The joy of the collector is brought by thousands of cats

– When, why and where did your collection begin? How did the idea come to collect cats? Is this your beloved animal?

– I started collecting cats almost 23 years ago, even in my childhood, when I saw a very nice illustration on the cover of the baby book, I couldn’t forget it – I wanted to have as many items as possible. That book « Lovely Katytė » is still in the collection – the first preserved.

Cats have accompanied me from childhood. Once upon a time I had a iris, there was a tricolor kitten, who went to eternal hunting areas two years ago. Now I’m waiting for my son Leon to grow up a little, then we will think about a new pet. I hope the kids will not decide to have a puppy.

– You now have over 16,000 in the collection. exhibits. What are they?

-Yes, I currently have about 16,300 non-repetitive exhibits from 40 countries around the world. Most of the collection consists of a variety of details made in albums. These include business cards, postcards, calendars, postage stickers, stickers, candy paper, chocolate and chocolate packaging, payphone and short -haired cards.

Slightly smaller part of the collection – souvenirs, watches, jewelry, books, brands, toys, Christmas tree toys, decoration plates and dishes, calendars, as well as bottles with cats and other cats or items depicting cats.

Abundance: G. Liepuone collection has thousands of cat -like items or items depicting cats. / G. Photo by Liepuone Personal Archive

– Where do the exhibits come from? Have you ever counted how much money you spent them?

– Most comes from second hands. I really like different tufts. Searching for cats in markets, flea shops – a kind of meditation. Often I choose more little things for gifts for friends for collectors than for myself, but it’s a different expression of joy, because it’s fun not only to find, but to know that it will delight a friend.

It is impossible to calculate such things with money, as I have received a lot of cats with gifts, passing in to exchange groups to I do not need things, or have exchanged some cats to others with other collectors. I just gave up a lot of them by reducing my collections or deciding to stop solving for some reason.

It is best to evaluate such collections morally and emotionally, to how many positive emotions it provides. Basically, my collection is neither luxurious nor exclusive. It is more time spent and a pleasant hobby – to look.

– Do you have something unique, special, rare, hard to be found in the collection?

– I think unique can be called all the handmade exhibits created by artists – not on custom, not by template. The youngest in the collection is a kitten named Damutė, designed by the country’s puppeteer Irma Veregytė.

I do not know how unique it is, but one of the most joyous finds was in one virtual gift, an old Soviet thermos with a cat drawing on the side. How glad I was when the woman agreed to book her before the man went to take after work. Two years have passed on that day, but the second has still not been found or seen, which further increases the joy. So sometimes the most memorable exhibits are neither expensive nor well -known firms – they are just different.

Short -winged cards are more interesting because they rarely heard about them. Much is surprised by the existence of such a thing.

I try to collect the collection as many as possible, I would not want to accumulate figurines alone – beautiful but boring. Recently, I managed to buy a cat -like wired phone through a familiar online – now I’m waiting for a park from the United Kingdom.

Relicing: A Silver Cat, a grandmother who was once donated to the heart of the collector’s heart, is the smallest exhibit of her collection. / G. Photo by Liepuone Personal Archive

– Which exhibits are the closest to your heart?

– I like most of miniatures and small small items that do not need much space that can be put in albums. For the second year in a row, I am very looking for old -time children’s dishes with cats.

For me, the most important exhibit, the most personal and cute, is the eternal rest of his grandmother’s silver chain pendant, which is also the smallest representative of the collection. For this exhibit, I feel the greatest emotional attachment and appreciate it.

– Do all exhibits resemble any life stories?

– Unfortunately, I can’t say that. There are exhibits that I don’t remember about – neither how I came to me or ever. As I started collecting at eight, and I only realized what came from and how it came from, so there is a number of cats in the collection that have no evidence of emergence.

– It is conceivable that friends and relatives will not think about what to give you for a long time. Are you always able to please, donate what you don’t have yet?

– Talks always succeed. If a person just thought about me and found something to me – I’m already happy. I won’t lie, there are twins, but I am not saddened. I usually change them because we can often hear when you get a gift or gift, « If you have one, you can change. » It is harder for me to please when someone wants to sell me something. I just buy what I really like, because it is impossible to buy everything, but I don’t need it.

Personalities: The youngest in the collection is a kitten named Damutė, which was created by the country’s puppets Irma Verytė specially created for Giedrė’s collection. / G. Photo by Liepuone Personal Archive

– When you go somewhere, you necessarily bring a cat? Where do they come from?

– Currently, travel is restricted because my little one is hard to drive by car longer than 40 minutes of traveling, and starts to knock and cry. So we go to an adjacent city. Of course, however, the eyes are looking for cats everywhere and always.

About 40 countries live with me. It can be said that all cats who come from abroad – thanks to friends and acquaintances. As for those who come from the farthest, I have cats from Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Turkey, Egypt. Currently, many of them arrive by mail, during postcards exchange.

– How do you manage to accommodate such an abundance of exhibits at home?

– The cats have their own space. I do not hold them in the apartment because of the little hands that want to arrange everything according to themselves. I do not use things for their intended purpose because I do not want to wear or crash. All of them are collectible units to me.

Photo by G. Liepuone Personal Archive

– How do your children respond to such a mom’s hobby? I suspect toys are very desirable to toys … Do you give you happy?

– The little one is just a year old with a little, he is a typewriter. Cats, puppies and other animals are just au for him. We will see in the future what a little heart has. For my daughter Eleonora, I have gathered a box of donated toys from my collection of murmurs that she plays with. I am not saying that he will have to love cats now because Mommy wants it. By the way, she’s a fan of « dog patrols ».