I think go with the ones you love the most not the ones that you think will "make a good collection". If you get ones you love, they'll always look good in your place and not like you were just trying to look "decorated".

Yeah, and some fonts have a wonderful version of some letters, and less wonderful versions of other letters. You could, of course, think about the letters that make up the names of the people living there. Like maybe L and D and W for starters?

I'd collect the alphabet.

Buy what you like, and worry about things like cohesiveness later. It's not like you'll have to have the entire collection on display at once. You can switch it up from time to time.

I wouldn't be able to resist LMNO.

ASAP, PDQ, WTF...

Buy letters that stand up on their own. I collect E's and a H's.

And if you're interested, E's are usually the easiest to find, since they so frequently appear in the language.

I collect J's and while I don't have a lot of them, the variations that I do have allow me to tuck them in places that you might not notice. Click my name & see if you can find them.

kinda reminds me of this piece... could come up with & create your own striking phrase to grace one of your rooms too i suppose...

http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/shopping/homedesign/14629/index.html

(see pics, kitchen)

-kellen

My favorite letters are T and A, so that is what I try to collect. I admit I don't have all of the T and A that I want, but believe me, I strive to get more every day.

Joey, your space continues to amaze me. It has shaped up even more each time I've happened to check your link. And I see you've finally got your baby grand piano. Congratulations!

sorry - I can't think of anything more boring to collect than letters of the alphabet. It's straight out of pottery barn.

When I think of letters like that, I think of Mary Richards' "M" on the wall, and I like it.

Speaking of pretty things on the wall, I saw a dance piece the other night at the Lincoln Center Festival that had this actual raven in it (not the color -- the BIRD) and the walls of the set had these books on them, sort of installed in such a way that the pages were out toward you and the covers were against the wall. It was beautiful.

sammie--
You apparently are not a graphic designer. It ain't boring to me. And, um, I was doing it BEFORE Pottery Barn, thank you very much.

What scintillating stuff do you collect?

The problem with collecting anything is how quickly it can overwhelm your space. Then there are friends and family who once they know you collect an item will find such and give it to you. My motto is always "Quality not Quantity", so don't be afraid to let the F&F to know that you decide what is part of your collection. As far as what letters to collect I would be attracted to those that would make up my initials. Good luck with the collection!

And don't forget to keep your collection out of sight of Jack Pierson!

If you wonder what I'm on about, read the hilarious
"How Did I Become The Typhoid Mary Of the Art World?"
by Simon Doonan, man about town and Barney's window designer

http://www.observer.com/20060417/20060417_Simon_Doonan_culture_simonsays.asp

I have collected A's for years and when I got married started collecting F's (last initial). F's don't stand on their own so well and I blame my husband for saddling me with this weak, spineless letter. :)

I recently decided to branch out and grab letters whose typography was interesting. Also have been seeking Z's to hang above the crib in the nursery.

(And, yes, I believe it is a graphic designer thing.)

No offense meant towards you, Patrick. I bet your place looks fantabulous, and I really mean that. However, alphabet letters remind me of nursery school, Laverne-n-Shirley and pottery barn. Let's see, what do I collect? Each place I visit, I like to put a coin into those machines that press them into a landmark like the Golden Gate Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, Niagara Falls. Kitschy, I know, but purely for my own pleasure. Back in grade school, I collected Hello Kitty items which I still have to this day, hidden away in a box. I honestly don't collect anything else. Once you start a collection, the fun stops when people start buying you things that they think fits into the collection.

Sammie -- Some of us remember when the days long before Pottery Barn and Martha Stewart, when a dramatic letter on the wall was unique and original. It's hard for me to criticize people for liking stuff that I remember being cutting-edge!

I know what would happen if I collected letters, which I don't. I'd start with one size, one letter. Then I'd find a letter I LOVED in some other size and decide to collect that letter in that size. Before you know it, I'd look like I lived in a print shop. This might or might not be a bad thing.

Guido!! Where ya been?!?!

If the Prada loafer were on the other foot, and Doonan felt HE was being copied...

And SHAME on him for not knowing Pierson's work. And his excuse for not knowing was LAME-o. Not to mention his delight in sharing the news with the artist that he did not knwo his work.

Doonan just lost 25 points in my book.

I feel a bit the same as sammie. Not that the letters are boring, but that collecting them is.
It's just that the giant letters have become a bit of a design cliche. Sure there's beautiful ones out there and they can look really cool, but it's no longer a unique, creative idea. I do admit that there is a giant D in the bookshelf behind my bed because it's my sweetie's first initial and he's had it forever. And I have my initials in small, fancy old metal printing-press type, but that was a present. It's not something I'm particularly drawn to collecting because it's now a bit predictable. (That said, you have to go with what you love, even if it happens to not be the most original. I'm far more drawn to someone's collection if it seems important and personal to them, regardless of if it's something I'd choose to collect).

