Student spotlight: Lasallian collections

Throughout the ages, collecting has remained a timeless fad. While buttons, stamps, and receipts are the typical collector’s fare, others have been known to collect a variety of oddities. Take, for instance, Graham Barker, who has the world’s largest collection of navel fluff (yes, bellybutton lint!), according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Sergei Frolov, on the other hand, has a fantastic collection of over 150 Soviet-made calculators, and sucrologist Phil Miller collects (you guessed it!) sugar packets.

While expending great amounts of energy, money, and time to maintain personal collections may seem pointless, there are varying reasons behind why inanimate objects are able to stir life within us. In line with this, The Menagerie takes a peek inside the interesting collections of some.

Winnie the Pooh

Ayem Plantilla (III, BS-LGL) estimates that she has at most a thousand Winnie the Pooh items, which she started collecting when she was a high school sophomore. Her collection spans to all kinds of Winnie the Pooh-themed items: from stuffed toys, bathroom mats, and towels, to baby bottles, figurines, and even underwear. At one point, Ayem’s room looked more like a Winnie the Pooh museum than a young girl’s bedroom, and she didn’t have any spot to sleep on anymore! Her parents eventually decided to add a second floor to their house, so that she could have a room devoted solely to Winnie the Pooh and his dear friends.

“When I was little, my parents would let me watch Barney & Friends and other cartoons; they told me that I would keep staring at the TV screen. But whenever Winnie the Pooh comes on, I would stand up and dance,” says Ayem, who estimates to have spent a total of Php 100,000.00 for her collection. She further adds that she loves the bear’s friendly and humble character, which is why she also claims to be a friendly and humble person herself.

When asked about her motivations for collecting, Ayem shares that her collection serves as an outlet for academic stress. Some people take time to meditate and escape from their stressful lives, and Ayem does the same but in the comforts of her Winnie the Pooh-filled room. Sometimes, when she has had enough of laws and politics from her course, she goes into her collector’s room for some much-needed dose of sanity.

Dice

Matt Francisco’s (I, AB-ISE) has about three pound’s worth of different kinds of dice, which he uses for games like Dungeons and Dragons and Monopoly. He has been collecting these trinkets since he was in 2nd grade.

Matt got his knack for dice-collecting from his brother, who collected dice as well. His brother gave him a pack of dice when he was in grade 2, and when he started losing the trinkets one by one, he decided to buy more packs. “I started buying different kinds of dice, [and] mixing dice with each other. And I ended up liking how dice looked and I liked the accessories and having them in my bag – playing games with my friends, and all that,” Matt shares.

Some people also collect items in order to use them, and not just to display them. Matt uses his dice to twist the rules of some of the games he plays with his friends. His dice collection ranges from the typical 6-sided ones to the 20-sided die, which makes it easy for him to add nuances to certain game rules.

Comic Books

Paul Tayag’s (III, AB-ECM) stack of comic books is growing at a rapid rate: he adds one to five new issues to his pile every week. “I have 85 issues right now, all ranging from The Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-2099, and Spider-Woman, to Thor, and more,” he says. “I also have novelty issues – those with variant covers, which I pre-order weekly. The covers of these are made by renowned artists in the comic book world,” he adds.

Paul has always been a big fan of Spider-Man and used to read his brother’s collection of graphic novels and trade paperbacks. “When I heard that the Spider-Man 2099 will be back and that the Spider-Verse arc is set to occur, I decided to start collecting,” he shares.

“I only collect because I want to see different art styles and the story that these comic books can offer,” Paul adds matter-of-factly. He shares that there is no other motive for him to collect than a mere appreciation of comic books as an art form. “I collect because I am a fan. I have no intention of selling them. I just really like the content of these comic books. And that is that.”

Anime Figurines

On the other hand, Bryan Tan (IV, AB-PSM) collects anime figurines. Accumulated over the span of three years, he has about 20 figurines from notable anime series, of which he is a huge fan. He also has his own prized collector’s item: a certain Max Factory Kirino Kousaka Wedding Dress True End Version figurine, which he claims to be “one of only a few thousand pieces made.” However, what makes the figurine dear to him is not the price or the rarity of the item, but his attachment to the anime character it represents.

Nonetheless, it seems that the desire to collect has its roots from childhood experiences. Bryan shares that he has always wanted to collect anime figurines since his childhood days, but chose to start only recently because it was an expensive hobby. “My first time in an anime convention, I was awed by the atmosphere and the sheer number of anime fans. I saw a display of figurines, fell in love with it, and vowed to get my own collection,” he adds.

Bryan also shares that he collects mainly because of his desire to support the company behind the production of anime merchandise and to preserve his anime-related encounters in concrete form. “Collections are things to be proud of; they show your hard work – all blood, sweat, and tears. Collections are painted canvases that project a person’s likes, interests, and personality. It is a representation of a person’s identity and history,” he says. “Most importantly, collecting is not only a means but an end upon which a person can leave his or her own unique legacy in the world.”

Much like a quest that can never be completed, some collectors amass things for the thrill of the hunt. Others collect out of nostalgia or an innate appreciation for the desired object. Whatever the motive may be, humans remain unique in the way they collect things purely for the satisfaction of owning and preserving them. As renowned musician and writer Henry Rollins once said, “Collector types can be a pain in the neck…but someone has to look out for the past, for the ordinary and rare, lest they slip away forever.”