What Makes Our Cultural Heritage So Valuable To The Individual & The Nation?

As a Canadian and a collector, when I say “our cultural heritage” it means – the expression of art from a divergent range of people. In Canada this includes influences, artifacts, writings, and beautiful hand made works or designs that were brought here from other countries.

On an individual level, we are more likely to resonate with, and remember the culture of our ancestors. We also learn about and share different cultures among families, friends, neighbours, communities, and travel. We all know how much food and music influences culture in every country of the world. So we can begin to recognize the patterns contained within a wide variety of cultural influences and designs.

We all come from a unique perspective, beginning with the family we are born into. This expands into a curiosity and awareness of the things around us that intrigue us or influence our senses. How many of us recall playing with the hand-painted Russian wooden nesting dolls? There was one on the shelf in our Swedish grandparents house. As a small child, I knew it came from somewhere far away.

In my opinion, one of the benefits of culture to society is in what we can learn from thier labours. It lets us examine how they did things, what they wore, and  what came out of the lifestyles of the past. The range of patterns and design is intriguing, inspirational, and thought provoking.

I have been trying to create a material landscape of the dispossessed – to show that throwaways, and things from the past, are often much better than what is new.

Through the long process of establishing an online store, especially doing all the product photography, I have learned to appreciate the designs of some of the most talented designers and jewelry makers of this century. Even though it is a fairly humble collection compared to museums and rich people, it still shows who we are and where we came from. This collection has roots.

The Quiet West collection was gathered from the west coast of Canada over four decades. Even so, the items in the store come from all over the world. It is especially thrilling for me, when I come across some of the famous Canadian designers from Montreal and Toronto.

I can clearly see that Montreal has gifted Canada with a reputation for excellence in fashion and the arts. Canada may not be seen as the epicentre of the Parisian French fashion flair. But we do have a significant and impressive mid-century contribution to the world of fashion from Eastern Canada.

As time goes by, the material remnants of the previous century begin to disappear. People tend to look at old photographs to see both style, and lifestyle.

Although I have a long way to go to become more consistent with the photos, I do believe an online collection of art and fashion from the past can contribute much toward education, design, pattern recognition, care and preservation, textiles, and appreciation of the arts. If each country had such a collection, it would be very interesting to peruse. Of course, so much of it depends on what the collector is looking for.

But most of all, it’s the nostalgia it creates that connects us to the past, and to each other in a positive way. Our world has changed quite dramatically this past couple of years.

We can look to the past without clinging to it. We can seek what is good, and get our heads out of the dark shadows when they pass overhead. We can turn our focus toward aesthetics, learning and labours of love.

Over the years, so many things get lost in time – through fires, floods, and the migration of people from one location to another.

Some of the past is worth hanging onto, and some of the past should be let go. But nevertheless – it is what we know. Tangible is touchable – and it keeps us in touch with the remnants and the roots of our past.