A collector talks about the film American Collectors

Kristen is a collector and a designer of a women and children's clothing line based in vancouver, bc, canada

Here is a her blog talking about why people collect:

http://kristinrasmussen.blogspot.com/2011/04/american-collectors.html

American Collectors film can be seen on your Video on Demand cable system and IndieFlix.com

Throwaway Society, American Collectors Film

Throwaway Society

If you haven't read the book, "Cheap, the High Cost of Discount Culture", http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106431468
you really should check it out. It brings to mind so many of the clothes I've purchased lately that have fallen apart
within months of bringing home. Things are made to be replaced rather than repaired.

Contrast that with the clothes that you can find in a vintage shop. They have already been around for
over 40 years, with zippers still intact and functional. back then, it would be unthinkable to have to replace a winter
coat after one season, because the plastic snaps and zippers have disintegrated.

That's why I love to look at collections of things we use and see something made 75 years ago still
in good shape and ready to be resurected. In the documentary film, American Collectors, many of the collectors interviewed also
expressed the admiration of the quality and fact the items they collect have a long history and can still be used.

I know for myself that's why I'm attacted to older things, more care was taken in the construction and they were made to be handed down,
not thrown in the landfill. We have to thank collectors for saving these objects, they preserve our history and the planet too!

For more information about American Collectors please go to www.AmericanCollectorsMovie.com

The Making of American Collectors Film: by Terri Krantz co- producer / director

The Making of American Collectors Film: by Terri Krantz co- producer / director

Most of us know someone who collects- 30% -of Americans are die hard collectors, and we love them anyway. But what drives obsessions such as this? That is the beating heart and prime directive of this documentary that examines the relationship between people and their objects of desire

When we stated to think about the idea of making a film about collectors, we immediately knew what we didn't want to be.

It was 2007 and The Antiques Roadshow was the dominant collecting show, most others were independent efforts by collecting clubs or websites, and we also found a few coming out of the United Kingdom.

The main focus of these shows was about the objects collected with a very strong emphasis on how much money its worth and how much the person had paid for it. We did not want to go down that path.

We also did not want to be exploitive by finding people outside the norm, and put them on film for others to ridicule.

I've spent over twenty years in the antique business and after years of observing collectors, both as friends and clients, a few things stood out. Collectors are different.

No matter what they collect, they form an emotional attachment to objects. It may not last forever but this attachment fuels their passion which leads to a joy or purpose for some and obsession for others.

On the positive side, collectors are the keepers of our culture. If not for their efforts many important artists and artifacts which were considered to be unimportant or trivial at their time, would be lost forever.

On the negative side, strained relationships, financial ruin and isolation often accompany the drive to acquire.

When I started to research collecting, I looked at the psychological and psychiatric treatises on the subject. Most but not all, portrayed collectors as flawed humans, making up for a lack of human attention in their early years by transferring their emotional needs to inanimate objects.

In doing so, they were labeled as weak willed and obsessive, not quite normal and lacking skills in human relationships.

Its been my personal experience that collectors are quite passionate and at times can go overboard in the quest to acquire a new piece.

And yet there are other activities, such as sports fans, athletes and fishermen that routinely are very obsessed with their chosen hobby or activity that don't come under as much criticism and derision as collectors.

With these thoughts in mind, we designed our questions to find out in the collectors own words, why they were driven to collect things and what they got out of it.

Many collectors in the film said they had wondered the same thing, but had never gone about trying to give a thoughtful answer. They enjoyed pondering the questions and their answers were varied but contained similar threads of thought.

All were quite passionate about their chosen object, and enjoyed the hunt for new items. For many collectors, this is the main reason they do it, but once they get to own the item, it loses its fascination for them and they need to replace it with another. In a way, its very much like a Don Juan scenario, but with things rather than women.

Another way to describe this process is the word, “More-I-tis” . More-i-tis was mentioned by a couple of the collectors in the film. Larry, an Axe collector with over 1000 axes in his collection, in the film states “ Its like a disease called More- i- tis, the only way to cure it is to go out and find another item, then that helps for a week or two but then the effects of More- i -tis comes back”

What we found was that people collected because they found something that spoke to them in a profound way. Whether it was a toy that brought back memories of happier times, or appreciating the craftsmanship of a particular item, these objects made them happy and in many cases were a gateway to acquiring knowledge about the past and our culture. We found most people use their passion to connect with like minded people, join clubs and organizations and enrich their lives in the quest of collecting.

American Collectors Film can be seen on your Cable ( video on demand ) or IndieFlix.com

American Collectors film now on Cable VOD

Binary Recording Studio production "American Collectors" is now available on your cable system VOD ( video on demand ) A film about WHY people collect things and the relationship with their items.

1	Charter
2	Verizon FiOS (3/11)
3	AT&T U-Verse
4	Rogers (Canada)
5	Mediacom
6	Cogeco (Canada)
7	Eastlink Communications
8	Wave
9	Blue Ridge
10	Access Communication (CCSA)
11	Source Cable (CCSA)
12	NorthwsTel Cable (CCSA)
13	Bluewater (CCSA)
14	Seaside (CCSA)
15	KPU
16	Cable Cable (CCSA)

Film Critic Robert Horton Interview "American Collectors" directors on PBS

Watch the full episode. See more Reel NW.

Wyoming PBS Broadcasting "American Collectors" Film

March 31st. 7pm, American Collectors will be broadcasting on PBS Wyoming. http://www.wyomingpbs.org/

American Collectors film on Reel NW PBS Kcts9

American Collectors film will be airing on a new program broadcasted by Kcts 9 called Reel NW. Dec. 23rd at 10 pm. Binary Recording Studio produced this film, directed by Bob Ridgley and Terri Krantz.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcts9/5190302067/in/set-72157625301983713/

Purse Collector in our Film finds the mystery of the Giant Purse

A passionate antique purse collector who is featured in the documentary film, American Collectors, hit the jackpot due to some good luck on eBay and a special film screening.

The one of a kind purse is featured in the film American Collectors. Viewing the film at a sneak preview at the 2009 San Francisco Antique Purse Society Convention, another collector recognized the purse. The following week, she emailed a copy of a photograph of the original owner and detailed information on the purse's provenance. The purse features over 1,000,000 beads with a design taken from the windows of a Church in Rueil France. It was listed as the world's largest beaded purse and valued at $250,000 in 1928. The purse had been purchased on eBay in 2005, but the collector had no idea of its pedigree.

"I knew it was one of a kind and very special, but now I know there are over 1 million beads in this purse and it is probably still the largest beaded purse in the world!" The ecstatic collector plans to find a more suitable home for the purse, possibly at the Smithsonian.

Please check out our website for more info http://www.americancollectorsmovie.com