CABOODLE MAGAZINE

CABOODLE oct. 2022 issue 01

A discussion on pipe collecting Rich Esserman and Brian discuss pipes pg 04

Collection in spades

Q&A with card collector Brandon Bell

pg 06

Books, and music, and games, oh my!

Paintings worth a thousand words

A look inside McKAY’s bookstore

The magnificent art collection of Erik and Christine Vetne

pg 10

pg 14

editor’s letter

Editor’s Letter

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ver since I was a small child, I always loved to collect things. There was a designated box in my room where I put every cool rock, leaf, or shell from lakes that I could find – it was a pretty full box. I still love to collect cool objects I find. Naturally, I relate to crows in the sense that they also love to find random trinkets.

Although I don’t have any swanky collections like paintings or cards, I’ve still always enjoyed the art of being a collector. My rock collection isn’t as large as it once was, but it’s getting there. Minimalism has become more popular and I know there are people that love that lifestyle. However,

is short, so why “ life not fill it with a in my opinion life is short, so why not fill it with a shelf of old books or neat rocks?

shelf of old books or neat rocks.

”

Have you ever wanted to start a collection of something but you don’t know where to start? You’ll find the best ways to start collecting in this issue. Even if you don’t want to be an avid collector yourself, you can still enjoy perusing through these pages that are full of tons of different kinds of collections ranging from rocks to sweaters, to playing cards to stamps.

I hope you enjoy this issue just as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Madi Kristeen

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CO N T EN TS A collection in spades Q&A with card collector Brandon Bell where he shares his passion for collecting rare and unique playing cards.

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Rich Esserman and

Three things to think

Brian discuss pipes

about when starting

A look inside McKAY’s

your own collection

Bookstore

A discussion of pipes

Collection how-to’s

Paintings worth a thousand words Taking a look at the magnificent art collection of Erik and Christine Vetne

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Books, and music, and games, oh my!

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in the know

A Discussion of Pipe Collecting The Pipes Magazine Radio Podcast episode 480: Rich Esserman and Brian Discuss Pipe Collecting 04

by: madi kristeen

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here are many different types of pipe collectors out there. Brian with The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Podcast discusses these types of pipe collectors with pipe enthusiast Rich Esserman who has been collecting pipes for over 40-years. They start off their conversation with the question, “what defines a pipe collection?”

Brian brings up a point made by Allen Schwartz where he said most pipe collectors are actually just pipe accumulators because in order to be a collection there has to be a concise statement to it. This is more of an academic view on it, according to Brian. Both Brian and Rich disagree with this point and believe that collecting pipes doesn’t have to be that specific.

They continue their conversation and discuss pipe collectors who either use very few of their pipes or none at all. Rich tells of a certain

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situation where he bought a very nice Costello and debated saving it rather than smoking it.

“I can’t save a Costello,” Rich said to himself, “It would drive me nuts to know that I got this great Costello in the drawer and it’s unsmoked and I haven’t smoked it.” He then says someone might say to him that he’s ruined the value of the pipe but Rich argues that the value of the pipe is when he smoked it. “That’s when that pipe became my pipe and not somebody else’s.”

The beauty of pipe collecting is anyone can do it.

Brian talks about a time when he was at a pipe club talking with a guy who drove tow trucks for a living and another guy who was a rocket scientist and they were having a great time just talking with one another. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, pipe collecting is something that can bring individuals together.

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Guidelines for your collection The first thing you need to do is figure out what exactly you want to collect. Sometimes this could be something that was handed down to you or even just something you think is neat. Make sure you choose something broad enough so it’s not too difficult to find, but also detailed enough so you don’t get overwhelmed.

Do some research on what you are wanting to collect. Most likely you are not the only one who is interested in the same kind of collection and it could help to find other collectors of the same category so you can get a better idea of what you should do.

Benefits of having a collection Apart from it being a fun hobby, building a collection has a number of benefits to it as well. One of those benefits is it helps to build organizational skills. Most collections are made up of sets so collectors will catalog their items. This is part of what differentiates collecting from merely just accumulating odds and ends.

Where to Find Items

Collecting can also build expertise. It’s always great to gain knowledge, especially in something specific.

Once you get your collection going, you’ll start to have more detailed expertise on whatever interest you find yourself with.

Antique stores are full of hidden gems.

Taking your time to look through everything in the store rather than quickly scanning shelves can almost guarantee that you’ll find some pretty unique treasures.

Another great place to find those unique items you’re looking for is garage sales. Oftentimes you’ll get the best deals here because people sometimes don’t know the true worth of what they have. Keep an eye out for neighborhood garage sales as well.

That way, there’s an even better opportunity to find what you’re looking for.

