its accessible from a cost point of view and

Chicago collectors show off their stuff

"Collecting is 1:1 replica handbags intellectual stimulation, it's social bonding, it's organization," says Dr. Shirley Mueller, a neuroscientist and collector whose new book "Inside the Head of a Collector: Neuropsychological Forces at Work" is scheduled for release in August.

Collecting is an ancient human impulse, one that often begins in childhood. And it delivers the straight dopamine: "People collect for one reason and that's because it makes them feel good," says Mueller. "When we're anticipating getting a desired object, the pleasure centers of our brain light up even fake louis bag more than they do once we have the object. Collectors get to do that over and over again." Go ahead, take another hit off the eBay.

Plus, collecting, in spite of an image that had been stuck somewhere between fussy (fancy porcelain figurines) and childish (Star Wars figurines) has suddenly laid claim to its own brand of cool. Witness, for example, the renewed obsession with vinyl records both old and new. The "urban jungle" trend of collecting as many houseplants as possible. Or the stats that show that millennials, though they may move more often than past generations and supposedly have an aversion to more "stuff," are the fastest growing segment of fine art buyers, outstripping Gen Xers.

Elise Maltby's collection of vintage portraits of men is featured on the living room wall of her Gold Coast apartment. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Elise Maltby with her collection of artwork, assembled over the past 10 years mainly from auctions. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Elise Maltby, a 31 year old director of marketing who lives in small but tasteful Gold Coast apartment, has been collecting for nearly a decade. She started her collection of "old man paintings" a group of hand replica designer handbags painted portraits of men while working at her first job at Hindman auctions.

"I saw that some of the more contemporary pieces, the things people were more obviously drawn to, were snapped up right away," she says. On a limited budget, she began to look for "things I was drawn to that were a little bit different" and settled on a slow but steady accumulation of vintage portraits via auctions and antique shows. She'll be at this weekend's Chicago Antiques + Art + Design show at the Merchandise Mart, looking for a new resident for the dark blue accent wall in her living room.

"There are so many mass produced things in the world," she says, "and I think there's something really exciting about bringing something like this into your home versus something from Target or Ikea that you see in three other people's homes the second you walk in."

The sense of the unexpected and the handmade is a big part of what gives collections their cool. Architects Dan and Julie Wheeler have filled their Lincoln Park home with objects they are passionate about: midcentury salt and pepper mills from the Danish company Dansk cheap replica handbags Designs; toleware from Chicago designer Georges Briard; vintage hose nozzles and a collection of vintage paint by numbers paintings that spans three floors. They routinely map out thrift stores to hit when they travel, enjoying the hunt for new treasures together.

"We've collected only things that had real purpose and use," says Dan Wheeler. "It's accessible from a cost point of view and they're not seen as high art elements but more as evidence of the common man, in a way."

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Studying the minute variations in each iteration of a pepper mill feeds Dan's fascination with "design evolution, and all the variations that occur over time. It relates to how we practice architecture, and how I teach architecture."

replica louis vuitton For the Wheelers, as for most collectors, time is also part of the collection. As their house began to age, more paint by numbers paintings went up to cover cracking Perfect Quality Louis Vuitton Replica plaster, a simple and aesthetically pleasing solution.

It wasn't just collections piling up it was memories too. The Danish designs Dan loved brought forth his childhood, when his parents, both designers, collected Dansk designs to use as everyday household objects. Julie's collection of Fisher Price toys dates back to when their children, now grown, were toddlers. "Both Julie and I have collected things that meant something to us from the past," Dan says.

Arden Fanning with two of her vintage faux Louis Vuitton suitcases at home in Noble Square. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Arden Fanning's collection of vintage faux Louis Vuitton. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

For Arden Fanning, a freelance journalist who writes for Vogue and lives in a loft in Noble Square, collecting is also a physical tie to memory. Her collection of vintage faux Louis Vuitton bags was inherited from her mother, an attorney who passed away a few years ago.

"My mom was a total Texas babe, and she had a really cool style," Fanning says. "It was so her to high quality replica handbags china have the fake Vuitton maybe some of it's real, nobody knows, but I like to think that it's all fake because that makes it more funny and less gross consumerism."

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Fanning's collections are also useful objects, she says. Basics such as Q tips and toiletries are stored in a collection of blue glass pieces, mostly gifts from her husband, which match the color of the blue topaz in her engagement ring. And the faux Vuitton fake designer bags serves as all purpose storage, corralling everything from her wedding dress to her laptop, pens and notebooks.

"I feel like people get really attached to their objects and don't let them replica louis vuitton bags live," she says. "I do like the idea of letting your objects live with you and continue to serve their purpose. I think you should use the things you have and if it breaks, fix it."

In other words, don't be timid. Collecting is all about jumping in.

"Start with something you're interested in," says aaa replica designer handbags Dan Wheeler, "that's tied to your profession, or your childhood, it could be anything, really." Here's what you need to know to get started.

The Lincoln Park home of Dan and Julie Wheeler, where their collections fill the space. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

"Too much" is not really a thing. Since collecting is psychologically tied to organizing objects, true collectors will store or display their finds in some kind of Designer Louis Vuitton Replica Handbags organization, or give them a practical use. (If anyone asks, this is one thing that makes you a collector, not a hoarder.) Repetition is not only fun, it makes collecting chic. "Once you get beyond three it starts to become a collection," says Dan Wheeler. "One is a single object, then you get two and it's kind of lonely and then when you get three they start to have a dialogue amongst themselves and a family starts to assemble."

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Go for objects with a story. Maltby's portraits have histories replica louis vuitton that can be researched, but they're also a jumping off point for stories of her own. "Even if they don't have a story that comes with them, you can't help but look at them and think, 'What was this person's story and where was this piece before it wound up in my apartment?' It's fun to create that narrative." The story behind collections is what makes them personal, whether it's historical detail or just a good yarn about the trip you took to find your next treasure.

Collecting is a social network. "The sense of friendship and social bonding with other collectors is one of the main things that people value about collecting," says Mueller.

Practical collections are good collections. Not only is it hip to elevate everyday objects to cult status, it keeps collecting within your price range. "It's cost effective," says Dan Wheeler. And the more tied to real life your collection is, the easier it is to use and appreciate it in your own daily life.