I don’t like to talk in cliché’s, but I have to say whenever I get opened by my new owners I really feel like they are opening a can of worms…the stories I can tell you!
Let’s start with my beginning, lovingly handcrafted by my maker in the 1940s I was very much in vogue at the time. They were kind enough to carve my first owners initials into me. ‘A I’, oh I have so many fond memories of my adventures with Angela. She had never travelled beyond her town when as a young woman in her 20s she decided to migrate to America. Packing her most precious belongings into me I was part of her maiden voyage across the Atlantic. Never a dull moment passed on that voyage, she was immediately courted by a number of men, I was blessed to witness one such eventful evening when she met her future husband. He mistakenly thought I was his…oh how that broke the ice and kick started their love story.
Eventually as Angela’s family grew, she outgrew me as well. I was sold to a nostalgic gentleman who was keen to return me to my country of origin, and I found my way back into the UK. This time I was travelling on an aircraft – oh my how exciting that was. Some of my fellow suitcases had a rough time being tossed around in the plane with all their soft edges, but my quality workmanship and rigid design meant I sailed through the flight with ease.
I was a little nervous when I didn’t find my owner at first, seems like they accidentally put me on the wrong plane. But after a few days I managed to find my way home.
As my owner aged and travelled less, I was used more to store some of his precious photographs. Eventually when he passed I was sent off to an Antiques market with much of his estate.
Times had changed by then and I was very much no longer a new style, so I was so nervous about where I was going to end up. Would I find someone who could appreciate me for my history and good design? Thankfully Tash was able to recognise my talent and purchased me.
Tash is one of those amazingly talented people who has acknowledged that new is not always better, that history gives character and something classic is more tasteful than high street mass produced goods. Our world is so full of ‘stuff’ that it's so lovely to see my life being extended as long as it can.
I am so excited to see where I will end up next. While I love to go on travel adventures I am equally happy to laze around the house looking after treasured belongings or resting with the furniture.
My good looks have always made me the envy of my owner’s friends, I really hope I can find a new home soon to treasure me. I will always be a wonderful talking point among your friends, or maybe even a good luck charm in love…after all that’s how my life began.
