Neville Trickett is a breed apart. He seemingly does everything. And he does it with extraordinary ability. He’s a painter, collector, gardener, retail genius and all-around master of the visual world. Trickett says these paintings are his attempt to see again. He finds the images on the internet and then gives himself 15 minutes to paint each one. The gesture of these small studies manages to capture everything and more about the things themselves. See more of his paintings here. And do take a look at his photostream if you want to peer into his vast cabinet of curiosities.

All this just makes me happy. I found a whole box of those white plaster letters!

Paris. Vanves flea market. Do they look French?

Lung preservers were recommended as a way of warding off dangerous chills, or worse. The beautiful pink specimen pictured above was found over at the spectacular graphic archive of Sheaff Ephemera. (A word of warning, their site is addictive.) The tomato-colored one is from the Science Museum of London’s website which chronicles the history of medicine. Times may have changed, but who says you can’t wear one of these anyway.

I have no idea where this compulsion comes from. But it’s undeniably bad. For years now, probably since I was seven, I’ve been collecting labels and tags of all kinds. This is but a sampling of my arsenal. Once, when I was in Paris, I confess to having ripped three pages of stationery store listings out of the phone book in my hotel room. And the thing is, I am definitely not alone in this pursuit. That said, I’ve promised myself that if this stockpile ever threatens to outgrow the confines of its designated box…out it goes.