Uncategorized – Page 3

Does collecting create fun from the mundane?

I’m making a case for the much maligned motorway service station to be reimagined as a Great British collectable.

Collector Road Trip: House on the Hill Toy Museum

Nestled away at Mountfitchet Castle near Stansted is an oasis for toy collectors and pop culture fans that crosses generations.

Do limited edition food products appeal to the collector mindset?

Why are there suddenly so many flavours of Jammie Dodgers? Be honest, we’ve all been wondering this, even if we’re not all as incensed about it as my friend Alix is. I didn’t have good answers for Alix when she posed these questions on LinkedIn a few weeks back, so I’m taking the time to explore thisContinueContinue reading “Do limited edition food products appeal to the collector mindset?”

Toy photography on Naboo

Multiple scenes from The Phantom Menace were shot at Whippendell Wood (just north of London) incl. the Gungans’ Sacred Place where Padme and the rest of the Naboo appeal to Boss Nass to join them in battle against the Trade Federation. We went to check it out last week and I took the big manContinueContinue reading “Toy photography on Naboo”

Can you collect without using Amazon?

My experience over the past five years of treating the gargantuan retailer as a last resort option.

Word for word: When song lyrics became a collectable

Smash Hits’ Songwords Cards were a genius way to access and collect lyrics before Genius.

20 months and a lifetime of mixtapes

At the beginning of 2023 I started compiling a monthly public playlist on Spotify. My interest in new music and artists has been renewed in the first half of this decade and I felt inspired to share the songs that have been soundtracking my life, much like I did over two decades ago. All that’s really changedContinueContinue reading “20 months and a lifetime of mixtapes”

The mad merchandise of The Phantom Menace

25+ years later I’m still finding and buying items from one of Star Wars biggest merchandising campaigns. Let’s explore why.

Get Cape returns with a novel new NFC release format

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly is one of the many monikers of musician and producer, Sam Duckworth. I’ve been a fan since his breakthrough GCWCF album, 2006’s Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager. His latest release, the Monopolies EP is available now in an unusual physical format; oversized monopoly pieces with NFC technology baked in. Two years ago this month I wroteContinueContinue reading “Get Cape returns with a novel new NFC release format”

Calling time on my CD / DVD collection

I have a lot of things I collect. I like to put these things on display. When the pandemic hit and we began spending a lot more time at home, there came a need to reclaim some space in the house and I was faced with the dilemma of deciding which shelving unit would need toContinueContinue reading “Calling time on my CD / DVD collection”

20 years of Less Than Jake’s ‘B is for B-Sides’

A lot changed in my life during the 14 months between the release of Anthem and its companion record B is for B-Sides, which turns 20 today. I was in my first proper relationship, I’d left school and was getting ready to start college in the Autumn. My friends were going through similar developments in their lives andContinueContinue reading “20 years of Less Than Jake’s ‘B is for B-Sides’”

How two Pez dispensers led to a collection of over a thousand

Although my first collection was the set of NatWest piggy banks in the late 1980s (I wrote about those here), the one I’m probably known best for is my two decade long haul of Pez. You know, the character topped sweet dispensers. As the years go by, what becomes removed from the story told toContinueContinue reading “How two Pez dispensers led to a collection of over a thousand”