Sid Dickens Addictions are Contagious

It turns out that the serious addiction problem people have with collecting Sid Dickens Memory Blocks is highly contagious. Once people see the tiles, they have to get their own.


The first time I met my wife's parents they stopped by my apartment before we went out for lunch. They were, shall we say, almost as intrigued with the memory blocks on the wall as they were with me. I don't remember exactly how long they resisted, probably a few months, at the most. Maybe they waited to see my wall again before diving in, or maybe they waited until they found one of those retailers that offers one of those special deals ... like a drug dealer giving you your first hit for free. Since then they have gone wild with the addiction. They buy tiles for themselves and then gift them to each other for all important events: Valentine's Day, Mondays, Christmas, Birthdays, etc.

Their displays started modestly. A dozen lining the downstairs hall (including a near disaster hanging accident that left an ear swollen, but no tile shattered). The next dozen went above the piano. Then tiles started going into storage. More and more tiles. The kitchen was renovated and there were plans to have a feature wall. More tiles were purchased. Soon the feature wall was a massive planning event. I imagine the plans for Stonehenge came together faster, certainly the Pyramids. It is stunning, as with all their displays, which have also migrated into the powder room.

Now there are two points I should make in their defence. First, they've never gotten into the insane secondary market. The only tile they have that was retired long before they got it, is something I got a garage-sale style deal on and gave to them as a gift. Second, because they hadn't discovered their style until recently (assuming they have in fact discovered a style narrower than everything Sid has ever made), it was the place that I sent tiles to die. Stone Leaf, Musica and Divinity were three tiles I just had trouble working into my collection, so three of the tiles in their collection are not actually their fault (four if you count the bargain 5-pt Star)!


I took these pictures on Christmas Eve. It was all of their tiles except the Destiny blocks, which were deemed not Christmasy (i.e. not tasteful enough for my wife's Grandmother to see). Since then they've acquired another three tiles, so these pictures are about as dated as Hadrian's Wall. Such is life when you are addicted to Sid Dickens Blocks (apologies to anyone who looks at these pictures and catches the addiction).

Front Hall

Front and Side Hall (looking into Piano room)

Side Hall (looking into Piano Room)

Side and Back Hall

Above the Piano (their treasured retired tile is central)

Side Hall with Glimpse of Powder Room

Parisian Powder Room

Hall with a Glimpse of the Main Display

The Great Room Wall

PS clicking on any of the pictures will take you to a larger version of it.