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im i the only one who doesent know what a tchotchke is?

I'm lost.. what the.. ?

Knick-knacks, bric-a-brac, what-nots, collectibles, etc.

I don't have any, but not because I have an aversion to them or to dusting around them. I admire super cool little collections, but I am not one of those cool people that has cool collections.

My weirdest is pretty out there: part of a cow spine....and a lovely piece of sculpture it is! I used in my gardyate studies to demonstrate architectural principles. Hmmm?

oop! That would be in my "graduate" studies...sorry!

Well, I have a few heirloom collectibles but I guess those aren't really tchotchkes.

I have a small collection of items that I rotate in my displays, but don't really display a lot. I like surfaces with just a few well placed items, although my style isn't minimal or modern.

I also have a set of 5 ceramic castles my mom gave me, but they are sitting in a closet at mom's house right now. I don't feel inclined to display them.

I have waaayy too many tchotchkes!

I don't even know how I accumulated all of them...most are probably old things from my family - bear skull, antique toys, antique ice skates (!)
Or things I have simply held onto - horse shoes, snow globes, plastic nuns...

I just can't seem to get rid of them and people keep giving them to me!

Ugh, I HATE tchotchkes.

Lots, almost all my husbands' from before we were married. I put three boxes of tchotchkes in the basement storage unit, and our place still looks cluttered. He never met a crafts fair he didn't like.

So, basically, any item which is decorative rather than serves some function is a tchotchke since the definition is "useless" (which is objective and straightforward) and "piece of crap" (which is highly subjective). I'd be shocked if no one had a useless object that could be categorized as a tchotchke by someone.

I guess any item which is common, symbolic and traditional in other cultures is a tchotchke like the maneki neko that is listed on the linked Tchotchke Peepshow site (erroneously stated as a Chinese symbol).

No tchotchkes equals no soul. Seriously, minimalism is nice for catalogs but not for living. People have said they feel like they're going to suffocate because of my "collection" and I say be my guest!

"I'd be shocked if no one had a useless object that could be categorized as a tchotchke by someone."

So true, Orchard 64. Even the most modern, minimalist space usually has some unnecessary decorative item. And one person's treasured Dora Maar vase is just another tacky tchotchke to someone else.

I love all my collections of tchotchkes! They add personality to my place.

I only have two, which I mentioned in my comment on the other post - a small collection of vintage fake mustaches, and a very mod black cat bottle opener - both are useful as well as fabulous.

Ouch. I'd like to think that my art, books, objects that I love and use, and animals provide soul... My home isn't *entirely* minimalist.

Definitely a tchotchke person. They provide the cush of a home, am I right?

I really love that Shokupanman figurine in the photo! Talk about a nostalgia trip. (That's the white bread-headed superhero guy, for those of you not in the know. He's so awesome.)

Plastic nuns?

How can decoration be unnecessary?

Even a vase is an "unnecessary decoration", but flowers are nice!

I do have some items I collect, but I don't think they're too schlocky, not that schlocky/fun is necessarily bad. I usually keep the goofer stuff on my desk. I collect old silver trophies (BEFORE they became Ralph Lauren store props) and crystal bowls that I stick small candles in. I have a globe collection. I like busts and buddhas.

My style is more trad eclectic than modern, but I have fewer accessories than a lot of traditional decor fans do.

I like KellyM's approach. If seeing some stuff you don't think I need out on a shelf or counter will kill you, come on over!

I'm sorry, but that made me laugh for ten minutes as I worked it over in my head.

Of course I have tchotchkes. It is difficult not to keep things I think are interesting, personal, adorable and/or amusing. But I also know what people mean by useless clutter. It's easy enough for me to look at some things other people may have, or a shop or flea market may sell, and reject a ridiculous ton of what I have seen as useless clutter, but that's what makes my stuff mine - I chose it.

I have a love-hate relationship with my tchotchkes. I love looking at them but someitmes feel like they're dragging me down and have the urge to chuck them all out!

Back to the question, my weirdest tchotchke are 3 bone white plaster casts of my teeth from when I was growing up. Some people find them a bit disturbing, but I like them-weird I know...

I hear you Nadya. Love-hate is the word when it comes to tchotchke. I have a large collection of realistic plastic dinosaurs from my husband's childhood, along with dinosaur mugs, wooden skeletons... I really do love them but how to avoid having a dinosaur "theme" is becoming a pressing question. We had dinosaur wedding cake toppers!

