Samantha believes her collection is worth at least £3,000 (Collect/PA Real Life). (Image: PA Real Life)
Nostalgic nirvana for Samantha Hughes, a toy enthusiast who has amassed an incredible collection of ’90s and ’00s memorabilia, valued at thousands. The 34 year old is not just about toys; she proudly sports 20 tattoos paying homage to pop culture greats from the era.
Living near Birmingham with her husband Luke, Samantha’s hoard includes cherished items like Game Boys, Furbys, Pokemon Battling Coins and a prized Nintendo 64 Pokemon Pikachu Edition console that alone could fetch £350. She owns over 350 games across various consoles such as PlayStation and Sega Mega Drive and dedicates a whole room in her abode to her vibrant collection, even preserving treasures from old Happy Meals.
With iconic inkings of Disney classics and Pokémon on her skin and a strong presence known as “your nostalgic bestie” with nearly 13,000 followers, she’s challenging the notion that gaming is just a man’s world. As she shares “super colourful” throwback moments online, she aims to keep childhood memories vivid for all.
Samantha with her husband Luke (Collect/PA Real Life). (Image: PA Real Life)
Samantha envelops herself in a perpetual festive atmosphere akin to Christmas, declaring to PA Real Life, “It’s like Christmas every day… and it’s just what makes me happy.”
“I’m a nineties kid at heart. Growing up as a kid in the nineties, everyone had similar interests and we could bond over the same music, toys and TV programmes. It’s not like today, where kids have a million options. We all went home and had the same five TV channels, we all had the same hobbies and interests, and I think we bonded much more,” Samantha said. She grew up in a modest family, which meant that she cherished every gift or toy she received and never wanted to discard them,
As a child, she enjoyed playing games on her Game Boys, such as The Powerpuff Girls and Sabrina the Animated Series, and has always been an avid Disney fan, amassing a collection of games and VHS classics. Her gaming consoles include a PlayStation One and Two, Game Boys, Nintendo Wii and Sega Mega Drives and Master System.
To avoid duplicating any game in her collection, she maintains a checklist. “I’ve got all the original Pokemons – red, yellow, blue, gold and silver – and I’ve a fair few Disneys,” Samantha revealed.
“I mainly play the Mega Drive and PlayStation One with my Disneys at the minute, so I’ve got all the Mega Drive Disney games except for one – I’ve got Aladdin, Lion King, Mickey Mania, Castle of Illusion, Little Mermaid and Pinocchio. Then I have some Cartoon Network-type games, like your old school Powerpuff Girls and Scooby-Doo.”
“The coolest thing I’ve got is an N64 console and it’s the Pikachu one, so when you turn it on, his little cheeks light up and that’s really cute. They’re quite expensive now and, boxed, I think they’re something like £350.”
Among her toy collection, she has two Furbys, Polly Pockets – including an Addams Family Compact – Pokemon play sets, Sky Dancers, Barbies, a Lizzie McGuire Funko Pop! and a 1997 Together in Paris Anastasia doll. She has kept toys from her Burger King and McDonald’s kids’ meals, and her other figurines include Super Mario Bros characters, Powerpuff Girls, Mickey Mouse, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Funko Pop! Trolls and Lilo and Stitch.
She also has a Meow-Chi robot and Robonagi toy from the noughties, along with several retro-inspired one-player handheld consoles from Tiger Electronics, with games such as Toy Story, Hercules, Pocahontas and The Rescuers Down Under. “I just try to pick up little bits of everything,” Samantha said.
“When me and my partner first moved in together, money was tight, and the older games were cheaper – you could get your older games for a few quid, so we’ve always picked them up. In the last three years, I’ve thought, ‘OK, this is a nineties collection now, a nineties/noughties collection, with some pieces from the 80s’.”
Samantha revealed that she frequents her favourite local vintage shop twice a week and keeps an eye on eBay to expand her collection, with games priced between £2 and £50. She has transformed what should have been a dining room into a “retro gaming 90s area”, complete with a glitter lava lamp, and relishes the cosy “nostalgic feeling” she experiences when viewing all the items.
Luke has added his own Halo Action Figures to the mix, often surprising her with gifts for the collection, including a recent Black Friday acquisition of the Polly Pocket Friends Compact. “(My collection) reminds me of people and times,” she shared.
“I lost my nan a few years ago and, when I look at my Furbys, I remember the time I left my Furby in my nan’s boot and it kept talking to her all the way home and she didn’t have a clue what was going on.”
“I look at things and you can remember times and people – they bring back memories – and I think there’s something lovely about that.”
Don’t miss…
Samantha started her page around seven years ago as “a Disney page”, but it has since evolved to primarily feature 90s and noughties collectables, and she takes pride in the community she has built.
She boasts 20 tattoos of her beloved characters, including Jaq and Gus from Disney’s 1950 classic Cinderella, Tom Nook from the hit game Animal Crossing, and Ursula from Disney’s 1989 animation The Little Mermaid. “It started out as more of a Disney page – I shared photos from my Disney trips,” she revealed.
“I feel like I’ve always been slightly embarrassed to put up the photos of my toys, but one day I just started posting it.”
Samantha expressed her desire for more nineties-themed conventions across the UK and a greater availability of “girly stuff” for sale. Her passion for collecting is matched by her enthusiasm for sharing her finds online, with an “old school Simpsons arcade machine” topping her wish list.
She encourages others: “Just do what makes you happy, buy what makes you happy.”
For a trip down memory lane, check out Samantha’s at @90snostalgiagirl.