Interview with a Collector - ggsdolls blog Series
Here's my monthly series on my blog where I share some of the most amazing collectors, sellers, and creatives, that have become friends of mine and what they collect and why?
For the month of July we are back in the United States, and my blog interview is with the extremely talented bluu.squeaks, on Instagram or commonly known as Bee.
My name is Baylee, but I go by Bee on my socials bluu.squeaks on Instagram and tiktok. I am 23 years old and from a small town in Michigan called, Fowlerville. I work from home and I am so blessed to have a supportive family that lets me do so. I help care for my handicap sister who has CP (Cerebral Palsy) and I babysit on the side when I can. I love spending time with the people, and staying close to my family and friends. As a teen I loved old Hollywood so much my room was Marilyn Monroe and I collected vintage cameras, clothes, jewelry, and paper dolls. Around that time I was 14 years old, and was introduced to vintage toys. My first vintage toy was a Sun Rubber Co Chubby doll. I wasn’t all up on research at the time and didn’t know where to start. But at 15, shortly after I had come across Bitter Squeaks Instagram and went down this little rabbit hole of Mobley and Kate Harts creations. I was a huge fan of the squeaks!
I was always blown away at their details and the animal figures I fell in love with. They’re so nostalgic and remind me of characters you would see in an old Disney cartoon! As for Rushton I was introduced to them by various artists such as Mark Ryden and Melanie Martinez. I became quite obsessed. I loved the variety of different animals, colors, clothing, and the creepy cuteness about them. They definitely are pretty iconic and hold a big place in my heart. I value the detail, quality, and love put into these items. Sadly, you can’t get toys with this much quality in my opinion. They are exceptional to competing toy brands from that time like My Toy and Gund. Don’t get me wrong the quality is there but the whimsical and fairy tale aspect of them is so strongly and perfectly illustrated by Rushton, to me!
My art is incredibly influenced by Rushton and Disney! My mind is constantly blooming with ideas on how to blend the two together! I’ve always imagined a place like Disney where you’d get to take photos with life sized Rushtons and just have everything Rushton! The rides, food, merchandise, toys! I love getting creative and trying to bring these ideas to life with my art. My collection has definitely evolved! I started out with squeaks and ceramics like Lefton and Napco. I gradually started my collection with the rubber faced toys and has continued strong to this day. My family and friends are very supportive with my hobby and my love for the kitschy cuteness of vintage toys and ceramics. I’m incredibly blessed for their support and watchful eye on things I may be looking for or might want to add to my collection.
When I was starting out, I was scared to be judged or made fun of. But, I have to say I’m incredibly grateful to have such loving and supportive family and friends that love seeing me happy. My favorite item of my collection would have to be my Molly Cottontail. She reminds me of myself in a weird way. (Not to mention my love for bunnies) I’ve always thought that if I had to choose an item or character from my collection that best described me in my own silly little whimsical way would have to be her. I’d say she’s my Toysona HAHA! I have no idea how to put it into words, but it just makes sense to me.
An item I would love to own would have to be the Rushton Omar Octopus. I think he is just so cute and incredibly unique! I know he’s a big ISO for so many people. His charm has just captured so many hearts and I certainly hope someday I’ll at least get to see one in person. Oh goodness! I have seen a huge increase in popularity and demand for Rushton, Lefton, Edward Mobley or pretty much anything kitschy vintage! It’s becoming so trendy and it’s a HUGE craze! I’ve seen people recreate Rushton like handmade faces onto teddy bears! It’s crazy how inspirational Mary Rushton and her creations have become! I feel it’s appealing to so many today because of the creepy cute aesthetic of them. Some have this soft cute vibe to them, and others look kind of like a toy like Chuckie… waiting for you to turn the lights off and become sinister! But also I feel that’s another reason for popularity. Of course you have famous people posting about them as well and that has most certainly boomed the popularity of vintage kitsch. But, who can blame em’? Kitschy items have definitely stolen my heart and wallet! Haha! Not to mention my house as well!
I always try to pop in on my friends in the community to see how they’re doing and how they feel about life and what not. But what outweighs the bad is getting comments and messages of love and support on my content and art! Comments like, “your posts make me smile!” Or “Your photos/art make me so happy!” I cherish the feeling of knowing my photos and art inspire others and make people smile! I am so incredibly blessed for the kindness spread with my close friends and followers in the community and being able to root for one another with our accomplishments. There’s trolls from time to time. But what I do makes me so happy and brings me incredible joy! And if I can help others feel that way then, I’m glad I’m doing something that makes people happy.
Thank you so much Baylee for allowing me to interview you and you sharing your collection with us! A few months ago I had commissioned Bee create a lovely digital art piece for me above, the sleepy kitty. This was before I was able to acquire a sleepy kitty, and Bee did an amazing job of capturing how I wanted to see my kitty too!
If you'd like to have her do an art piece for you, just contact her through Instagram for a commissioned piece. You won't be disappointed. I love her other original Rushton digital art pieces as well!
Until next month guys, for another interview! Happy Collecting!
Thank you for reading! ~ ggsdolls
