Stories of long-term ownership, maintenance rituals, and data from readers about what truly lasts over time.
Examines how repurposed or up-cycled products carry narratives and how owners relate to those stories — tying into how individuals develop long-term relationships with durable items.
Conflicting narratives of product longevity — qualitative study of owner stories and practices around long-lasting products.
Studies real households and how they actively engage in maintenance, modification and product life extension.
Simple Tips for Home Care You can take small steps at home to prevent damage and slow down deterioration of your cherished items. At Winterthur, and at other museums, we..
Reads that inspire thoughtful ownership and durability.
In this engaging and deeply moving book, Tracy chronicles the wondrous interior life of those possessions and discovers that the roots of our passion for acquisition often lie not in shallow materialism but in our desire to possess the most treasured commodity of all: a connection to the past.
Keep only what sparks joy—and invest in fewer, better things.
A long-vanished thing that lingers in your memory—whether you want it to or not? As much as we may treasure the stuff we own, perhaps just as significant are the objects we have, in one way or another, lost.
Winner, 2025 Society of Midland Authors Award in Adult Fiction In this haunting debut collection, best-selling author Miles Harvey probes the mysterious relationship between human longings and the secret lives of inanimate objects.
A set of old apartment keys, a pair of worn running shoes, a declaration of love scribbled on a restaurant receipt. Beautiful stories that celebrate the power an object can hold are at the heart of The Heirloomist by photographer Shana Novak, creator of the project of the same name dedicated to documenting keepsakes and transforming them into uniquely meaningful works of art.
The most comprehensive book on preserving every type of collectible -- from the sentimental to the valuable -- from the Smithsonian's Senior Conservator. For both the serious collector and the sometimes sentimentalist, Saving Stuff explains -- in plain language -- how you can use the techniques of museum professionals to keep your prized possessions in mint condition.
Snapshots that reveal how durability, value, and culture intersect.
Plastic kills over 1 million seabirds every year
In the U.S., 85% of textiles end up in landfills or incinerated each year.
47% of global consumers said they prefer to own fewer but higher-quality items