With the rising popularity of glow-in-the-dark Smiski figures and adorable Sonny Angel figures, the number of collectors has increased. Collecting can be a hobby, a passion, or something worth more for different people, and for senior Geneva Dang, collecting Smiskis and Sonny Angels is a reward, she said.
Dang’s parents allow her to add to her collection when she does well in school, she said.
“I started growing my collection because I think I got a bit addicted to them,” Dang said.
After buying the first figure, “I just wanted to get it a friend, so I started getting more.”
The simple yet cute appearances of Sonny Angels and Smiskis drew Dang towards them, she said.
“I also like how you can put them anywhere,” Dang said. “You can just leave them on your bookshelf or on the top of your fish tank—that’s where I usually put them.”
Senior Joseph Enriquez collects turtle figurines from different places he travels to as a hobby, he said.
“It’s nothing too serious; it’s just something that I try to keep in mind when I go somewhere,” Enriquez said. “But if I forget to buy a turtle from wherever I go, it’s not a big deal. I could just go again.”
Enriquez chose to particularly collect turtle figurines because, although turtles are portrayed as slower and inferior to other animals such as tigers and such in cartoons, he finds interest in them, he said.
“Something expensive can be valued less than something cheaper because of its sentimental value,” Enriquez said. “I saw that with my mom, and then I started realizing how I wanted to collect turtle figures, and I see it as something valuable.”
Enriquez started his collection at age 12 while visiting Pismo Beach, he said. He plans to expand his collection significantly as he travels, he added. “My favorite is the one I purchased from Hawaii because it was the first trip where I was away from my family,” Enriquez said.
Senior Vidhi Patra has been collecting stickers since kindergarten and erasers since second grade, she said. “I first saw different types of erasers with the break-apart ones, and those seemed really interesting to me because they seemed like puzzles,” Patra said. Stickers and erasers are not only fun to look at, but they can also be put to use, Patra said. Overall, collecting them is a fun hobby, she added.
“My favorite part of my sticker collection would be the one with jewels on them and charms because those stickers are cute to look at and they were limited edition,” Patra said. “And erasers, I don’t have specific ones that stand out to me because they’re all just really unique.”
Patra plans to expand her sticker collection by going through college mail, going to events, and purchasing from stationery stores, she said. “As of now, I have more than two dozen stickers and more than 100 erasers,” Patra said. “So, I’m planning to expand my sticker collection to at least 4,000 or 5,000 and for my erasers, double it to maybe 200.”