Interview with a Collector - A ggsdolls blog Series
A
monthly series on my blog where I feature some of the most amazing
collectors, sellers, and content creators that have become really good
friends of mine and what they collect and why? Read on to learn more...
For the month of November, my blog interview is with an awesome collector, seller, and fellow restorer, Jillian or cutthroat_cuddle on Instagram and shop shheathhshop and on Etsy an IG!!
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| Jillian and her Rushtons. |
Jillian is from Los Angeles, California and worked in the film industry in LA doing a variety of things. But mainly props and production design on the side. She sells vintage toys and housewares and has worked at a vintage store. Where she designed and hand made custom upholstery and drapery. She is definitely a busy lady!!
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| Giga Pets |
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| Jillian's Living Room. |
Jillian: I have honestly been collecting toys since childhood. In elementary school I was essentially "army building" digital pets and Polly Pockets. I still have my original collection of this massive wad of 30 something Tomagotchis and Giga Pets I'd carry around with me everywhere. I meticulously organized my Polly Pocket compacts in what I thought were their most ideal configurations along the floor of my bedroom. I would get hyper focused on one type of toy and for years any time I could get a new toy I'd just pick a variant version of something I already had to "complete the collection."
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| Living room display. |
Similarly, I've been into vintage for as long as I can remember. I have early memories of going to thrift stores with my mom. As I moved in high school I got more and more wild with my fashion. I've always been really tiny and struggled to find clothes off the rack that fit me so I got really into shopping for clothes at the thrift store and taught myself how to sew by tailoring them to fit me. Eventually when I was in college I was able to support myself by selling clothing I found at the thrift on eBay. Needless to say I was also finding a ton of vintage toys in all my thrift adventures! And let me tell you the abundance at the thrift stores in those days was absolutely GLORIOUS. Even in the middle of San Francisco where I was living at the time. I collected then and I still do collect vintage clothing, housewares, furniture, appliances, you name it. So naturally the toys fit right in. I tend to gravitate toward whatever catches my eye as unique or interesting so my toy collection is pretty varied but is all vintage, primarily 1950s-1980s.
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| A closer look, left side. |
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| A closer look, center. |
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| A closer look, right side. |
So one day on my vintage journey I was shopping around at an antique mall and this little stuffed animal with a rubber face that I could only describe as a human-animal hybrid caught my eye. It was the Rushton baby Maizie cow and I was literally floored by the design of this toy. I had never seen anything like it! I wasn't super into girls toys at the time but the unique strangeness of this toy coupled with how undeniably cute and well crafted it was completely stole my heart and the rest is history!
How do you describe your relationship to your collection; what is the magical thing that attracts you and keep you interested?
Jillian: Definitely overall design integrity. I've always been an arts and design person, as a kid and throughout high school the only classes I ever felt engaged in and excelled at were art classes. I got a degree in History of Art, and a minor in Art Practice while doing my vintage hustling on the side. One of my early jobs was as a toy buyer for a designer toy store/art gallery. I had my own clothing line for several years, and to this day the work I do is very design focused whether that be for commercial product, film, display or literally designing and fabricating abstract upholstery.
Unique, deliberate, thoughtful design sensibility is very important to me and I think that is very much reflected throughout my collection as a whole. It feels like the outward expression of who I am as a person, and at the end of the day I just collect and surround myself with what I like! In my collection you'll see a super cute 1950s doll next to a 1980s bootleg devil action figure, displayed over a designer Mid Century accent table and Space Age lamp, next to my antique sofa with my custom handmade abstract upholstery. For me the through line for all of this is the intriguing, creative, quality design and I absolutely love it. My collection is my happy place.
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| Another look at display. |
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| Jillian's Sewing Area display. |
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| A closer view of left side lower shelf display from right... |
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| ... to left side. |
Tell me a bit about your collection, how it started, what your first items were, and how it has evolved?
Jillian: Over the years vintage collecting has grown to encapsulate every aspect of my life. Every piece in my house is either second hand or handmade by me. For me vintage is something I am extremely passionate about not just from an aesthetic point of view, but and ethical one as well. It literally keeps me up at night thinking of all the perfectly good vintage sitting in landfills right now, entombed there forever because landfills never biodegrade. So vintage shopping and resale has become a really important part of my life because I want to save as many things from the landfill as possible, and in the process maybe help shift the culture away from fast, planned obsolescence, to the importance of vintage and sustainability. For me vintage represents design that was not only aesthetic but quality and built to last.
