Care for every one of a kind.

An antique is rarely interchangeable with the object beside it. Two similar lamps may have different details, and a small ceramic piece may be recognizable by a mark that never made it into the stock list. As a collection grows across cabinets, a shop floor, and storage, remembering each object becomes harder. Tana gives you a place to record the physical pieces you hold, keeping photographs and storage information close to the names you use when discussing them.

Create a separate item for each distinctive piece and give it a name that remains useful when you are no longer standing in front of it. Add a photograph and describe identifying details you have verified, such as dimensions or a visible maker’s mark. Record the storage where it is kept, whether that is a display cabinet, a shelf in the back room, or a packed box. The record can help you find the object again without opening every carefully wrapped package.

When a piece moves to the shop floor or returns to storage, update its recorded place. When it leaves your stock, adjust the quantity so the inventory remains a reflection of what you hold. Small shared conventions make this easier: use the same cabinet names and distinguish individual pieces rather than treating a group of similar objects as identical. Search names and descriptions when someone asks about an item. The photo helps you recognize the right piece, and the storage record takes you to it.

Begin with one cabinet or a group of objects that are already photographed. A QR label on the storage can help you open its details without attaching a label to a delicate piece. Export a filtered CSV when you need a list for a count or reorganization. Tana preserves the practical record you enter: the name you know a piece by, the details you noted, and the cabinet it is kept in. That leaves a clearer trail to the object itself, so the time spent caring for and learning about each piece remains useful as the collection changes.