The Weight of Objects

“I bought these prayer beads in Karbala during a trip to...

Wed, 01 May 2013 19:28:43 -0400

“I bought these prayer beads in Karbala during a trip to Iraq in 2002. Only 55 of the fragile beads have survived. They are a representation of history, remembrance, and balance.”

Maryam Rabiee was photographed in New York City on April 23rd.

“I have a lot of secret things and collections, like potions and...

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 07:44:53 -0400

“I have a lot of secret things and collections, like potions and rocks and fortune tellers, and stuff like gallium which is a metal that melts. I chose this string because you can make so many things with it but if you looked at it, you would think, ‘oh that’s just a string.’ Sometimes in school I don’t talk, but I’m always thinking.”

Gabriel was photographed in New York City on March 2nd.

“My dad bought this mask in the olden days before I was...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 23:42:24 -0400

“My dad bought this mask in the olden days before I was alive from a Chinese man with one eyeball who painted it. When I was little I would run past it at night because it looked alive in the dark. Now I like it so much, I even think it will scare bad guys away.”

Raul Andres was photographed in New York City on March 2nd.

“I keep pretty much all of my tattooing machines. Around 25,...

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:20:00 -0400

“I keep pretty much all of my tattooing machines. Around 25, so far. I feel lucky because I get to do art every day and actually make a living off of it.”

Zac Scheinbaum was photographed in New York City on January 29th. You can follow him on Instagram.

“When I was younger I would spend hours playing with my...

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 21:09:00 -0500

“When I was younger I would spend hours playing with my collection of toy Breyer Horses but when I grew up they all somehow got lost. A few years ago I opened a birthday present from my older sister and inside were these vintage Breyer Horses. I was so touched I cried; she’s the only person in the world who would know how wistful I was about this missing souvenir of my childhood.”

Joanna Lily Wong was photographed in New York City on January 24th. View her site.

“I got this pocket knife on a tour of the Swiss Army...

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 20:55:51 -0500

“I got this pocket knife on a tour of the Swiss Army headquarters in Connecticut about 10 years ago and I carry it with me everywhere I go. Until someone handed it to me, I had never realized how useful they are. And no, I’ve never cut myself with it.”

Tommy Edison was photographed in New York City on January 12th. You can view his work.

“The moment I saw this ribbon on a goodie bag at a disco party,...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 19:54:36 -0500

“The moment I saw this ribbon on a goodie bag at a disco party, I decided it would be my lucky ribbon because it was white and satin and beautiful. Sometimes I use it to tie up my hair when I want to dress up a bit fancy for class. One time I took my lucky ribbon to school, and it brought me good luck because it made me have a fabulous day.”

Beatrice was photographed in Montclair, New Jersey, on January 5th.

“I’ve had Budgie for my whole life. When I’m at school, she’s in...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 19:53:41 -0500

“I’ve had Budgie for my whole life. When I’m at school, she’s in my bed, waiting for me to come home! When I went swimming with dolphins in Hawaii last summer, I even took her with me.”

Penelope was photographed in Montclair, New Jersey, on January 5th.

“Customers gave me these dollars for good luck the first...

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 19:13:56 -0500

“Customers gave me these dollars for good luck the first day we opened in November of 1997. At that time I felt like I was on top of the world. They mean a lot - more than money.”

Rick Patel was photographed in New York City on December 12th. You can visit him at Deli Grocery on Lorimer Street.

“I wore each of these watches one summer during elementary...

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 10:29:00 -0500

“I wore each of these watches one summer during elementary school when I lived in Thailand with my mom and sister. The black one broke shortly after I arrived, and I bought the red cartoon watch when I couldn’t read the traditional Thai numbers on the red-and-black one. Exploring a different culture, meeting new relatives, eating strange food, discovering new fashion, learning new games and songs, and seeing different landscapes at a young age helped to form my perception of the world, and I keep these watches because they remind me of how invaluable those experiences were.”

Tassy de Give was photographed in New York City on December 6th. You can follow her on Instagram.

“Since the last day of college, I have been living with a...

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 03:39:00 -0500

“Since the last day of college, I have been living with a Weston ammeter made in Newark, N.J., in the late 1890s – a device that performs a single task: measure electric currents. It reminds me that there was an era before ours when people expressed pride and dignity in entirely different ways. There’s no reason I should feel nostalgic, or wistful, or vaguely turned on when I look at the ammeter, but I do.”