I think that's a big part of what attracts me so much to the Rushtons. These pieces perfectly represent everything I was just talking about. All the mid century design principles applied to toys! They're over 70 years old and many of them are still in exquisite condition. The pieces from the 1950s and 1960s are extremely well made, are all hand painted, they used the highest quality plush and decorative accents, the stuffing is all super soft high density recycled cotton, the overall design is exquisite. You can really tell these were envisioned and created by a true artist.
My Rushton collection has definitely grown A LOT since that first baby cow I found all those years ago. At this point the Rushtons take up about 50% of my entire toy collection and I think part of this is the sheer volume of designs available, they're all so amazing! I do have to set limits with myself on collecting though. One of the ways I've done that is with my displays. I designed and hand made all of my display shelving and have made those the physical barriers of my collection. This has honestly helped me a lot to keep my space looking nice and cohesive because otherwise I'd be reaching hoarder levels with my collecting, haha! So when I add a new piece to the collection that typically means it's time for another one to find a new home.
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| Upper shelves on left side. |
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| Lower right side shelf. |
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| A closer view of lower right side shelf, further right. |
What has been your family/friends/colleagues to your passion for cute kitsch?
Jillian: My non collector friends tend to think it's overwhelming the first time they come over, haha! I do talk about my collection a lot so people usually aren't totally caught off guard but I think when they see it in person it is still a little shocking for most people. I do try to keep everything very organized and well displayed so once the shock is over I feel like most of my non collector friends enjoy looking at all the curiosities. Luckily, I do live in LA and there is a a pretty big community of toy collectors out here. and we all see each other at least every weekend at the fleas or at various other toy events and shops in town. It's a super cute, fun, and supportive community. So for all my toy friends I think my collection is a welcome sight! Collector or not, it's always so fun to see what people gravitate too when they are interacting with the collection.
Tell me about your favorite item and why is it so special?
Jillian: Oooh, this honestly changes depending on my mood, and what part of my collection we're talking about, but I'm still going to have to cheat and pick two ~ my jumbo blue Rushton lamb and early Rushton kitty. The kitty I think is one of the first kitties the company made and the paint and posture on her is absolutely perfect her lashes are to die for and she's got the cutest little face. I honestly love all of my kitties so much but there's something so special and charming about this one in particular. She's literally sitting on my lap as I write this. And my jumbo lamb was always a grail piece for me, so to find her in this vibrant blue color with pink accents was over the top perfect for me! Blue Rushtons are my favorite. Both of these pieces have their original ribbons and are in exquisite condition. I could stare at them all day, I'm absolutely in love.
If you run a shop selling vintage kitsch, how did that start and what has been your experience? Has there been surprises and is it sometimes hard to let go of a vintage item or really great piece?
Jillian: I am a shopper at heart so selling was born out of the overflow of my personal collection, and has grown to be a bit more than that! It brings me tremendous joy to rescue and consciously revive vintage pieces and deliver them to loving homes. I do however struggle with letting go of toys. I tend to over empathize and anthropomorphize everything, so the fact that most of my toys have a face makes it really hard for me to part with them. Lucky for me I also collect and sell vintage housewares. Haha!
If someone didn't have access to the internet, how would you describe the items you sell?
Jillian: I describe my shop as stylized vintage from a curated collector.
If an item could just fall on your lap for free! What would that be and why?
Jillian: An untouched 1920s storybook style house in my neighborhood in Los Angeles ~ I literally have nightmares that when it comes time for me to buy a house that everything available will have renovated kitchens and bathrooms. To be completely honest - I absolutely loathe modern renovations in vintage house.
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| Top right shelf view. |
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| Jillian's cherished Rushtons. |
Have you noticed the increase in popularity/demand for vintage rubber face stuffed animals in the last few years? If so, why do you think this aesthetic is appealing to more people right now?
Jillian: Oh definitely! I think the internet popularity of these has drawn on a really vast audience since 2020. Honestly, I think good quality design is easily communicable to anyone, even if the person has no idea what they're looking at, and as I've discussed earlier these pieces possess really exemplary quality and design.
So true Jillian, so very true! I'd like to thank Jillian for participating in my blog interview with a collector, it was truly a joy to read her answers and learn a bit more about her and her collection!
Until next month's interview guys! Happy Thrifting!
Thank you for stopping by! ~ ggsdolls
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