I mostly collect things like books and art, which are not very unusual items as far as collections go, but they are very individual in the specifics. I have a small collection of blue & white mixing bowls from the 40s and 50s, but they're not displayed as a collection, they're mostly a functional item, that I happen to find aesthetically pleasing. Similarly for my silverware which I buy piecemeal from flea markets and antique fairs, it's a collection, in that I've collected it over time and am always on the lookout, but I'm not displaying it, I'm using it. Part of the fun of a collection for me is hunting for it. If other people discover your collection and start adding to it for you, while they sometimes make precious contributions, it can also take some of the fun out of collecting since you can go from 2 things to 20 in a snap and it's not so special anymore.

Hi Patrick! You know, I'm around . . . just not enjoying lazy hours here as much as I used to (aHEM)

As much as I love Pierson's photography - and I do - I think he behaved like a monkey in this case. I myself thought he (Jack) was working off of punk album covers (Never Mind The Bollocks, in ransom note style)
Pierson does an especially nice version of the words on a wall, but it is ridiculous to claim it as something he originated and Doonan ripped off.

When was typography as decor cutting edge?

Why should collections be so precious? I love it when people give me things that they think fit in. They have a different take on what belongs in the set, which makes it more interesting overall. I think a sticking point here is the set of deocrative things vs. a true collection, which may have variety and things you don't love on their own. As long as you're not collecting (and receiving) steamer trunks, this shouldn't be a problem.

didn't Walker Evans photograph signage in the 1920's?

in fact, i think Evans is probably directly responsible for most of our current fixation with graphic design as home decor, hi/low interiors, shabby chic, etc. to the extent that it would surprise me not a whit to find out that Doonan, Martha Stewart, that Shabby Chic lady, and other "style-makers" of recent years used Evans directly in their research.

i also think that any artist that deals in post-modernity (as any artist who works in cast-off signage and typography innately does) should think very seriously before accusing anyone of "stealing". since pastiche is exactly what Pierson's work is all about. and the whole point of 'post-modern' is that NOTHING is new under the sun and creative "ownership" is dead.

that said, i've always thought Simon Doonan was kinda lame.

db - For me, it's not so much that the items might not "fit in", just that I like the fun of looking every time I go to a flea market and having it take time to build up the collection. I don't even really mind people contributing, just as long as they don't overwhelm me with contributions.

I never think about my collections in terms of what is trendy. My husband is a graphic designer with a love of typography and I have a background in linguistics with a love of phonemes. We are both drawn to letters, but for very different reasons. My collection IS very personal to me, because it has taken years to put together, only the best get to enter and we have to both like it.

Mix and match silverware isn't exactly original either and was trendy a while back, although it's a look that I still like when done right.

Well, if typography was first hot in the 1920s, I *don't* remember when it was cutting-edge. I was thinking late 1960s/early 1970s, but perhaps being a pre-schooler in the suburbs just meant I was easily impressed.

As I said, if you love it, then it's a great collection. I wasn't claiming my silverware was original, and it's not actually mixed. I mostly have 1 pattern, just by different makers. As I said, it is mainly functional, but it is personal to me because it's the same pattern as some old spoons I have that belonged to a Great Aunt.

In fact, I don't think anything I collect is particularly "original". I know other people out there collect exactly the same things as me. However, I don't choose to collect anything for any reason other than that I love it and that's what I would recommend to others (and what I did suggest to this question in my first response). The letters used to be a funky, individual sort of thing to have and they aren't anymore... that was my point. If you love them, they're still a great thing to collect, they're just not a unique thing to collect.

I didn't mean to imply that books, art, silverware, or mixing bowls were unique things to collect, that was a somewhat unrelated diversion into what I collected since I'm interested to know what other people collect.

Thanks for clarifying Allison, I guess I read a tone of judgement in your earlier post. No harm.

Collecting Letters: Because of Mary Tyler Moore, I have had an "S" on the wall of every single place I've lived since I was 10 years old. Even at that age, half the fun of watching the show for me was Mary's apartment and how much I wanted to be like her when I grew up. (and I did go into the same biz..go figure!)

Typography is amazing. It takes true skill and talent to take an object everyone uses every single day and give it a new personality and attitude, while still keeping it functional. I admire that ability, whether someone is designing a toaster, a sofa or the Letter S.

Collecting: Allison..I'm with you. The fun is the hunt. I am currently looking for the very last Nancy Drew book to complete the series. (#56) Friends keep asking me what number I need..wanting to find it for me. I would hate that!

And wow...this post has really dated me! I'm 44..which I'm guessing is outside the average Demo of this website.

SJV, I'm 40, and there have been hints that some other regulars have about the same relationship with the calendar. I used to build Lego studio apartments with 1970s wall graphics built into the walls!

Part of the key to collecting in a small space is choosing something so obscure that people can't buy you a bajillion of them. That also makes the hunt more challenging.

45, chiming in.

I just read the book Girl Detective: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her. I recommend it.

I bought a DVD set of one of the seasons of Mary Tyler Moore, and now my 16-year-old daughter is a newly minted fan.

Allison/sammie--

Why does anyone have to categorize ANYTHING that one does, collects, likes or fixates on as "boring" (whether the process or the item)?

I am hard-pressed to think of a more insulting word than "boring" when it comes to something creative, personal, decorative, or all of the above.

Jeez.

patrick (the other one)- each entitled to their own opinion I guess. I certainly didn't intend my point of view to be "insulting".

