How Pooh, Pokémon and Ash Turned Me Into a Collector

I can confidently say this wasn’t a hobby I ever saw coming.

Trading cards were always Ash’s thing. He’d collected Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! and plenty of other sets for years. I’d happily admire whatever he’d pulled, but I never thought I’d end up caring whether a card was a base, a parallel or numbered out of five.

Then Disney Topps Chrome released, and Card.Fun had a Winnie the Pooh set, and that was it.

Apparently all it takes to get me interested in something is adding Pooh.

It Started With “Just a Few Cards”

Like most expensive hobbies, this one started with me saying I was only going to buy a few.

I don’t think anyone believed that… including Ash.

We started picking up bits on Whatnot, then moved on to opening packs together. That’s still probably my favourite part of collecting; we’ll grab a couple of packs or a Blaster box when a new set comes out, put the kettle on and see what we get.

People often ask who wins our pack battles.

The answer is… whoever pulls the best card (or even better the card they have been wanting to pull).

If that’s me, Ash gets excited.

If it’s Ash, I get excited.

I know that probably sounds a bit cheesy, but it’s true; half the fun is seeing the other person finally pull a card they’ve been chasing.

I’m Still Learning…

There’s just one small problem.

I’m apparently terrible at spotting good cards. More than once I’ve looked at a card, thought, “That’s nice,” and carried on opening packs without another thought.

Our 1/1 Goosebumps card? Yep. I thought it was a base card.

Then there was our /30 Kevin from Up. I nearly ignored that as well because the pearl finish looks so similar to the regular cards.

You’d think I’d have learnt by now.

I haven’t and probably never will..

Thankfully, Ash usually notices before I accidentally file something amazing away as “just another card.”

Disney Didn’t Stay on Its Own

I blamed Disney for getting me into collecting.

Then Pokémon happened.

Now I have my own Pokémon binder and, somehow, Jigglypuff has completely taken over the first page.

People assume it’s because they’re pink. Absolutely not. I actually hate pink.

I genuinely think it might just be the name. Try saying “Jigglypuff” without smiling. I can’t.

I’ve also got a hand-painted Pokeeconn binder that’s slowly filling up with my favourite full art cards.

Sometimes I look at it and think, “When did this become my hobby?”

It’s Funny What Becomes Your Favourite

If you’d asked me what my favourite card would be before I started collecting, I’d probably have picked Pooh and of course in many ways it is!

However, I definitely have a soft spot for our little /5 Star card.

It’s the lowest numbered Disney card we’ve ever pulled, and we absolutely love it.

Not because it’s valuable. Not because it’s rare. Simply because we both think Star is adorable.

Every single time that card comes out, one of us says exactly the same thing.

“Look how cute Star is!”

I don’t think we’ve ever managed to look at it without smiling.

I’ve Found My Own Way to Collect

One thing I’ve learnt quite quickly is that you don’t have to collect the same way as everyone else.

Some people love buying Hobby boxes. Some people love joining breaks. For me?

I’d much rather open a few packs with Ash and then buy the singles I really want afterwards.

Winnie the Pooh in breaks IS expensive, and I’d rather know I’m getting the card I’ve fallen in love with than spend a fortune hoping luck is on my side.

That way I still get the excitement of opening packs, but I also get to build the collection I actually want.

So… I Guess I’m a Collector Now

It still feels slightly strange saying that.

I never planned on having Disney binders.

Or Pokémon binders.

Or getting ridiculously excited because a new set has just been announced.

But here we are.

Looking back, I think the best thing about collecting isn’t actually the cards; it’s sitting together opening packs, laughing because I’ve completely missed another rare pull, and definitely getting excited when one of us finds a card we’ve been searching for.

Those are the bits I remember.

The cards are lovely, but they’re really just reminders of those moments.

And all because I thought I was “just buying a few Pooh cards.”

Turns out Ash was right to encourage me.

He knew I’d enjoy it long before I did.

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