Sticker hoarder

I'm a sticker hoarder.

I love MLP merchandise, but I try to focus my collection only on certain types of merchandise, mainly smaller, flatter items like stationary, colouring books, birthday party supplies, and stickers.

The stickers, however, have gotten out of hand,  When you're considering recent merchandise, stickers are easy to come by and inexpensive.  They also don't generally take up a lot of space, so they're easy to store.  They're also often a popular inclusion in trade and swap packages among collectors, which probably explains why I have doubles and triples of some of my sticker sheets.

I've recently gone through all my stickers, photographing every individual sheet and separating out the doubles to be passed on to other collectors.  Here's a few images:

Vintage scented G1 sticker sheets

Vintage G1 stickers from an Argentinian sticker book

G2 stickerss

Puffy and fuzzy G3 sticker set - one of my favourites

G3 sticker set with highly detailed background

G4 sticker set from Target

A rare Luna sticker is included  in this set.

Elf

We're all in this together

Most likely you're reading this from inside your house, as that's where most of us have been spending the last several days, and probably more.  Maybe you've never been happier, maybe you can't wait to get out, or maybe you're somewhere between the two.

I have some plans for myself, including hopefully a few moments of entertainment for you...

Me, I'm doing some baking (and eating).

Catching up on some tv.

Read a book.  And another.  And another.

Don't forget to get outside a bit.

Keep in touch with your friends (from a safe distance).

Spend time in the Geek Cave.

Maybe try on a new look.

And of course, some art.

I hope that you all stay healthy and happy over the next little while.

Elf

Geek Cave Weekend 2020 Wrap Up

I consider this year's Geek Cave weekend to be a resounding success.  The room feels much lighter and cleaner now.

The shelving under the big table has been a bit of a catch all and holding area for quite some time.  Much of what was in this space two weeks ago was 25th and 35th anniversary ponies, bits and pieces from playsets, accessory storage, and items that had just piled up over time and through other reorganizations.  It felt great to finally address this area.

The Strawberry Shortcake playsets have been relocated to this area, and are now under the Berry Happy Home.  The other half of this storage area is continuing to hold accessories and playset pieces that aren't on display, but in a much more organized fashion.

The area where the SSC playsets were living has been converted to G2 space, partly to make more room for more G2 playsets, partly to free up another shelf for G1s.

I've moved the Sea Ponies over to two new shelves so they have more display space and there's room for more additions.  The Birthflower Ponies have moved up a level as well.

The Sweetheart Sisters have moved over to the old Seapony shelf, where there's plenty of room for new additions, as well.

On the other side of the shelves under the big table, a lot of the miniatures, EQG, and some merchandise have been packed up and moved to the basement.  The space that's been freed up can now hold the unopened G4s until I get around to opening the packages.

This has also freed up the path to the closet, and the access to the whole G4 display space.  It's not perfect, but it's an improvement.

I also spent a lot of the weekend taking photos of various merchandise pieces before packing them down to the basement.  I always look forward to these moments of organizing my collection.  It's a great way to enjoy my collection without adding to it and I love spending some time focused on specific items or areas of the Cave.  I hope you've enjoyed this little mini tour as well.

Elf

Geek Cave Weekend 2020

It's my annual Geek Cave Weekend this weekend, the time when I take two days off work and spend the better part of four days trying to get the Cave into shape.

This is a mess

This year I'm focusing on a couple of specific areas: cleaning out the shelving under the large table, cleaning up some of the unopened G4s, and organizing some merchandise.

This is also a mess

A lot of this clean up will involve packing up the parts of the collection that are getting relocated to the basement tv area.  The space they're moving into isn't ready yet, but nothing further can happen in the Cave until this stuff is moved out, so they'll be packed up for awhile.

Some of the mess is going into these boxes

This is the first time I've packed any part of my collection that doesn't involve a move.  It's not something that I'm particularly happy doing, but it will be a temporary solution and it will be nice to have the new display space for some of the collection.

In the meantime, updates on the Geek Cave will be forthcoming in the next blog post.

Elf

A Collection within a Collection

Who's your favourite pony?  For me, it's a tough question, because I have several.  Sunbeam was a childhood favourite, as was Glory.  Cotton Candy was my first pony, so she holds a special place in my heart.  I've always loved Posey's colour scheme.

