I’ve been a collector for as long as I can remember. I had a souvenir spoon collection when I was a kid. I had a brief venture into postcards. Then I discovered a fondness for kitschy teapots and pulp paperbacks from the 1940s. Recently I’ve started to collect New York City Ballet memorabilia. The only thing that keeps me from going completely hog wild is a lack of unlimited funds as well as very little space.

Electra Havemeyer Webb, the woman who built the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne Vermont, did not have these problem. Born in 1888 to incredibly wealthy parents (her father was worth 25,000,000 dollars in 1887) who were avid art collectors, Electra began collecting early and never stopped. The idea for the museum came from her father-in-laws collection of horse drawn carriages. After being stored for years the family was trying to decide what to do with all these carriages when Mrs. Webb decided that they should display them for the public’s viewing. Shelburne Museum was born.

The Shelburne is quirky and fun. It’s spread out over vast and pretty grounds and the collections are housed in different buildings that dot the landscape. Webb collected buildings as well and relocated more than 20 buildings onto the museum grounds. There is a 220-foot steamboat, the Ticonderoga, sitting out in the middle of the grass. There is an 1840 Vermont school house, a lighthouse, a meeting house. All buildings saved from demolition by Mrs. Webb and the Museum.

Then there are the collections and they’re a marvel. I walked through the Variety Unit building with my jaw on the floor as I saw collections of pewter, glass, traveling inkwells (I’d never heard of traveling inkwells but now I want to collect them!) On the second floor are dolls, lots and lots of dolls.

Cloth dolls from Europe, China dolls from Germany, Bisque Poupees, Bisque Bébés, Paper Maché dolls. Who knew there were so many different kinds of dolls?

If dolls and pewter are not your thing, head over to the Hat and Fragrance Textile Gallery and check out the quilts, the samplers or the enormous and beautifully displayed collection of bandboxes, hatboxes and hats. Mrs. Webb found beauty in bandboxes and looking at her collection I have to agree with her.

In the Stagecoach Inn you’ll find folk art sculptures, trade signs (many pure visuals like a watch or an open razor for a population that was not yet literate) and weathervanes.

If you are of a crafty nature I defy you to visit the Shelburne and not be inspired to create your own piece. I was particularly motivated by a diorama depicting a place called the Fir Tree Cottage that makes me itch to make my own.

Currently the museum has an exhibit in the Webb Gallery “In Fashion: High Style 1690-2011” which gives you a look at couture gowns as well as Mrs. Webb’s own dresses. The pieces I fell in love with were two poodle skirts from the 1950s. If we think of poodle skirts at all these days I think most can picture that classic white poodle with leash but apparently there existed more creative variations. Women would come up with their own designs and applique these creations on to skirts. One of the skirts is a white felt that provides a look at Electra Havemeyer Webb’s residences in New York City, Long Island as well as the Shelburne Museum. The second is a red felt with barn animals including a skunk with embroidered lines emanating from under his tail. And as long as you’re in the Webb Gallery don’t miss Andrew Wyeth’s painting Soaring in the basement. It’s a hypnotic piece that puts you in the body of a vulture as you soar high above the ground.

There is so much to see and even with price of admission giving you two days to visit I wasn’t nearly able to see it all. And don’t be afraid to bring the kids. My two boys, not known for the patience and fine consideration of art, loved it. What kid would not love running through the maze like engine room in the belly of the Ticonderoga or riding a vintage 1920s carousel? My kids could not get enough of the train station and the private 1890s rail car of Dr. William Seward Webb.

I wish the Shelburne was right around the corner from me. I’d be there all the time, looking for more inspiration or just enjoying the beauty that Electra Havemeyer Webb created more than 60 years ago.

To visit the Shelburne Museum, check out their website.  The Museum  is open in 2011 from Sunday, May 15 – Sunday, October 30. Admission is $20 for adult, $10 for children (ages 5-18) and children under 5 are free.