The Art of Buying Souvenirs I Use and Remember

Small, Memorable and Unique

I would like to say that I am the kind of person who does not buy souvenirs. I keep all of my memories in my head and take only pictures to remember my travels. I would like to say that I am a minimalist who doesn’t need to clutter my living space with things that collect dust. I would like to say this because I feel uneasy with the way we covet things, how the commercial world has us convinced that we can not possibly be happy unless we are consuming.

This would be totally untrue though, because I absolutely love seeing and then buy thing things that people put their creative passion into. I love baskets, textiles, ceramics, masks, and all kinds of artistic endeavors. And I love bringing them home and decorating my house with them.

One of the problems I have encountered however is that these lovely, special things are often fragile and/or heavy. They are difficult to transport and as if that wasn’t bad enough, the airlines have now all but forbidden us from having luggage unless you want to pay the moon for it. So, I began to collect jewelry long ago. It is small, and I can wear it so it doesn’t cause any of the aforementioned problems. When I select an outfit in the morning, I look through my memories and think about the people and places they came from, and triggering memories is a daily occurrence.

Here are some of my favorites.

Spain

The first time I came to Spain, I was going to a conference in Salamanca with 2 of my colleagues. We flew in and out of Madrid but had only one afternoon to explore the city because the university sponsoring our trip had a strict rule that we could only be in the country of the conference if we were actually at the conference the entire time. It was forbidden to take a few days before or after so free time was precious.

The whole time we were in Spain however we enjoyed the tapa culture. Calamari, jamon, queso, olives and mushrooms are a few of my favorites. So, when I stumbled upon a little store selling only jewelry made from silverware, I had my souvenir. This little fork reminded me of an octopus, an animal I love to share the planet with, not eat. Octopus is common in Spanish cuisine even if I usually choose to abstain in deference to its intelligence and uniqueness. If you haven’t seen it yet, the documentary “My Octopus Teacher” is fantastic as is the book “The Soul of an Octopus”, I highly recommend them if you are octocurious.

Bali

Bali has to be one of my favorite places on Earth. I first visited in the early 90s when I was in my 20s. The natural beauty, wildlife, food, music, architecture and people were like nothing I had ever experienced before so I knew my family would love it when I returned with them. I was an early riser and I loved to get up with the sun but my family didn’t so those first beautiful, silent hours of the day I spent alone with my camera wandering around the garden.

I say alone, but I was far from being by myself. The insects were hard at work. I overcame my fear of spiders by watching them weave webs every morning and as the sun illuminated the scene at an early morning angle, it caught the beauty of the dragonflies.

Here is my story about photographing spiders.

Because I like to travel slow, I had rented a house near Ubud for the entire month of our vacation and we had lots of time to explore the area in detail. One day I took my daughter to the library and we saw that we could sign up for a silver-jewelry making workshop. We each had to design our own necklace before we could start working on it. I decided to design something that would remind me of those early mornings. Whenever I wear it, even now, 10 years later, my mind goes back to that garden and those dragonflies and I remember the awe I felt just being there.

Budapest

Quite a few years ago, I was working in Turkey and I had to go to Budapest for a training. My daughter was young and leaving her was always a huge mishmash of feelings. On the one hand, I hated leaving her and I missed her the whole time. On the other hand, being a mother to a young child and working full time was exhausting, especially because my daughter was super active and demanded constant attention when she was young, so going to Budapest, even on a work trip, was like a relaxing vacation.

On this trip, we were given several hours every day to explore the city and on one of those days I wandered into a souvenir shop. Usually I stay away from shops that sell mass produced things because I prefer to buy jewelry from the artists who make it.

This time however, I chose this mass produced necklace that depicted a part of painting by Gustov Klimt because at that moment I was missing my daughter and very much wanted to put my arms around her. I bought 2, one for me and one for one of my best friends who also has a daughter.

When she came to visit me last year, she was looking at my necklace wall and asked if she could wear it because she had left hers at home. In some small way, this tiny souvenir connects us even though we were not together when I bought it. Both my daughter and my friend were in my heart while I was in that shop in Budapest, so many years ago.

Japan

One of the things I loved most about living in Japan was the absolute reverance people have for nature there. Festivals are held in honor of the cherry blossom, the hydrangea flower and the lotus. Japanese art is full of plants. Every year, incredibly delicate and beautiful sweets are made that take the form and color of the flora of that particular season.

While walking from the train station to Ginza, the heart of upscale shopping in Tokyo, one Saturday, I came across a tiny store selling jewelry made from leaves. I thought that surely I would not be able to afford anything because it looks so elegant and refined and it was after all, almost in Ginza. Everything was reasonably priced however, not cheap mind you, but not expensive either. The proprietor greeted me as I entered. An older gentleman who seemed delighted to see me. He explained that he made each piece himself from leaves he gathered in the fall. He selected each leaf for its shape and size.

I selected this necklace with a ginko leaf because in front of the university where I worked there was a whole line of ginko trees and every year, in the fall, the sidewalk would turn golden when the leaves fell and it always felt magical.

He was so pleased when I bought it and I can still remember his smile.

Souvenirs are meant bring back memories. For years my jewelry was divided between my parent’s house in the States and wherever I was living at the time. I couldn’t travel with all of it because I didn’t want to risk losing it and because even though one necklace doesn’t weigh much, a whole bunch of them does.

So, when my parents came to visit and they asked me what they could bring, I asked for my jewelry. That evening, after they went to bed, I went into the guest room (I had given my parents my room) and I spent hours looking at each piece and remembering where and when I got it.

I felt a little embarrassed when I put it all out and it took up most of one wall. It looked like so much all hanging up but then I remembered, there is a lifetime of moments up there and I love remembering every time I put something on. I look forward to adding more memories soon when I go to Morocco with my daughter for her birthday this year.

Other articles about souvenirs that I loved this month (I loved them all but am choosing 2) were the following 2.

This article by Marianne O was thought provoking and gave a really insightful look at buying souvenirs in Asia.

Jordan | Sunriser Club found a special ring on her travels and her story of her experience in Galway is really a special story.