Guestblog: 17th Biennial Thimble Collectors International Convention

When my friend Cole told me she was attending a thimble convention, I begged her to write me up a guest post. Cole Imperi is creative director at Doth Brands and curator of Simplicity Embellished. Simplicity Embellished is a blog about writing letters, home & garden and more.

Thimbles.

Do you know what a thimble is?

A thimble is a small, usually metal, cap used to protect the tip of your finger while sewing. It helps you push the needle through the fabric. They are one of the most basic of sewing tools and have been in use for centuries. The earliest known thimble was found at Pompeii—that’s how old they are.

So, needless to say, there’s quite a bit of history behind them.

Last week I attended the 17th Biennial Thimble Collectors International Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. I attended as the the guest of Lucerne Wulf, a noted and well-established thimble maker. She is one of just a handful of these artisans left and is in her 80s.

Now, I’m not a thimble collector. Before last week, I owned one thimble. It’s a little sterling silver thimble with a cat on the outside. Lucerne made it for me when I was about 13.
This week? I not only have 18 thimbles, but I also have a display rack. And I'm pretty sure you can call me a collector.

Oh, and if you are at all concerned about my cool factor, I honestly have no idea what this does to it. If I was collecting albums played at high school proms held in the 1980s, you could pat me on my back and call me a hipster. But I’m pretty sure identifying yourself as a thimble collector negates you from any social category.

Anyhoo, the convention was fascinating. It took place at the Hilton in downtown Cincinnati (one of my favorite buildings in the city) and I left each day exhausted.

You know, with any uncommon interest, it’s sometimes hard to find others who enjoy it too. The main rooms at the convention were filled with people who were incredibly knowledgeable about thimbles and insanely passionate about them too. It sounds odd, but when you stepped into the room you could definitely feel the energy inside. These people live for these conventions—in many cases it’s the only time they can really throw themselves into their passion.

Most of the attendees were older women. However, I was surprised at the number of men there. Most of the men were husbands and I assumed they just came along with their wives. Not a single man I spoke to was there because of his spouse—they were there of their own accord and interest. One man I spoke to was actually responsible for his wife’s collecting as he introduced her to that. The youngest person there was 15 and the oldest people were in their 80s. There were people there from Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, England and 33 states. This was a BFD to say the least.

On Friday, I attended the ‘Sales Mall’ from 9am-11am. This is where all the vendors set up tables and sold their wares. When I showed up that morning, I first just walked around to all the tables. I was expecting to only see thimbles but there were all kinds of antiques and vintage items like needle cases, vintage promotional needle books, old corporate trading cards, antique sewing accessories and more. I spoke with a lot of the vendors and asked lots of questions. I found that there were collectors who specialized in collecting:

• political thimbles (I spotted a small plastic one that read ‘Jesse Jackson for President '88’)
• advertising thimbles (like from companies and brand names)
• religious thimbles
• animal thimbles
• thimbles made of odd materials (I saw one made out of a carrot)
• gold thimbles (like, expensive gold thimbles)
• sterling silver thimbles

The list really goes on.

Prices started at about $1 and went up from there. I think I heard that at the auction they had a thimble that went for more than $1,000.

After browsing all the tables, I went back to purchase a few. I managed to find a few from Jerusalem with Jewish stuff on them, like a Star of David and a Hamsa Hand. I got some Pope thimbles (love you JP II--RIP) and some odds and ends that just interested me.


I asked about 15 vendors if they had any fountain pen related thimbles. NONE DID! I was shocked! (I collect and write with fountain pens, hence why I was interested.)

I also made some friends at the convention. A new friend in Australia gifted me a thimble with a kangaroo on top. In fact, I was exhausted from all the talking. Everyone there was so friendly and made a point to come meet me. And understandably so; they probably don’t get many 25 year old women at these events so I probably stuck out a bit.

So, after having digested this unique experience, it has inspired me to get more involved with the things I’m interested in and collect. And wouldn’t you know it, Cincinnati has a lot to offer here. There’s a fountain pen convention coming up soon and a stamp collecting club meets monthly here in town too. I’ll be attending those events and I’m looking forward to meeting people interested in the things I am too.

And it’s crazy, but I really adore the thimbles I’ve got. Each of them have a unique history behind them and story.

Oh, and if you are out at a yard sale and someone is selling an old thimble for 25 cents—buy it! I heard story after story of people who did just that and ended up with solid sterling silver thimbles, highly valuable thimbles or 18kt gold thimbles.

Happy Collecting!
Cole

Thimble Collectors International: http://www.thimblecollectors.com/