Friday Fun: Share your collections!

[Chris K]

Hello Atlassian Community!

I hope you're all ready to kick off the weekend with some lighthearted fun. I'm excited to share a topic that brings out the inner child in all of us – collections!

Collecting items has been a beloved pastime for many people throughout history, and today, we'll dive into the fascinating world of collecting and how it adds joy and meaning to our lives.

🔥 The Thrill of Collecting:

There's something undeniably captivating about collecting. Whether it's stamps, coins, vintage toys, or even quirky oddities, collecting allows us to create a personal treasure trove filled with items that hold special significance to us. People collect for various reasons. Some are driven by a desire to preserve history or hold onto nostalgia, while others find the process of hunting for rare or unique pieces exhilarating. Collecting fosters curiosity, creativity, and a sense of accomplishment.

🦚 My Feather Collection:

Personally, I've been an avid collector since my childhood days. I started with a simple feather collection, where I would diligently pick up feathers I found during nature walks or bike rides. My collection came to an end when bird flu broke out in Germany and my mother burned it without further ado. Well, I think she was just worried about her little boy, but the abrupt dissolution of my collection didn't make me happy at this time :D

🎴 Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon - Nostalgic Treasures:

As I grew older, my interests shifted to trading cards. I built up an impressive collection of Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon cards, meticulously organizing and cherishing each one. These cards became more than just pieces of cardboard; they represented a shared nostalgia with friends and sparked endless battles and trades. Instead of burning my collection I burned a lot of my pocket money. But I have no regrets and I still own one or the other card. However, these are so worn out from playing (without a protective film, of course) that the value of the collection is purely emotional.

🥃 Shot Glasses - A Proud Collection:

Today, my current collection that brings me immense pride is my assortment of shot glasses. These tiny vessels hold memories from places I've traveled, celebrations with loved ones, and unforgettable moments shared with friends. Each glass tells a story, capturing a unique experience and serving as a conversation starter when guests come over. Collecting shot glasses has become a way to commemorate adventures and bring back cherished memories with every toast. This is my collection, which I will probably never complete, but I hope to add many more beautiful places. Maybe even Las Vegas at one of the next Atlassian Teams events ;)

✨ The Most Valuable Collection - Moments:

While physical collections have their allure, I've come to realize that the most precious collection I possess is not made of tangible items. It's the collection of moments I've experienced throughout my life. To capture and reflect on these moments, I keep a daily journal. In it, I record the ups and downs, the joys and challenges of the day. This practice allows me to appreciate the journey, learn from my experiences and create a rich tapestry of memories and makes me even more excited about the moments and memories to come.

🔄 Share Your Collections:

Now that I've shared some of my favorite collections, I invite all of you to join in on the fun! Whether you collect stamps, coins, action figures, or something entirely unique, I'd love to hear about it. If you like, you are invited to share your stories, pictures, or the memories associated with your collections. Thank you for reading my very first Friday Fun article. Now, let's celebrate the joy of collecting together! :)

I'll start by sharing a picture of my collection of shot glasses:

[George Pomar]

My biggest collection has to be my golf towels from Vice Golf.  Vice is one of those companies that thrive off marketing campaigns, and so there is plenty of opportunity to grow the collection, and I'm on a constant lookout for older towels as well.  If I see someone at the golf course with one I don't own I'm likely to walk up and start negotiating for it!  They're unique, well made, and are always a conversation piece.

[Chris K]

I've never heard of golf towels before, probably because I haven't played golf, yet.

These look really nice and handy, thank you for sharing! :)

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

I've got three, but two of them are utterly pointless now, and I'm thinking they'll go to recycling if we move house.

• I play wargames, admittedly mostly online now, but I've got a collection of about 1,000 figurines that I used to play them in real life.  Most of which I think I did a decent job of painting.  We still use some of them during D&D games
• A complete set of Blake's Seven videos on VHS  (Worth it just for Avon, who I quote regularly - "I'm not expendable, I'm not stupid, and I'm not going")
• Again, VHS, every episode of Dr Who from Hartnell to McCoy.  A bit patchy for the first two recorded Doctors since the BBC lost the recordings, and some bits of the Pertwee years are only in black and white.  (Always thought his son could make a good Doctor too)

I have, of course, got both sets of VHS on a thumb drive so I don't have to get the VHS player out of the attic if I ever feel like watching them, but I think the tapes still all count as a collection.

Also, would Atlassian swag count as a "collection"?  I do have more Atlassian t-shirts than total-geek-but-not-Atlassian shirts (and that is not a small number)

[Chris K]

Wow, I am impressed about your figurines and can only image how much joy they gave you while playing D&D with friends :)

Atlassian swag definitely counts as collection, which you can also be very proud of ;)

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Games night last night, one of our players said he has about 40,000 Magic: The Gathering cards.  None of us have played for years, but we might give it a go soon!

