Verge; A Unity of Things

By Jo Phillips

Some people collect trading cards. Some collect old coins; 50ps with rare patterns, worth more than their original value. Product designer Staf Schmool collects rare, unusual objects which belong to an earlier time. The fascinating element of the project, fittingly titled ‘Queer Tools’, is the story behind the item’s acquisition, as much as the item itself.

Queer0057Along with the photographs of the items, Schmool describes different and separate journeys of how each thing found its way into his hands. The acquisition of the glove (above), for example, was arbitrary and unplanned, Schmool discovering its use only after purchasing it. The orange plastic winder/grinder (below), he describes as a cross between a torture weapon and a kid’s toy.

Queer0009His uniting of such products give them an essence. It’s the professional organisation and unpredictable selection of items as a unit which actually make them something.

To find out more about Schmool, and for a taste of the other peculiar objects that have been in his collection, see the piece in our latest issue, Real Life and Role Play: Staf’s Stash. They get stranger.

To see Schmool’s current archive, click here.

Photographer: Nigel Haynes

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