Hunter Gatherers
What type of personality makes someone a collector? Is it a type A tendency or a design-savvy obsession with details that leads someone down the path? Who really knows? Most of the people I photographed for this story got into the game long before vintage items became a hot commodity. They started young, before eBay took over the seller’s market and sought-after items became picked over or skyrocketed in price. Lucky them.
“I am ‘collecting’ to create something of a museum environment in my home, bringing some of the macrocosm into my microcosm. The wildness of taxidermy, skulls, and African masks hanging on my walls allows me to experience a sense of awe right in my own living room.”
“This collection of ties was built during my decade of waiting tables at the wonderful Baywolf restaurant in Oakland, where I was taught to tie a double and single windsor by one of the senior waiters. The ties were bought at thrift stores, garage sales, and Goodwills, and they reflect my tomboyish, vintage aesthetic. I used to refer to my favorite silk tie with gray and pink stripes as my ‘power tie,’ determined it would grace me with a good shift.”
“Curated to wear. I keep them clean, but most get worn. Now where are those baby wipes?”
“I’ve always been fascinated by photography and ephemera, so the collection is a convergence of interests. I mostly shoot with the Rolleiflex, but I’ve been trying to experiment with the others. ”
“You don’t see Sponge Bob, Gilligan, or Mr. Burns wasting valuable resources on fashion dilemmas, so I just copied them and committed to a uniform. Thirty-one suits, one for each day of the month. Now I’m a calendar.”
“In the pantheon of vintage Japanese toy collecting, the super robots are aesthetically some of my favorite characters. There were many mediums used in the 1970s, but the diecast metal pieces are quite special – they're insanely sleek and usually contain some sort of missile firing or spring-loaded gimmick. Some of the pieces pictured here I actually purchased as a child right here in San Francisco in Japantown.”
“I'm an avid Barbie collector and I started my collection with 'Dolls of the World.' To date, I've collected over 100 Barbies and I'm looking forward to expanding my collection.”
“Japanese kaiju (monster) toys have an inherent charm. I am fascinated by the never-ending stream of bizarre characters I find – from walking severed hands to giant balls of sludge with arms and legs, rendered as adorably as possible. These are not toys you would ever see made for kids today, and that is what makes them so unique.”
