Sentimental Maximalism and the Politics of Trinket Collecting
Words: Sara Radin
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When Philadelphia-based artist Holly Simple was a child, she collected small things that felt special. Then, in high school she started a jewelry brand with her sister, which was made from junk and later, she developed another line made from broken objects.
Nowadays, Simple has an extensive collection of trinkets, which she organizes for events, offering trinket bars where people can select pieces to be made into custom jewelry. In this way, digging through her collection is nostalgic, reminding her of being a child digging through her mother’s stuff. The act brings a feeling of levity despite the chaos of the current climate. In this way, trinkets act as a protection barrier, a concept that’s gaining steam across the internet.
We’re now living in the era of sentimental maximalism, in which trinkets, charms, scrapbooking, and all sorts of girlish tchotchkes are trending en masse. Today’s trinket trend is an extension of “girlcore” in which young women are reclaiming girly things - focusing on self-expression and nostalgia, feelings that give us comfort and allow us to feel something deeper. “Everyone is looking for a source of joy—even if it's a tiny one,” says Emma Zacks, founder of Shop Berriez, which recently hosted a trinket focused event. “People are also searching for their own personal style, and having personalized trinkets and bag charms only adds to that,” she says.
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As the founder of Art Gurl, Meagan Mahaffy — who has long self-identified as a “trinket girly” and loved to collect things as a young girl — has built a collective bringing art into the wellness conversation. Growing up her room was full of figurines and cute, little knick-knacks she collected for fun. Nowadays, Mahaffy notes that “self-expression is not frivolous or simply cute.” She believes women are becoming awakened to patriarchal norms we’ve been living under — especially ones we grew up thinking we’re normal — and self-expression is becoming a hugely empowering tool for resistance. With this, she believes people feel more inclined to create and collect, to bring us back to moments of joy.
Trinkets along with bows, stickers, and junk journaling— think Martina Calvi’s work — are not just an aesthetic. “They are a tool of memory keeping and engaging with the world and honoring your memories,” comments Mahaffy. But also, they’re a tool one can use to reconnect with your inner child, self-expression, and creativity. “Those things are innate to the human experience but because of the conditions of capitalism and patriarchy, all of these things are often not prioritised,” she concludes. Accordingly, trinkets can be a way of prioritising yourself.
Beyond emotion, trinkets offer a deep level of personalisation. “People are so sick of the trend cycle being so quick,” adds Lisa Sahakian, founder of nostalgic jewelry brand Ian Charms. In this way, trinkets have staying power—akin to a junk journal, they’re a timestamp of your life and what you were into at different times. Yet at the same time, some creators are showing off mass consumption of trinkets, with videos of massive keychain collections and bag charms — which could be more about immediate gratification and a temporary balm. In this way, the trinket girl aesthetic is also being used in a capitalistic way to get people to spend money. While Mahaffy says that she’s seen that too, her lens on trinket curation is speaking more about collecting memories and being sentimental - “I think a trinket that you buy to further your aesthetic is not the same as a trinket that somebody gives you or that you get when you are traveling somewhere, or that you make yourself.”
“Trinkets are trending at a time when women’s rights are being slashed, creating a climate of self-preservation and the desire to feel empowered to be yourself.”
The sentimental maximalist movement is deeper than you might expect - in fact, Chelsea Perry, a journalist and fashion creator based in Toronto, thinks that young women in particular want to be seen and accepted, and find community, “People want that sense of belonging or identity that’s expressed through style,” she says. Trinkets are trending at a time when women’s rights are being slashed, creating a climate of self-preservation and the desire to feel empowered to be yourself. In this way, beyond the surface, they’re also about bodily autonomy as trinkets can express our political stances and become symbols of solidarity with different movements, which can be unique to each person. The mass adoption of the watermelon symbol in relation to being pro-Palestine comes to mind. Accordingly, when it comes to selecting trinkets, Perry recommends detaching yourself from looking “Pinterest perfect” and focusing on developing your own style.
When building your own collection, Mahaffy recommends asking yourself, “Do I want this because I saw someone on Instagram has it? Or do I want it because it's meaningful to me?” This, according to her, is where your own creative practice is super important as it can help you identify what you’re drawn to and the narrative you’re creating. With this, she’s made a rule for herself not to buy miscellaneous things unless there’s a distinct story behind the purchase. “You have to resist instant gratification and allow your collections to build overtime.”
Beyond the opposing arguments, Mahaffy believes that although trinkets are trendy at the moment, most people aligning with it aren’t aligning with it because it’s a trend. “It's just a way of expressing yourself in another way and self-expression is our birthright,” Mahaffy compounds, adding that it’s something we’re all meant to do and that collecting things is a human trait. “I used to work in museums and we talked all the time about the impulse to collect,” she says. “That impulse doesn't have to be stamped out when you get older.”
