Candy Dish Blog

We recently wrote about a Halifax, NS man who has collected more than 3000 PEZ dispensers. Little did I know that in our own Candy Dish community we had our own set of PEZ collectors.

I got a direct tweet from loyal follower Amanda, who has a large collection as well. Hers is just over one-sixth the size, coming in at 551 dispensers. You think that’s impressive? She is not only a collector, but an organized one, with a spreadsheet to keep track of all she has amassed thus far. I asked her what she does professionally and it turns out that she is a production manager for a diamond jewelry manufacturer. Just think – surrounded by all that bling and she loves to come home to PEZ. That’s a real testament to how much she loves the little plastic guys.

I interviewed Amanda through email:

First, how long ago did you start collecting these?
I started collecting about 13 years ago when I saw a PEZ display full of Muppets.

Which did you acquire first?
They were too cute to pass up so I started with Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo and Kermit.

Which is your favorite?
My favorite is one I don’t have yet, a giraffe! If I had to pick one that I did have in my collection, it would be my Popeye.

Is collecting these a hobby done out of love or are these an investment?
I collect completely out of love. They are definitely not an investment as a collection only holds as much value as it is worth to another collector. Another collector might think that my collection is worth less than what I’ve invested based on the wide availability of most of the characters in my collection. They might think it’s worth more. Make sense?

Can you find them, say, if you wanted to show off a particular one?
I can absolutely find them! I have to be oh-so-careful taking them out though because I don’t want to start a domino effect.

And what happens if you get another Speedy Gonzalez one and there just isn’t room for it with the other Looney Tunes characters? Does he go on another shelf or does a whole group of them have to find room somewhere?
I’m actually pretty much out of room in this case. I’ve had 2 additional shelves made for it and I still have run out of room. My plan now is just to store all of the new ones until I’ve accumulated enough to start a second case or maybe get a bigger one. My mom & dad purchased this case for me several Christmases ago with the intention of me using it for fancy dishware. I think it makes a much better display case for my PEZ. On a side note, I have 2 Rubbermaid storage bins that are full of duplicates and other PEZ paraphernalia stored in a closet…. I guess I’m going to have to add a third for all of the new purchases. This is where my spreadsheet comes in handy – even if it’s stored away and I can’t see it, I know I have it.

Do you have a family who has strong feelings about this collection?
No but everyone who sees it loves it and everyone can always pick out a favorite character or two. Friends and family are very sweet and pick up one when they’re out shopping and give it to me because they are “sure I don’t have one of these already”. 99% of the time I already do.

Thanks, Amanda, for being a good sport and answering my Mike Wallace-style probing questions. Anybody else have a large PEZ dispenser collection? Let’s really give that Canadian fellow a run for his money. It may not be much of a run, as the Canadian dollar is currently almost at par with the U.S. dollar, but we can give it a good try nonetheless.

I don’t know where they came from or how they got here but we started out with one M&Ms critter in our old office and it got lonely so we got it a friend and now they are popping up all over the place in our new office. Honestly, I am not sure how to handle this. They are cute and friendly enough but every time you turn around in the office there’s another one. These are anthropomorphized candy characters, for crying out loud, not tribbles. How can this be happening?

What if they just keep multiplying? What if they develop a pack mentality and take over or, even worse, kick us out of our fancy Georgetown office? Okay, so maybe they are just friendly. And maybe, just maybe, they aren’t really alive. If they were, I am sure all would be fine, judging from their TV personalities. Docile, friendly creatures. They might even purr.

But look what I found in the file room. It appears that they are nesting and making more of themselves. This one is still in his coccoon. Could it be? In all seriousness, I keep finding new ones in the office and I seriously do not know where they are coming from, although I strongly suspect our friends at Mars.

Have you ever seen these things around? Where do you even go to buy them?

Last weekend, my boyfriend and I went to his parents’ lovely home in Maryland to have dinner. While watching TV and chatting, I realized it would be a perfect time to document his mother’s Pez collection now that we have this candy blog up and running. She has more than 200 Pez dispensers!

Her collection began when my boyfriend was a kid and used to receive Pez as gifts in goodie bags from birthday parties. On a trip to Disney World they met an artist who had such a large Pez collection that it inspired her to continue collecting from the few she already owned. And many, many years later, her collection is still going strong!

As you can see in these photos, she has everything from classic Disney and Looney Tunes characters to college football and major league baseball teams to Sunday cartoon stars and even Giant Pez dispensers. They’re all perfectly shelved and begging to have children admire their intricate details and bright, vivid colors.

If any of you are thinking about starting a Pez dispenser collection, I recommend checking out this site that is anything and everything Pez. You could also read Collectors Guide to Pez, which will tell you the value of each dispenser.

So what started as a small representation of moments in her son’s life turned out to be an ever-expanding collection, as her friends and family continue to give her new dispensers on occasion. Who knew a plastic toy created more than 50 years ago would remain such a phenomenon?

What do you have in your candy collection?