In the past, Lake Effect's "It's a Material World" segment has looked at what happens to beloved objects when their owners passed away.
However, contributor Gianofer Fields is flipping that question on its head to find out what happens to a collector when her collection of objects has disappeared?
Fields' good friend and fellow Wisconsinite Jen Jeneric says she isn't much of a collector and the state of her precious collection of playing cards proves that point.
"Probably about 20 years ago I went to Niagra Falls and I bought a set of playing cards there that was round and had pictures from Niagra Falls, and I loved those playing cards. And I started noticing other playing cards when I went out places, so I started collecting playing cards. I have probably twenty decks of playing cards, but I have no idea where they are," says Jeneric.
Jeneric says that doesn't mean she doesn't miss the pieces she hand-selected, but she also doesn't feel any anxiety over her lost collection.
"I don't feel like I need to know where they are. Knowing that I have them and that one day I'll see them again is really all I need."
Gianofer Fields studies material culture at UW-Madison and is the curator of "It's a Material World" - a project funded by the Chipstone Foundation, a decorative arts foundation whose mission is preserving and interpreting their collection, as well as stimulating research and education in the decorative arts.
Original air date: 04/19/14
