Pandas may have been endangered in the past but numbers are never an issue at the home of South Canterbury collector Kathryn Brown as she tries to secure herself a Guinness World Record.
Miss Brown said she started collecting pandas when she was aged 10 after doing a school project about them.
‘‘It gave me a real buzz to find one as it didn’t happen very often as this was before the internet was around.’’
Her collection includes holiday-themed pandas, a panda sewing machine, a panda screwdriver set along with 150 pairs of panda earrings and items she makes herself.
Miss Brown said one of the things she owns is a panda World Wide Fund for Nature donation box.
‘‘I have wanted it for the past 30 years and I drove up to Nelson to be able to get it.’’
She said she first saw pandas in person when she went to San Diego Zoo.
‘‘My dream is to go to China and hold a panda or at the very least do a panda experience.’’
At present, she does not know how big her collection is.
‘‘That is the million-dollar question. I did try to count them all once.’’
Miss Brown submitted her application to the Guinness World Records in June last year and got told she had been accepted into the application process in September.
‘‘I need to have two people who can validate my collection, and these people could be local attorneys, accountants, police officers or government officials. Then someone has to take photos and video.’’
The record for the largest panda-related item collection belongs to two people from Croatia who have a panda collection that consists of 1966 stamps.
‘‘Once I get the record, I will probably slow down on expanding my collection but at the moment I am a bit scared that someone has been collecting longer or they have more than me.’’
She said her pandas meant a lot to her as there were many things she could not replace if something were to happen.
‘‘A lot of my pandas tell a story. It is my life and it is a part of me.
‘‘They bring me joy.’’
Miss Brown said she wanted to thank Kidstuff for always trying to help her get anything she asked for and if anyone could help her validate her collection to get in touch with her at [email protected]
