World Atlas of Sands » Collections

Collections

14-Jan-2010

One question asked by many sand collectors (either beginners or “experienced” ones) is what shall be the optimum storage method for their sand samples. Basically there are two interconnected groups which I would define like this:

TECHNICAL COLLECTIONS

Here the samples are stored in either vials of different sizes meticulously displayed in racks of the same size and material (see photo below or Alain Couette, Charlette & Jean-Pierre Seys, Gary Buckham, Siim Sepp, William Beiriger) or little bottles well documented and labeled (see Frank Winger, Gianni Rovelli, Aylee Bits, Sue Robinson etc). Just by statistics, this storage method seems to be prefered by French and US collectors but this is just a personal feeling, no comprehensive data has been really analysed. Also included here are most collectors from Netherland who use small mount transparent boxes (see for example Ger Geerets);

DE | Ralf Hermann

ARTSY COLLECTIONS

They are mostly prefered by female collectors with obvious creative skills (again, just personal estimation, please no offense). Frequently the containers are not the same size and they are usually stored in living rooms or other places with good visibility (see below Renate Wilk, Dennis le Corre, Elke Wittich etc).

DE | Renate Wilk

GET INSPIRED

For new collectors who need to select the most convenient method but also for “older” ones who just enjoy admiring sand, I have put together a small selection of photographs depicting various types of sand collections. The images are imported from the collectors’ personal websites and have purely demonstrative purposes. The copyright belongs to the persons listed below photographs and a link back to the original site has been provided if available. Shall anybody feel that his/her collection photos need to be removed from this list, please do not hesitate to contact me.

AT | Bartek (Sandflower)