Click on the picture to view this Collection! Name: Donna Baker Location: Marietta (Atlanta), GA

1- What is it that you collect?
Pigs, Star Wars, Children’s Books, Flower Pins, Pop Art, Op Art, Antiques  - primarily from the 1960s-1970s, old Valentines, Pop-Up Books, Art Glass (Italian and Czechoslovakian), Folk Art, Buttons (political, rock n’roll, various), Masks, Troll Dolls, Wizard of Oz books and items, other Sci-Fi items, I forget what else..

2- What was it that brought you to collecting? And what is that keeps you
going?
When I was maybe 12 years old, I mentioned that I liked pigs and a friend of my mother’s gave me my first pig item, then I went crazy collecting them.  Then I got interested in antiques, then Star Wars and other sci-fi items, then children’s books, then, then….  Once I get an idea about something l like, I get obsessive about searching, hunting, tracking that item until I have amassed a huge collection.  Hoping one day to sell things to stay alive, for a little while anyway.

3- When did you start collecting?
I think I was 12 years old when I received my first pig item.  I am 44 (gasp) now.

4- Why Pigs and Sci-Fi items?
I thought pigs were cute and I liked the way they all looked grouped together so I wanted more.  Then I saw the first Star Wars movie and went crazy collecting the cards, posters, things, then I went crazy with more sci-fi like Battlestar Galactica, Black Hole, and several other movie/TV shows.  As I matured, I wanted my “own” space and started going to flea markets, antique stores, estate sales, and various stores around where I lived and traveled for future furnishings and décor.  I think my early punk lifestyle led me to search out antiques at flea markets, the best finds at the lowest costs.  An artist friend turned me on to the art in children’s books and I went crazy with those.  For some reason 60s-70s metal flower pins caught my eye, I thought they were groovy, and am now going crazy collecting those.  I like the way collections look if they are grouped together, not spread out.  A grouping can have a bigger impact and maybe even an artistic visual quality.

5- When did you start displaying them?
I think I started displaying my pigs right away, maybe after my 4th one.  My mom bought a special curio cabinet for them and after a few years, my pig collection outgrew that cabinet as it has wayyyy outgrown the current cabinet.

6- How do you get your inspiration to organize and display your collection?
I am artistic by nature and a large grouping of a single type of item is visually appealing to me.

7- Do you have a favorite character(s) you collect?
Not really a favorite character, however I do really like the way the various Star Wars Jedi look; they are very colorful and creative.

8- Which item in your collection would you say is your absolute favorite and
why?
Right now my flower pin collection is my favorite.  The display just looks groovy.  Not really one specific item is my favorite.

9- Which item was the most difficult to obtain? And which one is your
prized possession?
Yikes, I dunno.  Right now a Darth Vader, don’t laugh, Burger King Star Wars toy is highly prized, those are being released in limited quantities and I just about have to get naked to have the BK employee find one for me.

10- What is the oldest item you own? and the one with the most value?
Honestly, I don’t really know.  I have some family items of furniture that go back to the 1700’s, but I don’t know how valuable.  Maybe a Star Wars film projector thing with a cartridge that has footage from the first movie may be worth something, I haven’t seen many on the market and I had to BEG my mother to buy it for me way back, had I my own money, I would have bought more.  It’s wonderful.  My mother was definitely NOT into satisfying my collecting craze.

11- What inspires you to purchase an item to add to your collection?
I purchase items for my collections if they are something I don’t already have, the right color, size, shape, PRICE, and in the case of my pig collection, handmade is good because I know the item is not being mass produced.  For children’s books, I have favorite illustrators now I look for, 1st editions, and if the author or illustrator is signing, I will go out of my way to have a book signed.  I get excited if I find something I know is rather rare and is being sold by someone who doesn’t know it’s rare and will give me a good price…that’s a rush.