When I was a child, I asked my mom if I could get a mail order pony.  She said no (she meant just at that moment), I never asked for one again (I was too accepting as a child).  So as a child I never owned the pony I was most fascinated with: Snuzzle.

Back Row L-R: Mexican, Brazilian, Argentinian, Greek, 2 Italians
Front Row L-R: Factory Sample, FF, 2 CC, 2 Macau

She was grey, which was odd in MLP world.  She had cute, kind of funny, made-up-word name, unlike the other ponies at that time.  She looked like Peachy (who I did own), but she wasn't Peachy.  She was mysterious to me, as she wasn't in stores (I did not see the original six when they were in stores, I suspect MLP only made it to my city in Year 2).  Even though Snuzzle wasn't a part of my childhood herd, she figured prominently in my imagination as I thought about my ponies.

A selection of miniatures, both vintage and modern

As an adult collector, Snuzzle and Peachy were both early additions to my herd.  I had decided as a child that they must be twins, so obviously I needed to have both of them together.  Later, I discovered nirvana ponies, and the many, many, many Snuzzle and Peachy variants that were made in different countries.  I've been lucky enough to add several of these to my collection, and hope to add several more in the future.  I've also targeted Snuzzle and Peachy merchandise, including mommy charms, modern miniatures, artwork, and various other pieces to add to my collection.

Factory Sample Peachy, the highlight of my Collection

One of the things I love about this group of ponies is the variations between them.  Of course the nirvana ponies look different than the Hong Kong-manufactured ponies, but even these have variations.  Ponies could be different heights, different colours, and have differences in their symbols depending on when and where they were made.  A collector can easily get lost in the details, and that's half the fun of this pastime.

Various vintage and anniversary Snuzzles and Peachys

Elf

Top Three for 2019

I thought it would be fun at the start of the new year to do a top-three additions to my collection in 2019.  In no particular order, they were as follows:

Lily Ledy Mexican Snuzzle: This pony was a gift from Roomy on December the 27^th (when we open our gifts to each other).  I’ve been on the hunt for Lily Ledy Snuzzle for quite some time.  For those of you who are less familiar with nirvana ponies, back in the G1 years Hasbro did not distribute MLP worldwide as they do now.  Rather, they sold the rights to produce MLP toys to other toy companies in other countries.  Some of these look very similar to the ponies sold in Canada and the US, while others vary drastically from the original pony designs. In Mexico, two companies produced MLP back in the 1980’s, Lily Ledy and Aurikan.  Lily Ledy reproduced the original 6 MLP (looking largely like their other North American counterparts), while Aurikan reproduced these and went further, including such fan favourites as Pegasus baby Blossom, three Princes (based on Princess ponies), and colour variant versions of three Sundae Best ponies.  I had decided to add the Lily Ledy version of Snuzzle to my army, because I prefer her look to the Aurikan version, and only Aurikan made Peachy.  In November I found a nice looking LL Snuzzle on ebay while browsing and added her to my watch list.  Roomy then swooped in and bought her and snuck her into my stocking.  Snuzzle needed a good deep cleaning when she arrived, but otherwise she is in great shape and I was so excited to add her to my small nirvana collection.

Storm: OK, this wasn’t an addition to my collection, but to Roomy’s.  Roomy’s vintage POP collection is near-complete, and she has fewer items to collect to begin with, so it’s harder for me to buy her collection items than it is for her to buy me collection items.  However, one more common item that has eluded her is Catra’s horse, Storm.  I was lucky enough to find one on ebay for a reasonable price that didn’t have any of the usual problems that you find on POP horses (yellowing, scuffed hooves, or missing wings), and in spite of some technical difficulties I was able to purchase him.  This was the first Yule gift I got for Roomy this year, and the one I was most excited about giving her (also the one she was most excited to receive).