You could potentially profit from your collection. Although the main point of having a collection is to keep it and build on it, you could make money off of it as well if you wanted to. Especially if your collection is gathered in a set, there could definitely be a market for it.

Websites like eBay or Craigslist are great for finding the exact item you need for your collection. One downside of eBay is that you can’t see what you are purchasing in person so you can’t be entirely certain it is exactly like the picture. Craigslist, however, is more local so you are able to inspect the piece before you purchase it.

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Conversation

a collec in spades Q&A with card collector Brandon Bell by: madi kristeen 06

How many decks of cards do you currently have?

I counted like a month ago, and it’s definitely over fifty – I think I’m close to seventy? I actually have decks of cards that I’m waiting on in the mail so it’s always changing.

What inspired you to collect playing cards?

I actually saw a video by a YouTuber named Chris Ramsey who does a lot of magic stuff where he was showcasing a collection. The video was called “Why I spent $10,000 on playing cards.”

He talks about in the video as a musician, he’s just very fascinated with collecting them, and sometimes he’ll pick different cards to go with his outfit. He does a lot of cool tricks, and I was just fascinated by the fact that there are rare playing cards, and some of them that look really cool.

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Do you have a goal in mind for how many cards you want? Or certain kinds of cards?

So honestly I’m wanting enough cards to fill my shelf. My girlfriend actually made me a homemade shelf to store playing cards on, like on the wall – kind of like how you would store cassette tapes. I want to fill up that amount; it’s probably close to 100 decks. I mean

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Conversation

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I’m always going to look for cool decks in the future. I also like giving them away as gifts, so again, the number is always going to be changing.

Where is your favorite place to get cards?

It used to be Theory11 – I pretty much have all those decks – but more as I get into it, I really like getting decks from Kickstarter or Art of Play. If I were to recommend a new way to get into the hobby I would say Theory11 or Art of Play.

Do you have any advice for someone starting their own collection?

are card tricks, not like magic tricks, but there’s cardistry. So people do flourishes, the card spring is probably the most famous one. There are also a lot of cuts where you’re kind of dancing with the cards in your hands, and it takes a lot of technical skill and flexibility, it’s really impressive.

What’s your favorite card game?

The one I’ve probably played the most is Hearts. I remember playing that when I went to Canada as a kid; we’d stay up until one o’clock or two in the morning just playing that in a tournament style and keeping track of our points. We actually have a record of all the games we’ve played.

Yeah! So definitely just pick up a couple of decks and play around with them and if you just find that you like them then awesome. But also figure out what kind of collector you want to be; do you want to be a collector that actually uses the cards? There’s a philosophy that cards are meant to be used – and that’s kind of like where I am, so I’ll use pretty much all of my cards.

Or you can actually go the value route and get super rare playing cards and not take off the packaging. So figure out why you are collecting and get what interests you. There are always new decks being created so don’t ever feel like you missed out or that it’s too late to start.

What is your most prized deck?

Do you know any card tricks?

Do you have any other collections?

That’s hard because it always “I was just changes, but my flashiest fascinated by deck is probably one by Card Mafia called the Sword Card. Most decks of the fact that Playing cards open up at the top, but instead of opening like that, there are rare this case unfolds outwards like an accordion. So when playing cards, people see it they are like I never knew cards and some of “Woah! existed like that.” them that look What’s something you’ve enjoyed doing recently? really cool.” I’ve enjoyed a lot of reading

I know a couple of card tricks – not so much in the sleight of hand, I’m more basically just into collecting – but there are mental tricks where you try to read peoples’ minds. But a lot of people, what they don’t think about, is there

recently, like classic fantasy.

I’m also into rock climbing, that’s pretty fun. I don’t do it as much as I’d like to but I really enjoy it when I do get to do that.

I think I have always kind of collected things. I also like trading card games, so sometimes I’ll collect different decks of cards for specific games or board games – I definitely collect board games.

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in the know

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books, and music, and games, oh my!

A look inside McKAY’s Bookstore by: madi kristeen

Salem NC, Knoxville TN, Chattanooga TN, and Nashville TN. Based on the popularity of McKAY’s in these five locations, it would be no wonder if more stores opened in the future.

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absolutely love books, especially old ones. My favorite place to go for books as well as records, comic books, games, and movies is McKAY’s Bookstore. McKAY’s is basically a media thrift store, except they pay you with either store credit or cash for the items you sell. Whenever I have books to sell I like to walk around looking for either more books or records that I can purchase with whatever store credit I receive. It’s an endless cycle and perhaps I’m addicted. Most of the store credit I earn goes towards building my collections of records and old books. I have started to run out of books and other things I can sell for store credit, but that won’t stop me, the prices are too good to pass up.

