Jonathan Lee’s Thames home is a collector’s dream.
Bottles, toys, and all manner of dishware line the kitchen shelves.
An assortment of Art Deco light shades fill a nearby cabinet; through the window can be seen a vintage car and caravan.
In the lounge are more treasures – large jars of marbles, sailboats carved from bone, and an array of pottery from different eras and countries.
For Jonathan, collecting is a joy.
“Old stuff… it’s a tribute to good design, good materials,” he said.
“If it’s still around now, 100 years later, and people still want it, then it must have been well-made and well-designed in the first place. So it’s a bit of a celebration of things lasting, rather than the throwaway culture that we have today.”
He began collecting at around 16 years old, and now belongs to the Thames Vintage Bottles and Collectibles Club.
“It started as bottles, but like most bottle collectors it soon expanded into other areas,” he said.
“I went from bottles to Māori artefacts to colonial furniture… I never stop.”
Jonathan especially enjoys the thrill of putting together a complete set.
“It’s like critical mass – when you have so much stuff you can inevitably start making sets,” he said.
“I really like bringing stuff together and making it more saleable – not that I ever sell anything, but that’s the theory.”
Many of Jonathan’s treasures come from places like the Seagull Centre, eBay and other online stores. Sometimes, he doesn’t even have to leave the house.
“Some of [my] stuff’s been in boxes for, like, 15 years… we actually ended up finding that we had six pieces of uranium glass,” he said.
“So that was like a treasure hunt in my own collection – you forget what you’ve bought.”
Jonathan will be sharing some of his treasures with the public at this year’s Antiques and Collectibles Show, back for a second year after its successful debut in 2025.
The event, hosted by the Thames Vintage Bottle and Collectibles Club, is a way for the club to share the history of Thames and its artefacts with the public. There will be displays, sale stalls, and more.
Last year, Jonathan displayed his Art Deco glass. This time, his table is ocean-themed – but the exact items to be shown are still under wraps.
“It’s top-secret, can’t reveal too much. It’s old, though. And it’s not kitsch.”
Jonathan said he and his fellow collectors will be using the lessons learned at last year’s event to make their displays even more appealing.
“As exhibitors we have inside knowledge, so we see [items] in a different lens to the public,” he said.
“To someone walking past, they don’t know that here’s a $15,000 knife that is probably one of only two in the world – they’ll just look at the pretty [things]. So yeah, we learned something.
“But it’s also about sharing the social side of it with the club members, looking at their latest finds and seeing what they’ve discovered.”
DETAILS: Antiques and Collectibles Show and Sales, March 21, 10am-3pm at the Civic Centre, 200 Mary St, Thames. Entry $2.
