Posts Tagged ‘show and tell’

Collectors’ Night 2019!

"Collectors" spelled out using different vintage objects.

Saturday, September 7, 2019 6:00-9:00 p.m. Tickets available at the link!

At Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 275 N. 8th Street, Williamsburgh, Brooklyn, NY

General admission tickets $20 /$10 discounted tickets available to presenting collectors and City Reliquary Members.

The City Reliquary is proud to present our 14th Annual Collectors’ Night! Every year, collectors and archivists – whose collections run the gamut from loose groupings to the hyper-specific – display their treasures to the public and share their stories in a rapid-fire show and tell. It is an opportunity to get up close with obsessive labors of love.

Our featured presenter on September 7 will be architect and NYU Professor Louise Harpman, who will be speaking about her collection of coffee cup lids! Her recent book (co-written with Scott Specht) on the surprisingly complex design of this ubiquitous yet commonly overlooked item has received rave reviews, and she even acts as a consultant on coffee cup lid design from time to time!

We’ll also have a very special live model presentation of handmade vintage Hungarian dresses from director, actor, and fashion maven Syrie Moskowitz!

In addition, we’ll have our usual eccentric variety of collections – check out these photos of past editions! Small collections of large things. Large collections of small things. Commonplace items with a singular theme. Vintage, obscure, and ephemeral. Precisely laid out vitrines or piles of whatsits. You’ll see it all!

Do you have a collection you’d be interested in displaying at Collectors’ Night 2019? Big or small, loosely grouped or exactingly themed, obscure or commonplace, vintage or brand new – we’d love to see it! Follow this link to complete a brief application form. If accepted, you’ll receive a code for discount tickets and special instructions. We’ll try to get back to you speedily – usually within a day.

We hope to see you on September 7 as a collector or guest!

Show and Tell- Buckfast

Last night, Show and Tell returned from its summer hiatus with a bang! Many great stories were shared, but one stood out. Two of our guests were visiting from Ireland and brought their favorite alcohol, Buckfast, with them to share with the friends who were hosting them. They also chose to share some with the Show and Tell crowd.

While drinking the Buckfast, the pair told many hilarious stories about the drink. According to them, it is the Four Loko of Ireland; it has more caffeine and alcohol than any other drink sold. They used to drink it while playing late nights in a 16 person 90’s cover band, of which they shared a rap with Show and Tell. After they finished with many hilarious stories, someone from the audience asked, “Where can you get this in Ireland?” To which the visitors answered that you had to go to the liquor store because if the bars sold it they wouldn’t be standing anymore.

Show and Tell: Debbie and Día de los Muertos

February 17th was the monthly Show and Tell night at the City Reliquary. We had an amazing crowd that night. They were ready to listen, applaud, ask questions, and share some items from their personal collections.

One featured piece came from Arthur, the guest of one of the Reliquary’s fabulous volunteers. Perhaps inspired by the host’s policy of “you always have something on you with an interesting story,” Arthur shared his belt with the audience. While in the southwest, Arthur had taken one of his favorite belts with him. The belt was hand tooled leather and, unfortunately for Arthur it had been made for someone other than himself, bearing the name “Debbie” across the back. In his travels, he came across a man who makes hand-tooled leather belts. The man said to him “let me make you a belt.” However, Andy never received this belt before he left the area.

A little disheartened, he left the area assuming that he would never receive a belt with his own name inscribed into its surface. However, some time later he received a package in the mail. Inside the package was just such a belt, which also included snare drums flanking the sides of his name. Unfortunately, this package also included something else with Arthur’s name on it, a hefty and unexpected bill. 

Later in the night a Show and Tell newcomer shared something from his time in New Orleans with the crowd. The guest had been the assistant to a prominent celebrity photographer in Louisiana. After working with the photographer for some time, he had been told that the man was bankrupt and that he would soon be out of a job. As a severance gift, the guest received this Día de los Muertos, or Mexican Day of the Dead, statue. The figurine features a skeleton standing up and posing for a crouching figure with a camera. The guest was given this gift on his last day of work, as the photographer was about to work on a set with musician Kid Rock. As with most rock stars, Kid Rock entered the studio with his entourage, which included: a man with a fanny pack whose job was to supply cigars and a woman named Stormy, whose job it was to look good. While working, the guest had set down his skeletons haphazardly. Before he knew it, Stormy had sat on his new gift from his boss. Thankfully, the gift remained virtually in tact, if a bit wobbly.

Collector’s Night: Pilgrimages


For those who have yet to attend, on the third Thursday of every month the City Reliquary Museum hosts an event called “Collector’s Night.” Here, people are invited to bring in an object that has an particularly interesting story and share with the rest of the group.

As Paul, the event’s host, demonstrated, the item can be anything from something you carry around every day to an object fragile enough to rarely leave the house. For his example, Paul showed veteran and first-time collectors how something he has carried on his key-chain for over twenty years can still be intriguing.

After Paul’s introduction, this Collector’s Night first-timer shared something from her personal collection that, unlike Paul’s coin, rarely leaves her house.

After taking a series of self-described “soul-sucking jobs,” this visitor felt like she needed a break from city life as well as her employers. Through intensive research, she came across El Camino de Santiago de Compostela, or The Way of Saint James. This pilgrimage can begin in one of several places and ends at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain, where it is said that a piece of the True Cross is held in their reliquary as well as the bones of Saint James the Apostle.

During each pilgrim’s trek, they have to bring a booklet, which they get stamped at several checkpoints. In order to be allowed to continue on your pilgrimage you must have your paper stamped by the previous stops. This paper is what this collector chose to bring in for the night.

At over 500 miles long, the pilgrimage can take both a physical and emotional toll on those who choose to undertake it. While our guest did not walk the entire path, she did describe how she was changed for the better in the bit that she did walk. In addition to meeting new people, she also changed her outlook on life and her career choices. While she did return to the same type of job that she held before the pilgrimage, she did come to look at it in a new way and appreciate the work she was doing.

For more information on El Camino de Santiago de Compostela visit this website.