Today we’d like to introduce you to Staysail Whitmer
Hi Staysail, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I began re-collecting my childhood toys in 2017 as a hobby. I started going to thrift stores and flea markets looking for My Little Ponies from the 80’s, which turned into collecting many other vintage and new toy lines as well. About a year into collecting I began my instagram account @totallyradnostalgia and have since found a community there with collectors from around the world. That has probably been the coolest part, the friends I have made through this hobby. It has also encouraged me to continue to creative everyday.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Finding vintage toys can be a challenge to begin with, because you are mostly sourcing them from thrift stores/flea markets and garage sales. Living in the South makes that more of a challenge just from a standpoint that people move in and out of it so much, as opposed to midwestern areas, my friends out there find so much vintage easily! During Covid, a lot of people seemed to gravitate to nostalgia, I think as a coping mechanism. LOTS of people started buying vintage toys from their childhoods. This of course means that things became harder to find and prices definitely went up on the resale market. However, I think for most of us it is the thrill of the chase either way! One great find can keep you going for months!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I share a lot of my personal collection of vintage toys. It seems to wow people and also confuse people! You can honestly collect anything you want to collect, and it’s so fun hunting things down.
I also like to make miniatures for my pink dollhouse, I have a lot of talented friends who make dollhouse miniatures who inspire me so much. Miniatures are really fun to make.
Because of me sharing my collecting, and the content I created for myself I have been really fortunate to work with a few toy brands, creating content for them and that has been really fun! It’s never anything I saw happening in my life, and here we are! I love that so much. No one should put a cap on their creativity.
Hobbies are really important, no matter what they are.
How do you think about luck?
Finding a giant lot of vintage toys all from the original owner and/or for very cheap is considered very lucky in this hobby. It has happened to me twice in 6 years!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @totallyradnostalgia