Tickle: She's not a Nirvana.  She's not a favourite.  She's not even perfect.  But she's in the top three because she was the last common Rainbow Pony that was missing from my herd and it was driving me nuts.  She's been on my wish list for years but whether because she was the last of the set I needed or because the Year 3 Rainbow Ponies are particularly prone to problems, I was incredibly picky about Tickle.  This past year at the Fair I finally found one with beautiful symbols and a lovely body colour.  Her only problem was a slight trim on her mane, but it's hardly noticeable unless you're looking for it.  I'm really pleased to have added her to the herd, and rounded off my Canadian Rainbow Ponies (there are several Nirvana Rainbows that I'd love to add to the collection, but that won't be a quick process).

Elf

2019 A Collector's Year in Review

It’s time for the yearly look back at the collection.  New Year’s Eve has never been a big deal for me – I spent 12 years in university and after that 10 years working in finance, so either Labour Day weekend (start of the new school year) or April 1 (start of the new fiscal year) are far more significant as New Year’s Day to me.  But you expect these sorts of things in January, so here we are.

No offense, January Joy

The Geek Cave, while always enjoyable, has largely been a source of frustration this year, as very little progress has been made toward organization and cleaning.  Early in 2019 I spent a fair bit of time piling up things that should be living in other parts of the house (we’re both collectors and geeks, and our entire house reflects that, so things like books and mini figs don’t live in the Geek Cave).  However, those piles didn’t move any further and are still taking up space in the Cave.  Still, we did get some wall shelves up, and the plushies have a permanent home, so we’ve managed to complete a few things.  The Cave will never be finished, but it will be nice to make a bit more progress on it in 2020.

Spoiler alert: it's still a mess

Roomy and I traveled to both the MLP Fair and the Canadian Collectors Extravaganza this past summer.  We had a blast at both events, as we always do.  The Extravaganza always feels like a nice bonus event to me because we only have to travel a couple of hours to get there, and we can load up the car with larger pieces to sell (on the way) and larger pieces I bought (on the way back).  Roomy helped out at the Extravaganza with bingo (hilarious), we both found some nice pieces to add to our collections, and, of course, we got to see friends that we only see once or twice a year. 

I really loved how the Fair felt like one of the earlier Fairs again, in that so many collectors knew each other and the mood was relaxed, fun, and a bit nostalgic.  There was the possibility that this might have been the last Fair (it wasn’t – yay!!!!) and I think most of the collectors there decided to make the most of the opportunity to enjoy the community that we have.  The MLP community is shrinking back to a sustainable number of collectors (not a bad thing) and we’ll likely never see a giant convention again like we did at the height of the brony phenomenon (also not a bad thing, in my opinion), but many of us who’ve been around for the last 20+ years aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

Of course I added to my collection as well this year.  I’ve been collecting as an adult for 22 years, so no, I don’t have too many easy and cheap ponies left to get.  However, there were a few stragglers on my wish list that I had yet to pick up, and I managed to get several of these this year.  I also got some upgrades on older ponies, a couple of lovely nirvanas, one more G2, came within two ponies of completing my G3 collections, and contributed to the Geek Cave mess by not opening up G4 packages quickly enough.

The majority of Ponies who joined the herd this year

I don’t do New Year’s resolutions, but I do have plans for the coming year.  One of them involves the Geek Cave indirectly, in that we are rearranging our rec room to include glassed-in shelving for displaying and keeping safe some of our side-collections (see above re: books and mini figs).  As we start getting this shelving in place, we’ll start moving collectibles into their new homes, but in the meantime, we’re going to box up some of these things to get them out of the way and out of the Geek Cave.  This way we’ll have breathing space in the Cave without having to wait until the rec room is in order.

There are also a few things I’d like to get off my wish list and onto my shelves.  There are some harder to find ponies that have been on my wish list for as long as I’ve had a wish list, and I wouldn’t mind adding one or two to my collection.  I’ve also got my eye on some specific nirvana ponies, including Belly and Folly from Macau.  My first (but not last) Spanish Piggy Pony continues to elude me.  Perhaps this will be the year.

Macau Ponies, who have apparently become pony collectors themselves

Thank you for visiting the blog again this year.  I hope it’s been entertaining and maybe occasionally informative, and that you’ll join me again in 2020.  I wish you a happy new year with your collection(s) and the friends you’ve made through your collection(s).  I look forward to seeing you in person and online.  Until then, I remain your humble blogger,

Elf