It all begins with fascination – the feeling that draws someone to an object. To some, it could be the musty smell of yellowed paperbacks spilling off the shelves in a secondhand bookstore; to others, it could be the storefront of a watch shop, with watches kept in plastic boxes coated with a thin layer of dust that could stop them in their tracks, deep in contemplation.
“It’s love at first sight,” romantics gush with their starry-eyed gazes, waxing lyrical about the transcendental experience that comes with each encounter. It starts with one, and another, then five more, and maybe ten, and then you’ll start needing a shelf to fit all of them. Or a box for them. Is that when you call yourself a collector?
Call it an art, a hobby, an obsession, whatever suits your fancy. But collecting is the last thing from being a piece of cake, more often than not, it is a wild goose chase to the ends of the world in search of something that means so much to the individual and that makes everything worthwhile in the end.
“It’s one in a million”
Rarity is the defining factor that would set a collector apart from a compulsive shopper. While the latter struggles to limit their purchases, collectors curate what goes into their stash of prized possessions. They are always on the lookout for one-of-a-kind items, never run-off-the-mill ones you can pick up at any departmental store.
For Gundam shop owner and collector Nguyen Khai Hoan, he has on hand one of the 20 Phenex Mastermind robots that he secured through a reseller who won a lottery held by Bandai. Although he had to pay close to over 100 million VND, 10 times higher than the original price for the robot’s rarity, he is still in awe with the intricacies of the robot’s build today.
“When the LED turns on, it blows me away. It makes me want to cherish it and not touch it so much to prevent damage,” he said.
Hoan’s fascination with the craft of building Gundam models exists beyond a childhood pipe dream. After completing his university studies, he dedicated his entire career to running the Titan Gunpla shop with two of his friends against his parents’ wishes. Nevertheless, it was heartening to see a community thrive and grow together – Titan Gunpla Shop is now the largest Gundam shop in Saigon, and Hoan has even clinched 1st place at the 40th Gunpla Builders Contest in 2020.
Watch The 200-million Gunpla | Junk or Treasure
“To me, this is art.”
While monetary value is most commonly used as a benchmark of the market value of a collectible, exorbitant price tags do not necessarily equate to what a collector would deem precious. As the saying goes, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure – it ultimately boils down to the personal connection felt between the collector and the object that makes collecting such an intimate hobby.
Playing cards collector Terry Quan owns over 700 decks of cards to date, with his collection stemming from his interests in magic and cardistry. However, he has a soft spot for the Corona Luoye: Lac Viet playing cards designed by local artist Tuyệt Duyệt. “I’ve collected a lot of decks and there are almost no motifs or designs related to Vietnam. This is the first deck I see that is inspired by Vietnamese culture.”
The motifs pay homage to the detailed designs on traditional drums from the Dong Son culture which hits close to home to Terry. Indeed, cultural value in any collection lands itself in an entirely different league than highly sought-after items with a high monetary value.
Watch The 1st Vietnamese Playing Cards | Junk or Treasure
“You can only truly appreciate an item when you feel its weight and its texture on your hands.”
To be able to own an object that is no longer produced and which also carries the weight of an era that has passed us by brings Nguyen Duc Huy utmost joy. The 22-year-old grew up scouring Le Cong Kieu street for Vietnamese antiques from ceramics, glass paintings, and costumes including the symbolic basket-shaped hats called Non-Cu. With modernization, the production of these hats has come to a halt – craftsmen no longer wish to expend resources on them, hence there are only around 40 of them left in the world.
“We’re always trying to simplify our lives, it’s only natural that these hats would fade into obscurity,” said Trong Nghia, a Vietnamese antique collector.
But gazing at the same object in a sealed glass box placed in a museum would never provide a visceral experience close to what the object has to offer to a passionate collector, Huy said. “To me, if an antique spends the rest of its life in a museum, then it’s already dead.”
Watch The Forgotten Hat | Junk or Treasure
“People collect things to keep for themselves, I collect things to share.”
Being able to feel an object and share this time capsule with others shows how collecting is not just about building one’s personal collection, but rather a point of departure for the imbibing of knowledge to occur. Minerals collector and researcher, Nguyễn Bá Tuyên, spends some of his weekends bringing secondary school students to Thị Vải Mountain, where they would scavenge for minerals together.
“I love to share the information of each mineral I have, the inspiration in the journey I collected, and the passion for science,” he said.
Each object from his colorful collection has a life of its own and a story to tell – with this intention, he has custom-crafted a display cabinet to share his minerals with any curious minds.
Watch The Hidden Gem | Junk or Treasure
Collections are the gateway to learning about culture, with each object representing a memory frozen in time. These objects are also tangible sources of happiness, grief, guilt, or a multitude of feelings encased within. This mini-documentary series by Rice, titled Junk or Treasure, hopes to invite you to take a peek into the vivid worlds of these unique collectors, and even if it feels distant to you, always remember that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. Maybe you won’t understand it, but maybe someone else will.
