Museum of
Ordinary ThingsA little attention changes everything.
A clear glass perfume bottle resting on light fabric.
The collectionExhibit No. 018

A familiar presence

Just a little left.

A glass bottle kept long after its daily use.

The story behind the object
The storysincere

She wore it when we were going somewhere. A small spray at the wrist, then the familiar sound of the cap clicking back into place. It meant we should find our shoes.

There is only a little left. I never wear it, but sometimes I lift the cap.

For a moment, I am waiting by the door again. She is checking her bag. We are about to be late, and it does not matter.

A fictional story, written for this sample exhibit.

What ordinary thing would you keep?

Make an exhibit of your own

Fictional sample exhibit · Back to the collection

Photograph by Laura Chouette / Unsplash ↗

A closer look · The full photograph

A clear glass perfume bottle resting on light fabric.

An ordinary thing, given extraordinary attention.

The Museum of Ordinary Things

Nothing ordinary
about what we keep.

A ticket. A chipped cup. A watch that no longer works. Some objects matter for reasons no label can quite explain. This is a place to try.

This early exhibit explores how a photograph and a few words can give an everyday thing extraordinary attention.

Create an exhibit with your own photograph and words. Save it privately, then choose when to publish it. The two stories in our sample exhibit are fictional.