CHENNAI: A peacock feather slipped between pages of a notebook, a coin gifted by grandparents, first-edition (in mint condition) comic books picked up from literary festivals, souvenirs gathered from travel trips — we all have prized possessions. For most of us, these collectibles add up to the simple pleasures of an otherwise mundane life. And it does so for Perkins Prince, too.
For the 25-year-old entrepreneur, it all began with Pokemon tazos, which came as a freebie with a pack of Cheetos. “I used to buy one packet every day for almost two years. There used to be hundreds of tazos in my collection. People started calling me the ‘Cheetos boy’ at school. I also developed a fondness for tattoos that came with the Boomer bubble gum.
I would stick them onto notebooks,” recalls Perkins. He now has eight to ten different categories of collections ranging from wristwatches and embroidered buttons of military officers to vintage cameras and cartoon figurines. “Some are packed and stacked on the attic, and some are displayed in the showcase. These are constant reminders of childhood. Almost, everything has a special memory associated with it,” he shares. All it takes is an interesting trivia or history behind an object to impress Perkins.
The hobby has taught him to appreciate small things, and stay organised. “These are items usually discarded by people because it doesn’t mean anything to them. They are available at throwaway prices. So it hasn’t been an expensive affair or much of an investment for me. For instance, I picked up embroidered buttons of officers of the armed forces from tailors’ shops.
You need to know where to go looking for a specific object. It may be a 100 years old but can be bought at a cheaper price from thrift shops,” he says. Knowing his love for adding to his collections, his friends gift him some, and some he picks up during travel. The core purpose of collecting rare objects maybe to preserve it but Perkins prefers to share the little joy with his friends.
“I had a pallasite meteorite called Brahin. It was with me for ten years. After deriving the pleasure of holding it, I passed it on to a friend who recently started collecting meteorites. It’s all about sharing your knowledge with others. To me, it’s an intimate affair. I don’t talk much about it unless somebody finds a collection to be interesting,” he explains.
His most prized possessions are an amber fossil and a tooth of a prehistoric shark. “The fossil has an insect trapped in amber. I’ve always been fascinated by these ever since they were featured in the film Jurassic Park. I picked them up when I got a chance. And the tooth is of a prehistoric shark called megalodon. Megalodon was the biggest shark to have ever inhabited the earth,” he points out.
Perkins may not have factual information on all the collections he owns but he hopes to find it someday. It’s a dream for him to start something like the Old Curiosity Shop on Mount Road. “I may not have enough collections to host an exhibition. But my curiosity to learn and collect will not fade away. There’s so much sentiment and emotion in each one of them,” he says. Here’s to more stories and discoveries!
Happiness in small things
All it takes is an interesting trivia or history behind an object to impress Prince. The hobby has taught him to appreciate small things, and stay organised.