Pin Collecting

Pin collecting has become a very popular hobby.Trading pins with other collectors is great way to make new friends and share your passion for this popular hobby.

One big advantage of colletcting pins over say totem poles, is that they are small and don’t require much room. This makes pin collecting a good hobby for those who must limit the space devoted to their collections.

Many places, people, and events are comemmorated with pins so you will have no trouble finding a theme you are interested in.  Some of the most popular collectible themes are Disney characters, sports teams, and Hard Rock Cafe, and the Olympics.

The first rule of pin collecting is to specialize.  If you like the Olympics, for instance, you can start pin collecting souvenir pins that celebrate all of of the Olympic venues or just those pins that center around one sport. Just because these themes are popular, however, doesn’t mean you have to collect them.  Be original and collect what you like.

National and local political campaign pins are collected by many pin collectors.   Of course, presidential canditate pins are very popular.  Pins created to advertise businesses and services are also very collectible.

To display pins you have several options.  When you wear a jacket with lapels, you can wear a few of your favorite small pins.  The same goes for wearing a  hat or a vest.  Many pin collectors wear a few on the front of a cowboy hat.  Tote bags, purses, and fanny packs are another place where  pins can be displayed.

Once you have collected pins for a while, you will probably have more pins than you can wear.  A bulletin board, perhaps covered with a plain piece of fabric, like dark blue velvet, makes a nice backdrop for a pin collection.  The pins can either be pinned through the velvet into the cork of the bulletin board  or attached to the velvet first.

Another way to display and store pins is in a notebook.Storing in notebooks makes it convenient to take your pins to events and trade with other pin collectors.  To make the notebook, purchase sheets of hard felt or craft foam.  Either punch holes in the side so they fit into a looseleaf binder, or slip the pages into page protectors after attaching the pins to the pages.  The type of looseleaf binder that zips closed is the best to use for pin collecting.

Your pins can be easily scratched when they are stored carelessly in notebooks so that they rub against each other.  The scratches can be repaired with a tiny bit of liquid car wax.  It is best to avoid scratching them in the first place by using page protectors in notebook collections.

Buttons are a similar item to pins and are collected by many of the same people who do pin collecting. Whether you choose to collect pins, collect buttons, or collect both you will be surprised at the great variety available and at the number of people that enjoy this great hobby!