tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516693355743712750.post6130552772132229072..comments2024-03-25T12:38:18.921+08:00Comments on toyhaven: Why do adults collect toys? Also a BIG thank you for the 15,000,000 (15 million) page views so faralex teohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10434098393320787285noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516693355743712750.post-20859301963052669952016-01-17T07:41:32.285+08:002016-01-17T07:41:32.285+08:00Great post! As described in your article I am one ...Great post! As described in your article I am one of the "late collectors". I've since moved to customizing 12" figures and wanted to know why it was that collecting is so satisfying. Your blog hit it right on the head. Thank you for taking the time to articulate why it is we collectors love collecting :). <br /><br />ChrisChris Pinhttp://www.hautehero.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516693355743712750.post-53519873451542829352014-10-05T10:07:35.086+08:002014-10-05T10:07:35.086+08:00Here's another wonderful contribution from Ted...Here's another wonderful contribution from Ted Menten :) He has such wonderful stories to share. The man is a treasure!<br /><br />Alex,<br /> <br />I have been thinking more about the whole "why we collect" dynamic. I grew up around avid collectors and it made a lasting impression on me. However, I did not start collecting anything until I was in my thirties and then quite by accident.<br /><br />My best friend was a talented and successful stained-glass designer and on weekends we often drove into the country to seek out flea markets where he bought old Victorian oak cabinets with glass doors. He refinished them and installed beautiful stained glass panels instead. I went along "just for the ride" as a break from the city.<br />One afternoon we found a huge outdoor flea market filled with all sorts of vendors. My friend headed straight for the furniture section while I just wandered around. At one point I stopped to look at a table filled with old silver spoons and knives and folks. They were just a mish-mash of odd pieces and probably of little value. I looked down and there among the spoons was a Pinocchio spoon exactly like the one I had as a kid. I was overcome with a wave of memories and magically transported back to that happy time. And, in that moment, I knew that I would pay anything for that spoon -- way more than the asking price of 50 cents.<br /><br />After that I began to look for other objects from my childhood including lead soldiers and various puppets. Over the next few months I found all sorts of things from my childhood and my friends reminded me that I was suffering from the "Rosebud effect" -- referring to the sled in the film, "Citizen Kane."<br /> <br />As time went on I began to collect things that delighted and amused me but they never had the same effect that spoon did -- and still does.<br /> <br />I was reminded of this the other night during an episode of "Castle" -- a TV series. One of the characters, a grumpy old sourpuss female detective, is given a doll she has always dreamed of owning. And a similar scene was once used on the "NCIS" series.<br /> <br />I guess these tiny mementoes of childhood can have a powerful and magical effect. I once restored a worn and tattered Teddy Bear for a friend's husband. His reaction to the bear was exactly like mine was to that little silver spoon.<br /> <br />We might not be able to return to childhood but sometimes we can recapture some of the magic.<br /> <br />Tedalex teohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10434098393320787285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516693355743712750.post-90029628847583104602014-10-05T08:11:44.445+08:002014-10-05T08:11:44.445+08:00Thanks Andre :)Thanks Andre :)alex teohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10434098393320787285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516693355743712750.post-46046415619009817022014-10-05T06:00:37.715+08:002014-10-05T06:00:37.715+08:00Big props and congratulations Alex. Your blog was ...Big props and congratulations Alex. Your blog was one of my first sources when getting deeper into 1/6 collecting, and still to date I enjoy your news and reviews on our passion. Definately saw some mirror images reading through the different reasons why we collect. :) For me it's all about admiration of an art piece, these figures are so well done in their scale and its just relaxing to discover all the features and facets! Keep on posting buddy! Cheers AndreAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09608792577869761092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516693355743712750.post-24221824909353057712014-10-02T20:10:10.928+08:002014-10-02T20:10:10.928+08:00Thanks Ted for all your support and encouragement ...Thanks Ted for all your support and encouragement :)<br /><br />Always love your take on things. It comes with a wealth of experience!alex teohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10434098393320787285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516693355743712750.post-31056776326467184792014-10-02T20:09:33.360+08:002014-10-02T20:09:33.360+08:00The following comment was shared by a good friend ...The following comment was shared by a good friend Ted Menten via email: <br /><br />Alex,<br /> <br />BRAVO for reaching such fantastic numbers!<br /> <br />Your post about collecting is also a great read -- and a familiar story. I'm from a family of collectors so I guess it is in my DNA.