I have a ring from a Giant at a sideshow from the 60's and an 1890's porcelain figurine of Chang and Eng the original siamese twins.

I have some: five colorful Seattle World's Fair glasses that my parents bought at the fair in 1962 on a bookcase shelf, and four painted kitsch ceramic figurines (including the piggy bank I used when I was kid) on another. Other than the candle on my coffee table, that's it. I'm fine with useless things as long as I love them, have a place to park them, and don't have to care for them.

Hmm --

See, the things I tend to have are not things I picked out to complete a look. Rather, they are things I've carefully chosen that say something about me. I suspect a lot of others do the same.

When I hear the word tchotchke to me it's a subtle put-down -- like, "meaningless useless tacky garbage".

So -- is my 10" replica of Rodin's The Thinker a tchotchke? I don't think so. He is a personal symbol -- he reminds me of my philosophy degree and he also reminds me of the museum with all the Rodins that I always visit whenever I'm in SF (my fav place in that city).

Is the handpainted 6" landscape of my great-uncle's a tchotchke? What about my own little paintings on wood? I display these on stands on my tables.

OK, maybe my LOTR bookends are tschotckes, except they remind me of my favorite story ever. And maybe the little ceramic dog is, except he looks just like my favorite pet.

So how can you really have a home without some personal items in which you've invested meaning? The physical place isn't home -- it's home because it has my "things" in it.

nadyamadrid, I have my 4 wisdom teeth hanging in my letterpress box! I get looks over those as well...

My tchotchkes are my fantasy figures, mostly dragons and unicorns by Melody Pena. They sit on the top of my kitchen cupboards next to the ceiling as a form of decoration. My Siamese cat likes to jump to the top of the cabinets and sit with them like he's a statute too. They're too high to dust and that's where I plan to keep them forever as I hate dusting.

I definitely have 'em, but I don't consider any of them "useless", as they were all either given to me by someone I love or they represent memories of trips I've taken with my husband. There's a few relics from our wedding around as well.

So their "use" is that they make me happy and evoke fond memories.

I used to have a ton of weird little crap around my apartment. But I was pretty harsh in a move I made 3 years ago and got rid of all but one box worth. I consider the single shelf-full over one of my windows progress in my own personal war-against-crap.

While most of my knick-knacks are either geek-related (Star Trek christmas ornaments, wind-up Futurama toys, ect.) or tourist-y things (a tiny glass pumpkin from Venice, ect.), I think the weirdest thing I own is a small statue of Chairman Mao. My boyfriend gave it to me when we were courting. I love it.

Ha ha. We all think OUR possessions are prized objets d'art and design, and everyone else's are just knick-knacks.

Mine are inherited...LOL. Including a set of mugs in the shape of a peanut with a big smile on top of it - in honor of President Carter.

"Ha ha. We all think OUR possessions are prized objets d'art and design, and everyone else's are just knick-knacks."

I'm not so sure about that. When my mother redoes a room, and when she's out and about shopping, things will catch her eye that she can use in the new color scheme. When she changes it out again, those objects are meaningless to her. Things filed under the precious category can be switched to ugly in about a minute as soon as they don't go in the room or she gets caught up collecting something new. She has a lot of tchotchkes but almost none are completely sentimental in value.

SUCH a tchotchke person, and love-hate rules over here, as well. I like neat, interesting, or amusing little trinkets and I like the smiles they bring to the faces of guests. Humour in home decor is totally my thing.

Like with any collection, careful editing and display are key to keep people interested and from being overwhelmed (or underwhelmed). Also, I'd love some more pointers on displaying collections! Especially small ones!

I hate dusting, so I don't have a lot of knick-knacks. Just a vase on my coffe table, a fiesta ware cream and sugar set on my dining table, and four fiesta ware mugs on my kitchen window sill. I wouldn't say these objects have a lot of meaning for me. They're just things I like. That's my limit though. Any more would start to feel like clutter to me.

No tchotchkes equals no soul. Seriously, minimalism is nice for catalogs but not for living. People have said they feel like they're going to suffocate because of my "collection" and I say be my guest!,

Oh please. Get over yourself. Some people prefer the minimalist esthetic, and there's nothing wrong with that. Not for living? Let's try to be less judgmental.

I used to collect certain items and display them. All those tchotchkes = clutter, and they're a nightmare for dusting and keeping your home dust-free. Second, a lot of those things are choking hazards for children.