Jacob Krupnick was photographed in New York City on November 2nd. You can follow him on Twitter.

“The Kuchi are tribes of people who are dispersed across...

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 23:09:00 -0500

“The Kuchi are tribes of people who are dispersed across Afghanistan’s 34 provinces and have lived nomadically for centuries. I bought this vintage Kuchi tribal necklace from a souq in Dubai around six years ago, and I don’t know how old it is, or where it’s been, but I hope to continue its journey to places far and wide. First stop: South America.”

Nina Trojanovic was photographed in New York City on August 30th. You can visit the gallery where she works, Traffic.

“I grabbed these antenna toppers from a Unocal station...

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 23:32:29 -0500

“I grabbed these antenna toppers from a Unocal station when I was visiting my home state of California in the late 90s and I keep the collection in a wide-mouthed glass cylinder that was once a vase for flowers. In addition to making a cool visual on my windowsill, they serve as reminders and symbols of the West Coast, where I grew up, and my love of cars, driving and road trips. Once I put one on my car here in Queens, but it got stolen pretty quickly.”

Anna Holmes was photographed in New York City on October 1st. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

“My parents lost everything but these photographs in...

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 23:31:08 -0500

“My parents lost everything but these photographs in a devastating fire on Grand Street in 2010. I wasn’t on duty, but I arrived just in time to put on a set of bunker gear and an oxygen tank and help my mom down a fire escape while my dad was rescued with a firetruck’s ladder. Instead of fighting that fire, I felt the agony and loss of being a victim, and being able to save these and other priceless family photos helped tremendously in the healing process.”

Kwai Chan was photographed in New York City on September 8th. Here he is on Instagram: @localredbagger.

“This photograph of my family hangs in my bedroom and...

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 00:19:22 -0400

“This photograph of my family hangs in my bedroom and reminds me of my parents’ struggle to improve our quality of life. They taught me to be reliable, dependable, and prepared for the train of success. These core values guided me as I started my own bakery and are there every day as I create love in the form of food.”

Shakoor Watson was photographed in New York City on August 5th. You can visit him at Shakoor’s Sweet Tooth.

“This leather jacket was my father’s and by some...

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 23:45:54 -0400

“This leather jacket was my father’s and by some grace of God, it fit both of us perfectly. He wore it with aviators and ascots and I wear it with everything—dresses, jeans, nightgowns. A small hole above one pocket got stuck on a metal fence and completely ripped, but I just think of it as an extra pocket.”

Morgan Doff was photographed in New York City on August 5th. Here she is on Twitter.

“I got this Maestro Mini longboard last Christmas and an...

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 06:09:34 -0400

“I got this Maestro Mini longboard last Christmas and an ice cream truck ran it over in June. My boyfriend at the time had built it, and after he told off Mr. Softee, we walked to Longboard Loft and he put together my old setup (Paris trucks and Bustin Premiers) on my new deck (a 36-inch Bustin Robot). Rightfully named Sorbet, it was an early grad gift that I’ve been riding ever since.”

Jane Noriega was photographed in New York City on August 5th. You can view her work.

“I got these shoes when I went back to New Orleans in 2006...

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 00:19:00 -0400

“I got these shoes when I went back to New Orleans in 2006 to repair my house. When I started running I didn’t realize where it would take me. I got there and saw that there was more.”

Din Yates was photographed in New York City on August 1st. You can visit him at Cheeky Sandwiches.

“He brought this box with him from China to Taiwan when...

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 00:07:13 -0400

“He brought this box with him from China to Taiwan when the Communists came in 1949, and then later to the U.S. with just a few belongings. When he came down with cancer, I was too absorbed in my new job and life in New York City to understand that even superheroes are mortal. I never took my grandfather around the world, so now I carry his box with me everywhere I go.”

Tricia Wang was photographed in New York City on July 28th. You can view her writing.

“When my grandmother moved out of her house on Long Island...

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 21:31:01 -0400

“When my grandmother moved out of her house on Long Island a few years ago I absorbed this wooden whale and brought it home. It was a part of a dense salon wall at her house when I was small but she never knew where it came from. She lives near an old whaling town, so I imagine it being made from the hull of the Pequod.”

Gabriel Fredericks Cohen was photographed in New York City on June 2nd. You can view his work.