<br /> <br />One interesting historical note. During the 60s and 70s there was an unprecedented boom in doll house building. Suddenly it seemed as if the whole country was building doll houses. Stores sprung up, events and conventions took place every weekend and some serious-minded shrinks wondered WHY.<br /> <br />The results were interesting if not exactly conclusive. Times were difficult, the stock market, the war, the basic moral structure all seemed to be in decline and disarray. And the assassinations -- all seemed to contribute to a general feeling that the world was out of control. <br /> <br />So the shrinks put forth the idea that people (especially men) were building miniature worlds that they could control in a lifesize world that seemed out of control. It was an interesting theory and probably had an element of fact since the doll house craze died out in the following decades.<br /> <br />The down side of "popular collecting" is the loss of money people suffer when the craze is over. The comic book companies were almost destroyed by it and the Cabbage Patch and Beanie Baby crazes both cost many people their savings when they "invested" in them.<br /><br />When I was involved in the whole Teddy Bear revival a few years ago I was often asked which bears one should "invest" in. I always told people to simply buy what they liked and could cherish over time. There are no "sure things" in investing no matter what it is -- stocks or toys.<br /><br />My great uncle was a multi-millionaire many times over. He actually made money during the Great Depression. His advice to me was to put a third of my money in stocks, a third in tangible goods, and keep a third in cash. Good advice and it has saved my butt in hard times. My best investments are my first "editions" of all the early comic books. Thankfully I was a careful kid who kept them in pristine condition. They are the best inheritance I can leave my kids. That, and my great uncle's advice. My son-in-law is a Wall Street broker and he took that advice and has never regretted it.<br /> <br />I know the difficulty and heartache of down sizing your space. When I moved here I gave away thousands of dollars worth of books and figures to my family and friends. Now I just buy figures to use in my various projects -- like my current zombie project which is coming along nicely.<br /> <br />BRAVO again for your achievement and I'm glad that my daily visits to your blog have added to the numbers.<br /> <br />Tedalex teohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10434098393320787285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516693355743712750.post-83016616468031086592014-10-02T10:47:29.263+08:002014-10-02T10:47:29.263+08:00Thanks Alephx for the encouraging words and compli...Thanks Alephx for the encouraging words and compliments :) Yes, I agree with you that we need a lot of money for this passion haha keep the collection growing & enjoy the hobby. Cheers!alex teohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10434098393320787285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516693355743712750.post-19850831600361479012014-10-02T08:35:12.135+08:002014-10-02T08:35:12.135+08:00Hope to see your collection soon, humangeingill :)...Hope to see your collection soon, humangeingill :)<br /><br />Thanks for the support, guys.alex teohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10434098393320787285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516693355743712750.post-75138283912791822502014-10-02T03:36:20.164+08:002014-10-02T03:36:20.164+08:00humanbeingill said it well. "Thanks Alex To!...humanbeingill said it well. "Thanks Alex To!"<br /><br />I look at your sight daily for upcomming 1/6th scale figures, and reviews.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15630740237965149695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516693355743712750.post-54169946653982535132014-10-02T00:07:00.137+08:002014-10-02T00:07:00.137+08:00Congratulations! ...and that's a really awesom...Congratulations! ...and that's a really awesome and great amount of collection you got right there!Combohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09359289260348084017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516693355743712750.post-78143796795842903292014-10-01T13:17:22.393+08:002014-10-01T13:17:22.393+08:00It dawned on me recently that I pretty much have b...It dawned on me recently that I pretty much have been a collector of something or another my entire life. First with a common childhood interests in small toys like G.I. Joe, Transformers, Thunder Cats and TNMTs to name a few, then in my teens I was crazy about comic books, venturing out to my first Conventions...The experience blew my mind not only in scale but by the entire universe of FANDOM I had yet to discover! <br /> <br />As years passed my interests wained from comics to Anime and again to 1:18 Diecast Car Models to NOW my passion for 1/6th Collectible Figures. 12" Action Figures such as Marvel's Icons from 2007 started my love for the scale and as the quality, variety, popularity, technology, talent and price points grew so did my collection, interest and willingness to pay for them..and almost EXACTLY 7 years Later I'm still going strong. <br /><br />I'd like to Thank you once again for sharing so much of your passion with the world, I visit your site DAILY and its my Head Quarters and first stop for what's going on in the industry. Your collection is second to none and even makes my enormous assembling of pieces look feeble by comparison.<br /><br /> One day because of your inspiration I hope to share my interests and photos also. Here's to 20 years! humanbeingillnoreply@blogger.com