Maybe I should have just left it at "collect what you love, not what you think will love good in a decorative sense".

that should be "look good" not "love good".

My English teacher growing up had a whole wall of ampersands. Amazing looking. I have some diagonal IN, AND, FOR from old movie marquee signage. Also fun. And when you have many letters you can rearrange them and make words of the day.

Thanks guys for all the advice....

As for people saying letters are design cliche, each to their own. But as a designer and a person who finds beauty in the way a letter is formed, expecially old classic letterpress or signige letter - i think i will stay away from pottery barn and stick with collecting them.

I am very excited about starting a collection - and hate to say how long i spent on ebay last night looking at them.

(thinks of how wonderful a wall of &'s would look)

I'm stymied as to why anyone would be surprised that a summary of "boring" could be interpreted as anything *but* insulting, but I'll let it go.

patrick (the other one) - I'm stymied that my posts could be construed as summarising it as boring, but I'll let it go.

(Joey, I'm still looking for the "J"s, but I had to post to say I love your martini set!)

(And everything else!)

Allison -- actually, it was someone else, way up there in the thread, who used the word "boring" in commenting on the collection of letters.

i don't collect letters but i did look at the offerings on ebay recently and there were many vintage enamel coated metal letters that looked so good i almost bid.
when it comes to collections go with your gut, don't make a plan, and ignore the trends, this makes it a personal collection .

Allison--
Um, "Not that the letters are boring, but that collecting them is."

That led me to believe you thought that collecting them was boring. It was you opener after all.

Sorry, don't mean to pick on you, since yes, as smallcitybeth noted, it was sammie who fired the opening volley.

-kellen-
That piece you showed from NY mag was indeed a Pierson piece.

And to the letter lovers among us, we are indeed in trendy company.. see the cover of this month's Met Home, brought to you by the (large, lowercase) letter K.

I love letters and fonts. I can see why you'd be anticipating going overboard, because when you start collecting, it's natural. You haven't developed a direction yet. Maybe you never will! It completely depends on your personality -- what your collecting approach will be. You have to do what gives you pleasure.

I collect only what I love. My husband will buy things to fill out a series, even if there are some elements he can take or leave. Sometimes a grouping is fantastic even if individual parts wouldn't stand on their own. Kind of like choosing plants for a garden: some things really look great in combination with something else, but in themselves they're not exciting.

When you get nervous, ask yourself if you'll be able to sell or swap the thing. Is it unusual, or can you find one just like it pretty easily? Take stock now and then, and ask yourself how you're doing, and whether you need to weed things out, or slow down, or loosen up a little more.

patrick (the other one) - my point was that that's hardly a "summary" of my posts as it's completely out of context to my overall message.

I understood exactly what you meant, but I beg to differ. I'll stop now.

At any rate, sorry to have gotten you all riled up.

And AGAIN, I was not singling you out.

I am not a collector, but I am fascinated with the impulse of others to collect. I don't really understand why people who are compelled to collect (and not everyone who collects is compelled) and that makes it fascinating to me. I would love to find a book or something that really explains the psychology of it.

where does one get such letters. i have seen such cement blocks in ikea. i have searched and searched but never found any

Pixie--
You could collect them! :)

Meter--
I had marginal success on Ebay searching for "advertising signage" and "sign letters" or variations of. And a (very hot) guy *was* selling a very cool huge light up letter not too long ago.

i hear they're making signs with numbers on them now, try picking up a few of those.

just make sure they dont have a little "mph" after the numbers, or you'll end up in the slammer.

speaking of slamming, why is everyone so shocked that one of the BSBoys finally came out of the closet?

I LOVE old letter blocks like this - I did a lot of artwork for an exhibition based on typography - different fonts are wonderful to play with

I collect As as they are my initial and whichever other letters catch my eye at the time - I particularly love Gs - the lower case ones are so curly - and usually the printing block ones are square anyway so the standing up issue is solved

Pixie, I read something once. Damn, I wish I could remember what it was. It was for a class on Architecture of all things--something about how buying shapes our lives....argh.

I love letters, and could find myself getting easily obsessed over them. I like words more, though...so I'd have to have at least a few to put together.

As for being "original" or whatever, the great thing about seeing a trend in Pottery Barn is that it will be sure to have changed quite soon. They have to have something new to sell to their shoppers.

ps: Hot guy selling large orange light-up letter was on Craig's List NY. Left that part out.

meter - you can find them at flea markets, antique shops, ebay, junk piles...

There are newly manufactured ones at your basic big box retailers, but that's a whole different aesthetic.

Patrick (TOO) what do you mean selling large light up letters?

LDW--

(sorry I didn't see this sooner!)
This guy had a large (3 feet tallish), red-orange plastic letter that lit up

Have any of you come across any really modern/contemporary, silver or stainless steal looking letters? I really want to get an S to put on a shelf in my townhouse but I need it to be the right look... so far nothing I've found as fit the bill...

-Stefanie

If you are looking for quality, real, vintage sign letters to use in any decor, check us out. We are a bunch of typography obsessed designers trying to save the vintage sign world!

typos.etsy.com