This is a place for collectors, students, teachers, and hobbyists alike to come in search of whatever textbook, video game, or even Funko Pop they might need; maybe they’ll even find something they didn’t know they were looking for at an insanely reasonable price. There have been so many times where I’ve found a textbook for a class that I’ve needed at McKAY’s for $10 or less, compared to the sale price of $40 or more.

Sometimes my friends and I will make a whole afternoon of just going to McKAY’s; it is so easy to spend countless hours strolling through to aisles and flipping through every single record.

McKAY’s will forever be my go-to bookstore, I could never go back to purchasing books or records at full price (unless I absolutely have McKAY’s was founded in 1974 based on the idea to for some reason). of a “free enterprise library” where individuals could purchase books at an inexpensive cost and keep as long as they wanted to, and then return for credit on other books. McKAY’s has quickly expanded to include music, movies, electronics, musical instruments, and collectibles. Currently McKAY’s is located in Greensboro NC, Winston-

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Feature story

Paintings worth

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The magnificent art collection of Erik and Christine Vetne by: madi kristeen

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omething that stood out to me when I would visit my grandparent’s house was all the paintings they had hanging up around their home. I used to lay on the couch and just stare at each of them in wonder. Whether it has to do with where they come from or who they’re painted by, each painting in this collection has its own, unique story. “Almost all the paintings are from places that we’ve lived or places I grew up.” My grandfather, Erik Vetne said.

Both of my grandparents come from families with many artistic talents. Many of the paintings

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were painted by my grandparents’ parents. When my grandfather was four years old, his father was practicing medicine in southern Norway, and although he was busy with his practice, he still found some time to create works of art. One of which was a piece done with pen and ink that depicts birds flying in the air with mountains in the background. Another one made around the same time was a painting of three Norwegian women sitting around a fireplace. In his later years, my great grandfather didn’t do much art until he and my great grandmother sat down

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a thousand words together and recreated a painting of France based were dressed, this painting looks almost exactly on a piece by Maurice Utrillo. My grandmother’s like Copenhagen does today. All the buildings are mother painted a lot of floral pieces, one of which painted in bright colors of orange, blue, red, and is hanging on my grandparent’s living room wall. yellow which is very typical for Denmark.

These floral paintings are usually a bouquet of Another large painting is a copy of the “Bridal flowers in a vase using lots of vibrant colors.

Procession on the Hardangerfjord” by Adolph The largest painting in their living room is one Tidemand and Hans Gude which my grandfather’s that my grandfather’s parents had in their home mother recreated in 1970. In the painting, there for as long as my grandfather can remember. are the newlyweds in a boat along with a few other This is a painting of a wharf located in downtown people who attended the wedding. In the distance, Copenhagen, Denmark in the 1930s. Apart there are two other boats filled with people and from the old cars and the way people at the time the chapel on the shore along with a few other

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Feature story

people standing on the riverbank with large mountains on either side.

My grandfather’s favorite painting is probably one of a small town by a fjord on the West Coast of Norway during the daytime. There are a few boats off the coast and a few small cottages on the shore. This painting reminds him of where his aunt and uncle used to live and even the cottages in the painting look almost exactly like the one his uncle lived in. The details captured in this painting are very captivating and it almost feels like you could step into it and be right there in that coastal town.

Another painting of a fjord they have is in northern Norway. During the summer in northern Norway, the sun does not set. Although it looks like it is sunset in the painting, it was actually the middle of the night. There are a few boats on the water and the sky is multiple shades of pinks and oranges.

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Although most of their paintings are from different countries, my grandparents also have ones done by local artists. When they lived in Michigan they bought two sailboat paintings done by a Norwegian man who was living in Michigan at the time. Two garden landscape paintings they have in their living room are both done by an 80-year-old man in Chattanooga who they met at a local craft fair.

Both of my grandparents love to collect paintings whenever they travel. When my grandmother was visiting France, she met a local street artist across the bridge from Notre Dam. She purchased a pen and ink drawing of the cathedral that was drawn from the perspective of where they were standing. When they lived in Mexico, my grandparents purchased another pen and ink drawing of a church in the downtown square of Guadalajara, Mexico. While in Mexico, they visited the tribe of Kucame(?)

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and stayed with the chief at his home.

He gave them an art piece he created out of string and honey.

Walking into my grandparent’s living room is like walking into a mini art museum. Two walls are completely filled with paintings. All of these paintings are almost like a map of my grandparent’s life; each one tells its own story as well as the story of where my grandparents were in their life at the time. If a picture says a thousand words, my grandparent’s walls must be an entire library.

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“Almost all the paintings are from places that we’ve lived or places I grew up.”

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