Pica~Post

Published by Oi Polloi of Cottonopolis

No•8 AW•MMXIV

The Smurf

Collector

How long have you been collecting Smurfs for?
Since about ’77.

How did you start? 
Someone at school had one and I was transfixed. I was like, “What’s that?” So I went to the National garage just outside of Hazel Grove where they had a box full of different ones and I started working my way through them. The more they made, the more I wanted to collect, and I just got hooked in on them. They’d do Olympic ones and all sorts of different ones to do with whatever was going on at the time so it just got worse and worse for me.

After a while I stopped because who the fuck wants kid’s toys? Who wants to collect Smurfs? You want to go to The Haçienda and spend your money on trainers. And then when I was about 30 I had a dream about Smurfs. I dreamt about this Smurf windmill. So I went to my mum’s and opened the box and I was straight back into it — straight back to being a kid again.

What’s your favourite piece in your collection? 
There is a Smurf that looks like my wife. Smurfette is blonde but my wife has got dark hair, so there’s always been a slight problem there. But this one is a Native American squaw and it does look like her. There’s also a frogman Smurf with an all-in-one frogman outfit and there’s a skydiver with a lilac boiler suit. And then there’s an old geezer with the goggles and the scarf who races classic Ferraris. He’s quite good.

Where do you get them from?
Now I get them from the internet or collectors fairs. Mostly the internet though. I’m closing in on having the full set.

Where do you think man’s need to collect comes from?
It’s escapism. It’s some stupid thing to do that doesn’t make you think about this or that. It probably comes from when we were living in small villages and we went out to forage for things. And sometimes you leave something behind in childhood that you really, really liked. Like with trainers, everyone says, “my mum would never buy me these.” So you go back and collect them.

What else do you collect? 
Over the years what have I collected? Munch Bunch fruit pencil tops, Star Wars bubble-gum cards, these weird little plastic Paddington Bears, Top Trumps, Dinky cars, Corgi cars, recently I’ve become super-obsessed with these 1:43 die-cast miniature cars. I collect adidas trainers, Nike trainers, Clarks shoes, Lacoste polo shirts, corduroy jeans, crew neck jumpers, patterned shirts, extreme conditions parkas... I just buy a lot of things that I like and then all of a sudden I think, “I’ve got too many of these, I better start collecting them.”

When will you stop?
The day that I die.



The Smurf Collector wears

Patagonia Ironwood Pack £40

Patagonia
Ironwood Pack
£40

Converse 1970s Chuck Taylor All Star £70

Converse
1970s Chuck Taylor All Star
£70

Spring Court B2 Mid Canvas £64

Spring Court
B2 Mid Canvas
£64

Penfield Sanford Bobble Beanie £20

Penfield
Sanford Bobble Beanie
£20

Anderson’s Woven Suede Belt £68

Anderson’s
Woven Suede Belt
£68

Universal Works Simple Socks £14


Universal Works
Simple Socks
£14

 
IMG_8825.jpg
Our Legacy Knitted Hat £60

Our Legacy
Knitted Hat
£60

Norse Projects Bjarki Towelling Socks £20

Norse Projects
Bjarki Towelling Socks
£20

OrSlow 107 Ivy Fit Cords £142

OrSlow
107 Ivy Fit Cords
£142

Beams Plus Gym Pants £119

Beams Plus
Gym Pants
£119

Barbour Steve McQueen Clay Shirt £85

Barbour
Steve McQueen Clay Shirt
£85

YMC Space Dye Pocket Tee £55

YMC
Space Dye Pocket Tee
£55

OrSlow 60s Denim Jacket £254

OrSlow
60s Denim Jacket
£254

Our Legacy 50s Sweater Super Light Print £100

Our Legacy
50s Sweater Super Light Print
£100

Stone Island Light Brushed Wool Crew Neck £210

Stone Island
Light Brushed Wool Crew Neck
£210

 
 
Patagonia Down Sweater Hoody £210

Patagonia
Down Sweater Hoody
£210

Barbour Mined Overshirt £159

Barbour
Mined Overshirt
£159

Our Legacy Flight Jacket £315

Our Legacy
Flight Jacket
£315

 

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