Why We Collect?

We are all interested in collecting cookie cutters. For many collectors, a cookie cutter collection starts small, maybe with cutters that mom or grandma bring out for the holidays.  My mother had some red plastic cutters of Santa, tree, reindeer and bell.  We made sugar cookies every year with them.  I bought my first cookie cutter as a souvenir from a tinsmith at the Dearborn, Henry Ford museum when I was 18.  It was a cute little whale.  I got some Tupperware at a party when I was a college student. When I got married, one of my friends gave me a springerle rolling pin.  I had a collection and didn’t even realize it.  My next purchase was also a souvenir, a wooden mold from Hong Kong.  I started buying Hallmark cutters every holiday and my collection of them is fairly complete.  Buying cookie cutters was a fairly cheap hobby then. The new cutters rarely cost more than $1.

Along the way I saw an ad for an antique show at the Denver Convention Center. That year there was a featured display of cookie cutters from a collector named Phyllis Wetherill.  I went to the show and met several other local collectors and found out about the Cookie Cutter Collector’s Club.  When I joined the club I was amazed by all of the information that is available for collectors.

The CCCC has a quarterly newsletter, “Crumbs” that has info about club conventions, regional meetings, new cutters and members.  We have a yearly membership cutter that is only available to those who are members.  Phyllis wrote several books about cookie cutters and other members have also published books about collecting.  We are now represented on the web with our own site and even on FaceBook with a page.

Most of you have seen the baskets of cutters that some vendors at antique stores, malls or thrift stores sell.  Most are very common cutters.  However sometimes a person can find a true gem.  A couple of my friends have found some of the most desired of collectables – an original of the little cutters that came on a Hallmark card during the 50’s.  Another friend found a set of the rarest cutters, 4 totally unique cutters that were produced as samples but never commercially sold.  Our group is designed to help us all know and trade information so we can all experience the great feeling of finding that gem we’ve been looking for!