I am participating in “an experiment in narrative and capitalism” called The Significant Objects Project. Ander Monson’s Advanced Fiction Workshop (University of Arizona) is the engine driving this cool initiative, and I heard about it because I am interested in all things DIAGRAM, and asked if I could get in on the game!
I spent a few weekends looking for something, anything, at yard sales, church fleas, rummage tables, junk shops, thrifts and consignments, imagining I’m starring an episode of Flea Market Flip or Bargain Hunt!… on a shoestring budget.
I had no idea what I was looking for, but that $5 price point limited the scope of the shop. I wound up finding three cool things: an engraved birthday locket with a mirror at Act II Consignment Shoppe in Stirling, NJ; a Tiffany & Co children’s plate at the Green Village Firehouse Rummage Sale, and a pretty little animal pin at a charity thrift (The Market Street Mission Thrift in Morristown, NJ).
I gave the locket to one of my sons whose birthday was literally that day. A friend just flat-out handed me $30 for the plate. (It has dancing bunnies and ducks on it and that $30 went to good use at the local as we started ‘thrinking’ what a weird pin I found).
Long story short: I thought of something sweet and sad and loving, and wrote a story and mailed the pin to Ander. He listed it as an EBAY auction. Now I ask you to read the story and, if you desire, to place a bid on this cool object.
The story of this brooch mixes green magic, local history, places I love (an estate called Blairsden, the Great Swamp, and the Watchung Mountains), then old maids and shipping insurers and Nantucket and massive kitchens, light-lipped lads and and lovely Scots cooks.
Here is a LINK TO THE LIVE AUCTION. It starts 6AM Arizona time on 28 Oct 2026 and will be open to bidding for about a week.
If you win the auction, THANK YOU!!! and you’ll receive this hand-painted mother-of-pearl pin, blessed with good luck, along with a limited edition copy of the story (as in the only one), printed and mailed to you from Significant Object HQ in AZ. Pictures of the pin are at the auction.
Oh, and it’s for a good cause. Ander set The Significant Objects Project up so the proceeds of the auction are donated to an animal shelter.
Any earnings from the sale go to The Hermitage No-Kill Cat Shelter and Sanctuary in Tucson, Arizona. In the spirit of good-willing and no-killing, I’ll match* the winning bid for this Scots Luckenbooth-style MOP OOAK pin (that’s EBAY shorthand for mother-of-pearl, one of a kind) so that the shelter gets double the donation for this Significant Object.
Here is a photo of my favorite cat. His name is Gallon and he came from Japan with my son and his wife when they returned to the USA. He is the sweetest little guy, and I am glad they were able to save this noble soul. Mr. Gallon is a beautiful part of this world. So are you. Save the cats.
Thank you for bidding, or reading, or both. The holidays are nigh!
May love and joy visit you today. <3 Thank you for visiting my website.
(Note: Significant Objects 2026 is based on the 2009 Significant Objects project which is quite the hoot and features writing from greats like William Gibson and Sheila Heti!)
Header image: Scott Kahn, “April in Old Lyme” 2008; Oil on Linen, 30×36″; Shown at David Zwirner, 537 W 20th Street, NYC; September 10 – October 17, 2026; Photo (c) A.E. Weisgerber 2026
*up to $200 (can’t break the bank when Mr. Gallon eats that Royal Canin digestive chow!) <3 <3
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