This week I am choosing to describe two objects that together are significant to me. One is a glass jar, that was actually designed as a candle holder. I got this as a gift for christmas two years ago, and keep it on my desk here at school. At first, I knew I could not use this as it was designed, as candles are not allowed in the dorms, but I have kept the same use for it even after moving out. I use this jar to store the bottom of my to-do lists or grocery lists every few days. These lists, are the second item, and were a gift that I received after graduating high school. This notepad of lists has inspirational quotes on the bottom, and after each of my lists are complete or crossed off, I cut or rip off the quote at the bottom and store them in this jar.
The jar has succulents all over it, as a reminder of how I love these plants and the desert. The top is a rose gold color, and very shiny, as you can see your reflection in it. The jar was made in China, and purchased at the store Francesa’s.
The notepad, is also made in China, but originally purchased at TJ Maxx. It has a colored cover, and the pages are a cream colored with grey lines and text at the bottom. One thing I love about connecting these items, is that they match very nicely. The greys and blues in the succulents match the cover of the notepad, and the pinks and green succulents stand out more along with rosy top.
While these items are from two different manufacturing companies, and sold at two different stores, they originally both came from China. This was not surprising to me, as most things we purchase come from another country, most of them China. The jar was produced from TMD Holdings company, based primarily in Pittsburgh, PA and in China. This company was large, and manufactured a variety of products, and the website was very business oriented, with its tabs listing the processes of the company and their partners. While the notepad was produced from Eccolo, which is a company that produces stationary and other accessories primarily out of Italy, but has this World Traveler line to include a more global perspective. This website, was very aesthetically pleasing, and more focused on advertising the products than the business or manufacturing process.
What drew me to writing this post was how inseparable these items are to me. I use them together, in a way that is meaningful to me, but they also serve as a reminder of my cousins and the thought they put into purchasing these objects for me. What’s crazy to me is how they were purchased at different times but still work so well together that I almost forget I had one before the other. In the back of the notepad, I still keep the note my cousin wrote when giving me this gift. It is hard for me to separate these items now, because I use them together, and keep them close to each other on my desk. These objects are extremely important to me, because of their practical purpose, but also for how they make me happy, and think of my cousins when I use them.
The Materials of History, Thought, and Art 
Olivia, I found your blog post for this week fascinating. As you have already noted in your post, candles are not allowed in dorms on campus, so I found it interesting how you were able to take your jar and find another purpose by storing inspirational quotes from your to-do and grocery lists. It’s interesting how over time these two items, as you noted, have become inseparable. I feel the same way with the computer and stylus I own. While my computer does help me with designing 3D CAD models, constructing PowerPoint presentations, and writing reports, the stylus boosts the utility and meaning of my computer. The stylus enables me to take digital notes while in class and revise photographs in Adobe Photoshop – two tasks I value heavily – so in the few cases when I am without my stylus, I feel as if I am missing an integral component to my computer. Overall, this was a very interesting read. Well done.