12- Customizing figures and statues has become very big, have you ever
purchased a custom figure or statue and have you ever tried making one?
If you count pigs as custom figures, and yes, I’ve tried carving a few pigs out of wax or something, but generally, no, not in a sci-fi realm.

13- What do you think of the custom Craze?
For collectors, it’s great.

14- Where do you make most of your purchases from? ebay seems to be a favorite with collectors these days, are you an ebayholic?
I am NOT an e-bay fanatic quite yet because I can still find what I want at the right price by just looking in my usual haunts.  I’ve been collecting things for so long now, I kinda know what to pay for things and what NOT to pay for things and e-bay will sometimes be too expensive.

15- Is your collection insured?
Well, er, no, not insured.  My husband keeps nagging me to do that.

16- What is missing from your collection that you hope to one day acquire?
Nothing specific, just more, more, more. Actually I always regretted not getting the whole set number 5 of the first Star Wars movie bubblegum cards. I understand they were distributed in greater quantities in different parts of the U.S.  I’m missing a few cards from this 5th set.  My sister has the entire set.

17- What is the usual reaction when people see your collection?
People usually LOVE seeing my collections because the impact of the huge groupings is a show stopper.  AND, as an added bonus, when people see my collections, they often find things to give me from their own stash, or family stash, or something they saw out and about.  People often see my house as a “Pee Wee’s Playhouse”, very colorful and groovy.

18- Do you attend conventions for some of your purchases? Could you tell us about that?
I’ve been going to DragonCon sci-fi/gaming convention in Atlanta for YEARS, almost since it first started.  That is one trippy weekend to spend.  Lots of merchandise (I go insane), lots of people dressed up (and it’s not even Halloween), all night parties, crazy parade through the middle of the city, celebrities, illustrators, authors, artists, film makers, gamers (my husband is into that).  DragonCon is great for buying toys, comics, getting autographs, taking pictures, getting wacky and being allowed to.

19- Most collectors today go on what they call a toy run, do you participate
in that as well? And what are your favorite spots? Do you have a routine?
Toy run…yessssss.  Right now I’m on a mission for Star Wars stuff. Almost daily because I am driven to collect at the moment.   No favorite spots for Star Wars.  I do have favorite spots for antiques, pigs, books.  Books of Wonder in NYC is great for children’s books, 1st editions and autographs.  I will go to NY or order from their flyers.

How do you decide what to take out of the package and what stays
sealed?
According to collecting books, magazines, articles, other collectors, and most info I see, the Star Wars stuff is more valuable if sealed.  I do not remove those toys or items from their packaging, and I keep receipts.   If I absolutely HAVE to examine (play with) the toy or gadget, I’ll buy more than one of the item, but keep the packaging.

20- How big do you think your collection will be 10 years from
now and do you think you would have grown tired of it?
So far I haven’t grown tired of any of my collections, well, I take that back, I did collect rhinestone and paste jewelry 20+ years ago and I got bored with it. I’ve cut back on some voracious collecting because prices are going up (thanks to e-bay …arghhhhh).  Now when I see something at an antique store or estate sale, the seller will say “that same item is on e-bay for one trillion dollars” and I walk away.  That sucks.  Ten years from now I hope to have the largest collections ever of pigs and flower pins.  I recently heard of vintage Valentine collectors with thousands of Valentines in their collections…sniff…I only have about 200 and it’s KILLING ME!

21- What advice would you give someone who just started a collection?
Be passionate about your collection and if necessary, be specific.  Don’t
pussy foot around and buy one little thing for your collection one month,
then a year later buy something else.  Just go for it.  Learn to be aware of
what you’re looking for when you go out, focus.  Also group the
collection, don’t spread it out from room to room, that’s boring and
tired.  Tell people what you collect, you may get a lot of your collection
from gifts. May I just say I am NOT a hoarder…gack…I worked with someone
who was, awful, piles, stacks, stuff everywhere, dirty.  I am a
“collector” and proudly and creatively display and categorize my
collections.  It’s FUN!