We recently got chatting to Stephanie, who has been collecting pins since she was twelve years old and has managed to pass on the love of pins to her kids!
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
A little bit about me - I am a mom of four, and if you count my husband, then five. He’s a big kid too.
I have been collecting for as long as I can remember. I have pins in my collection that are 30 years old.
I have always loved everything about Disney, the movies, the parks, the characters and the pins.
Very cool, and when and how did you get into pin trading?
I am a collector at heart, so collecting pins was a natural way to go. It started with a mickey pin my mother got me when I visited the last time with her when I was 12.
Has your love of pins rubbed off on any of your (Five!) kids?
My oldest son Cody’s loves the Rescuers Down Under and Oliver and company. He has several pins from those. But not many were made, so it’s a small collection.
My daughter is a Pooh fan and collects him but isn’t as serious as us.
My middle son is a huge Wall-e fan and has a good start on him.
Our youngest is starting with Donald and Chip and Dale. He also has a few pins from Bonkers.
What are your main collections, and why?
My main collection is Stitch. Why you ask?? Because he’s just so darn cute and mischievous.
Ha, he totally is. What do you think would be Stiches’ main collection?
Stitch would collect food pins. Especially ice cream ones
How many pins do you have in your collection?
I would say I probably have upwards of 1,000 Stitch, and then I have other collections.
Some of Stephanie's Stitch collection
What is your favourite pin?
My favorite pin is really hard because I love them all, but I really do love my Dalmatian Stitch.
Dalmation Stitch!
He is adorable! What do you like most about pin trading?
I love that I get to meet so many cool people and see their awesome collections.
Who is the character you think needs more pin love?
Several characters definitely need more love—Bruni from Frozen, Fox and the Hound and Mochi from Big hero 6.
If you could change one thing about pin trading, what would it be?
I wish I could stop people from making fakes. It’s so sad when you finally get a pin you’ve hunted for only to find out that it’s fake.
Do you have any advice for someone who wants to get into pin trading?
My advice would be to choose a character and decide if you want to be a completist or certain pins you’re hunting. Also, to store them well, I use Pinfolio books, and I am very happy with that. Do your research on pricing so you can trade wisely. Print out an ISO list or store one on your phone and use it as a reference when trading.
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Love the idea of printing out an ISO list! Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us Stephanie!
