Collectables | BruceWPeterson Photography

Hello again. We are finally back on the road where we feel most comfortable. This year we are lucky enough to start our trip with good friends in Haarlem, NL.

This is a lovely, picturesque city as you can plainly see.

Grote Market

Molen de Adriaan

Grote Market

But that’s not really what I want to talk about. I’ve noticed a rapidly increasing number of, let’s just call them, “Window Creatures”.

Bernie

I found the Bernie and the Cabbage Patch Kids peeking at me from a couple windows in Portland, Ore.

Cabbage Patch Kids

Because they’re cultural icons I didn’t think much of it until I got to Haarlem, NL. and noticed that there are Window Creatures peering out at the street everywhere I walk. I quickly realized this is not just about our political favorites or some nostalgia for childhood toys. The people that lodge behind this panes of glass are sending messages. I’ve always thought that what people chose to display says a lot about them.

Bear in mind that these miniature tableaus did not occur by accident. They represent a conscious effort to put a message in a bottle and send it out into the world, but with no request for rescue or any response at all. It is a kind of lo-tech social media that requires no Likes, Thumbs Up, emojis, bookmarks or cookies. This is strictly a one way communication, a lot like a piece of art that says, “ I think this is “something” and I want everyone to know. At least everybody that walks by my window.”

The Queen and her getaway car.

Does anyone know who this is?

Well, I’ve decoded all the signs and I’m now ready to reveal my findings.

” We’re all just a little wacky and want everyone to know.”

Jaarbeurs

For 2 days each November, completely over the top, massively obsessed collectors of every conceivable stripe converge on Utrecht in the Netherlands to buy, sell, barter and bullshit at Verzamelaars Jaarbeurs, The International Collectors Fair and Europe’s biggest Vintage Event.

We thought it would be a perfect fit for us, but as we approached the building the sky darkened, the clouds began to roil and it all started to feel, you know, funny. A peculiar vibe emanated from the doors and we soon discovered that the hall was filled to capacity with very strange creatures indeed. I can’t prove it, but I just know, they’re watching us.

“The odds are you’ll find what you’re looking for, but there are even better odds that you’ll find something else, because this happens to be The Twilight Zone…..”

“Marsha White, in her normal and natural state, a wooden lady with a painted face who, one month out of the year, takes on the characteristics of someone as normal and as flesh and blood as you and I. But it makes you wonder, doesn’t it, just how normal are we? Just who are the people we nod our hellos to as we pass on the street? A rather good question to ask . . . particularly in the Twilight Zone……” The After Hours – Season 1 – Episode 34

Collection of Curiosities

To lighten the mood we thought a quick stop at the University Museum might just hit the spot. This small museum has a lovely botanical garden which only serves to hide many curiosities.