FIVE QUESTIONS WITH…
Isabella Rose, 23, an avid collector of retro toys dating back decades. But what inspired her to start collecting?
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1. Why did you start?
My first inspiration for wanting to start a collection was stumbling across my now favourite artist Melanie Martinez in 2019. Vintage toys from the ‘40s to the ‘70s appear in her music videos.
After doing more research, Rushton Toys was the brand that intrigued me the most.
They were considered a ‘luxury’ toy if you were growing up in the ‘50s and can now set you back a few thousand dollars.
From there, I started collecting My Little Pony, Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake toys, too.
2. How do you source the retro toys you’re looking for?
Toy collecting is almost like a full-time job, especially if you are after rare ones.
Where I source my toys from differs between ebay, Facebook Marketplace and trading with other collectors. Living in Australia makes it incredibly difficult to collect as finding retro toys is incredibly difficult, almost a rarity.
So as a result, most of my toy collection is actually imported from the United States.
3. Do you have any specific criteria when sourcing toys for your collection?
I try to collect things in mint condition.
When it comes to the older ‘50s toys, I will do my best to buy ones in good condition, but you can’t be too picky when it comes to 70-year-old old toys!
As for the My Little Ponies, I look out for hair condition, plastic condition, if there is any discolouration and whether or not they have tail rust.
4. How many toys are in your collection to date? How much is your collection worth?
I’ve never counted every toy in my collection, but I own over 300 My Little Ponies alone.
If I had to estimate, I’d say I own well over 2,000 individual toys.
It’s difficult to put a price on my collection, because to me, it’s priceless.
But as for market value, I’d estimate my collection to be worth over £50,000.
5. How do you display your toy collection?
I’m still starting out on my collection journey, but as for right now, I have what I call ‘The Toy Room’ which is my room to display everything.
Around 50% of my collection is on display and the other 50% is in storage.
However, I do have future plans to expand so I can display more of them!