[Manoj Gangwar]

Thanks for sharing the collections. Its so cool.

[Chris K]

Thank you :)

[Dan Breyen]

Well, I still have my baseball card collection from the 90's sitting on a shelf in a closet.  It's now collecting dust and not worth much.  But it was fun to find every individual card in a set back then.

[Chris K]

Even if it's now collecting dust, I can imagine that looking at these cards brings back memories of fun and a good time. That's all that matters :)

[Marjorie]

Might have to say it is my crafting materials.... over 100 ink stamps and tons of yarn and material....

[Amanda Barber]

I'd say my crafting materials are a collection, too. I do love that anytime my kiddos are inspired, they're likely to find what they need in our stashes of goodies! Someday I'll have the time and energy to craft again though....

[Chris K]

Wow! That sounds like a lot of crafting and fun. Thanks for sharing :)

[Esther Strom]

It would have been books, but I ran out of room in my tiny house years ago and replaced them all, with a few sentimental exceptions, with the Kindle version.

Now, I'd have to say it's yarn. This is about half of my stash; the other half is in another room.

[Chris K]

It's the same for me with books. The Kindle e-books take less space and are very handy, but there's nothing comparable than the feeling of turning a page of a real book :) Thank you for sharing your awesome yarn collection. I wish you a lot of fun creating awesome stuff :)

[Hana Kučerová]

Only collection I have is Atlassian pins :-)

[Chris K]

I really like those badges. That seems like a nice addition to the digital ones. May each new pin you acquire bring with it a sense of accomplishment and excitement.

[Walter Buggenhout]

Ooh, I like this post, @Chris K!

In the past I have collected all kinds of stuff, usually for a limited time. As a kid, when I still played football (or soccer, for the US peeps here) I used to collect football stickers to then paste into an album. Exchanging with friends at school was a major part of that as well.

My current shape being a terrific disguise, I used to be quite a decent sportsman back in the days as well. And so I have been collecting quite a lot of medals and trophies from football and running competitions mainly as well.

I've also had my science and archeology period, probably caused by the Indiana Jones movie series. And so I had a collection of pretty cool rocks and minerals at one point, now neatly stolen by my daughter who seems to be going through a similar phase right now.

In the digital times, not so long ago, I have been collecting Pokemons for a while. Until I found myself so attached to my mobile while walking around that I thought it might be more valuable looking at real things instead while visiting cities. Or paying more attention to the company I was in 😅, so I quite drastically removed the app from my phone. Not a bad decision, looking back at that.

And now, my only current collection(s) are Atlassian related. Thinking about extending my certificates collection a bit in the near future. Like @Nic Brough -Adaptavist- I have a huge collection of Atlassian and partner t-shirts my wife is not always very happy about. And a very special treasure box with my most precious Atlassian pins and awards, a couple of which I cherish very much:

The funniest one is in the top right corner: when I reached the 6-year tenure milestone in the online Community, I accidentally received the badge for 9 years instead - an understandable mistake that I still intended to call out some time. Not that I don't like the 9-year badge, but I'm missing the 6-year badge from my collection, now 🤗

[Amanda Barber]

It seems everyone goes through the rock and mineral collecting phase! I forgot that I had done that...as well as both of my kiddos. 💜

[Chris K]

I totally understand the allure of digital collecting, especially when it comes to Pokémon. It's so easy to get engrossed in the virtual world, but you made a wise decision to embrace the beauty of the real world and focus on the surrounding experiences.

Your Atlassian collection looks absolutely fantastic! The mix-up with the 6-year and 9-year badges adds a delightful twist to your collection, and I hope you'll get that 6-year badge to complete the set soon ;)

[Justyna Gdowik _ Deviniti _]

It reminded me of collecting trading cards in the early 2000s. (Image taken from the internet as I no longer have mine).

I fondly remember the thrill of negotiating and trading cards during school breaks. It was such a fun experience! Whether it was bartering for that coveted sports card or striking a deal for a rare movie-themed card (especially when there was glitter on it 🤩), the negotiations brought extra excitement to collecting.

[Chris K]

Though we may no longer have our collections, the memories and experiences remain :)

[Summer Hogan]

I didn't have any collections of anything until the last couple of years when I started to collect Funko Pops. In the past I have not been a collector of anything, but then I started to collect Harry Potter Funko pops and then it went to Marvel, Disney and so on and so forth. Here are some pics of my collection.

[Chris K]

I am pretty impressed about your collection. It looks like they have every character from the movies, even the house ghosts, like the nearly headless Nick and the bloody Baron. Thanks for sharing @Summer Hogan :)

[Dan Breyen]

I have my dust collection.  The only problem is every so often I just give up, clean it all up and it's gone.  The only problem is the dust collection has a mind of its own and magically comes back without any intervention.