What kinds of stories do inanimate objects tell, and what stories can we tell about them? Two projects I recently learned of look at the story possibilities behind two, perhaps unlikely, sets of objects — clothing and the contents of junk drawers:

Maria Popova writes on her blog Brain Pickings: “You can tell a lot about a person by their most invaluable possession — those quirky trinkets and sentimental keepsakes we all keep in a box or drawer somewhere, a timecapsule of all we’ve ever romanticized and treasured.” Indeed, you may be able to tell someone’s story by viewing those contents. The subject of Popova’s post, Brittny Badger makes this story prompt possible by “photograph[ing] … these trinket timecapsules she calls Junk Drawers [one is pictured below], capturing indirect portraits of their owners though the tchotchkes they’ve accumulated over the years.” (By the way, Brain Pickings is a very cool find courtesy of Michael Margolis.)

Worn Stories is a collection of stories [by various authors] about clothing and memory. It is updated every week or so and edited by Emily Spivack. Here’s Spivak’s explanation of why she started the site:

In my sock drawer, I’ve got a pair of peach socks that my mom bought me in sixth grade. I sported them during my first concert — Milli Vanilli. Every day I wear a ring that was my grandmother’s. She used to slip it off her finger when we would bake together. And the black Doc Martens I wore as an angsty teen are now front and center in my closet. I’m not overly sentimental. Nor am I a hoarder. I just feel a strong connection to the memories that accompany clothing. Which is why I started Worn Stories.