Pin collecting as a hobby
By Bridget Ivery, Contributor
Pin collecting is an easy and fun hobby to dive into. I have been collecting for years and have over eighty pins from all over the place. I got started with Disney’s pin collecting and trading promotions almost a decade ago, which has blossomed into a full blown obsession. I used to live close to Orlando, Florida—and thus Disney World—so it was easy to pick up a pin here or there every time we visited. I especially loved picking up pins of my favorite characters. I think my proudest find is a pin of Scar from the Lion King, which I pulled from a blind box after a year of searching. It’s now proudly displayed on my pin board, along with the other Disney villains I picked up from that set during my search.
The hobby has a fairly low cost of entry. Most pins run from $5-15. The more elaborate they are, the larger they are, or if they have moving parts, the more they are going to cost. The Disney pins I began my collection with ran a little higher, being officially-branded merchandise, but the cost was never prohibitive to me, when I was only buying one or two at a time.
Aside from Disney pins, I have pins from places I have visited over the years. A summer internship in Washington, DC afforded me the chance to pick up pins from the various museums around the city. I have pins of warplanes from the National Museum of the US Navy, where I worked. I have a pin of the Wright Flyer, from the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. I even have a stamp pin picturing Benjamin Franklin from the Postal Museum.
Pins are little pieces of wearable art that show where you have been, the kinds of things you like, or groups you may be associated with. I have pins from Sicily, from when I went to a field school there. I have a pin from the National Youth Leadership Forum, showing my participation in one of their programs. I also have a pin of a dragon wrapped around a heart shaped red stone, given to me by my fiancée, which displays both my interest in all things fantasy, but also the love from my partner. Pins can represent people—like the Seabee pin I found which reminds me of my mother—and experiences. I have a pin from Mount Rushmore which will always remind me of the time my fiancée and I drove across the United States.
Pins make great souvenirs. Most gift shops will have a pin stand and pins are small and light, making them easy to pack away in a bag. They are great to display, but don’t take up a lot of space like some collections might. I have a simple cork board from Staples to display my pins, taking up no more space than your average picture frame. My old neighbours from before I moved to Canada, used a map of the US for their collection of pins from across the country.
I hope this has piqued your interest into the world of pin collecting. It’s really an easy hobby to get into, and brings lots of fun and memories with it.