, conjoined puppies, a toucan and several more birds.

For the most part I understand the purpose of porcelains... I know they are supposed to be decorations. Something carefully placed on a beaurou among other fragile dust collectors such as collectible plates and false fruit.

But then there are the odd ones.
(For example: http://coreyshead.com/blog/?p=1803 )

I imagine the majority my fascination comes from being a cartoonist and a love for appealing designs. I often use them to study drawing with more dimensions. Such as these:

My other reasons are less creative, being a collector of many things.

At the age of three, my grandparents passed on, and my mother inherited all of their assets. Among them was a three foot tall jaguar. Not a real one, but a hollow one made from porcelain. It had an open mouth, wonky yellow eyes and sat like a regal house cat. I grew up with that thing in my home for as long as we'd lived in Washington. I am willing to let it bear some of the responsibility for my new and potentially expensive habit...
I remember trying to fit my fingers between its incisors, and watching it teeter left and right when I nudged it. I remember the smell of dust and cedar, and I remember wanting one to call my own.
It still has it's place in the sunken living room of my Mother's house, along with all of the other antiques we could fit into it: a chair set, the fore-mentioned buffet, a hand carved oriental chest, clocks, massive family portraits, stereopticons, porcelain Kewpie babies, and seemingly endless dinnerware sets.

My best finds I owe to a little store here in Port Townsend called 'Summer House.'
The Summer House carries mostly novelty items, from 'Titanic' ice trays to sushi pencil toppers. There are other things, such as handmade jewelry boxes and handmade jewelry to fill them. But I know what I am looking for. And they are scattered about the store as decorations. There are normally only a few: cute little porcelains.
The last time I was there, I found a couple of creepy enraged toddlers. They were less than four inches tall, had had very lifelike red twisted faces, flailing limbs, and fluffy diapers: Perfect.

The problem with antique stores and novelty shops is that they seem to have a better idea of what they are selling - and how much a person like me might be willing to pay for an ugly porcupine in good condition. At thrift stores these items would range from 50 cents to $20, depending on size and quality. However, they are less likely to be as high of quality as porcelains found at antique stores.

At this point I must admit that I am a collector. I have since put the majority of what I own on display after moving in with my Dad and his fiance.