About MeMy name is Jim Blaine, and my wife (Jody) and I moved to Hartland, Michigan in December of 2014 from Ortonville, MI in northern Oakland County. We have an amazing son named LJ, and two dogs (Bandit & Presley)
I first started collecting Pez in 1999 when i first moved to Michigan. My first job in Michigan was working as a gas station clerk where Pez happen to be sold. I remember seeing the Pez "Bugz" set, and thinking these are kinda neat. Every so often the gas station would get different characters, and i would buy them to add to my collection. As my collection grew my family would get me Pez to celebrate holidays and birthdays. Until 2012 Pez was nothing more then just a simple grocery store purchase or occasional garage sale find. Having a few hundred Pez in my total collection. In the summer of 2012 however, i found a "Pez collectors" gold mine. At a local Flea Market. I ran across, "The Pez Pink Box" these were known to be Pez from outside the US, mainly Canada and Europe. The value of these Pez are a bit higher then the normal $1.00-$3.00 range. On average, one could sell for $7.00-$12.00 each. I bought every single box they had, and invested a huge amount of money into Pez. I pulled out all the ones i needed for my personal collection. Then, that is where the simple Pez hobby turned into a Pez addiction. My crazy Pez find had over 1200 unopened Canadian & European Pez. In less then a month i sold some of the Pez and doubled my initial investment. (and that was only selling 60 of them) At this point i was meeting and making friends over the internet with tons of other Pez collectors all over the world. I was using my "Gold Mine" to trade for Pez that i had never seen before and needed for my personal collection. My collection of Pez dispensers went from a few hundred to 3000+, and it didn't stop there. I made friends in Spain, United Kingdom, Israel, Thailand, Slovania, Austria, Mexico, Canada, Australia, France, Brazil, Japan to name a few. I began to trade my "lucky Pez finds" for New European Pez that you could not purchase in regular stores in the USA. I started traveling to Pez Conventions in Michigan, Ohio, and Connecticut (Visiting the Pez Headquarters in Orange, CT) i would use my extras to trade or sell for more rare hard to find Pez to complete my collections. With the advancement of social media i have made friends with collectors in almost every state in the USA. Once a simple collection had turned into an insane passion, not only for a simple plastic toy, but for long lasting friendships, stories, and memories. Pez collectors come in all shapes and forms: Young, Old, Married, Single, Children, Retirees, Families collecting together, Parents collecting with Children, Children collecting with Grandparents. Whether your socially awkward or the life of the party. Collecting Pez to me is so much more then a, "small plastic toy" It's building relationships. Today i collect with my son, (not quite as addicted as i am) Im always getting the occasional phone call from friends and family members asking me if i need certain Pez they found at a flea market, garage sale, or store. (90% of the time i have at least 6 of them,) but i love the passion that other people have when they call to be my "Pez Hero" of the day. Currently, including my extras i have about 30,000 Pez dispensers total. (4000+ in my personal collection) |
Why Pez |
In life we all go through struggles, we all have had those days where you just want to crawl into bed, and sleep the day away. Life has its way of pushing you down at your most vulnerable times. I personally have struggled with a personal injury that caused me to have my fair share of gloomy days, but the day always seemed to get brighter when i found a Pez that I did not have or when a new Pez package would arrive in the mail. I want to encourage others to enjoy the amazing world of Pez, but to build lasting friendships sharing a joy and passion for Pez together. Pez has lead me to friends all over the world, to enjoy other cultures and other people. Pez is a great way for people from all walks of life to come together. Not only to enjoy the art of collecting, but to learn from others, history, life lessons, and new things.
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What's Next |
I have made many new friends around the world, but i would love to share my passion for Pez locally. In the future, i would love to start a group where other Pez collectors can meet up, talk Pez, trade Pez, and enjoy a social group unlike any other. Pez Conventions have been a great way to meet other Pez collectors and find some rare Pez. Some day i hope to host a Pez convention in Michigan. (update: MIPEZCON was hosted August of 2016 MIPEZCON2 was hosted August 2017, MIPEZCON3 was hosted in August 2018)
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