The SueBucks Memento experience

Ms. Sue Ang, a businesswoman in her early 40s, loved collecting cute stuff since she was a kid.  As she grew up her passion for collecting also expanded, until she has accumulated close to a thousand items!

Sue Ang welcomes you to her Hello Kitty world

So what is a collector to do with her growing collection?  Sue decided to open a private gallery filled with her precious goodies in 2016.

[bctt tweet=”The SueBucks Memento is a house filled with a delightful assortment of Hello Kitty toys in one room, and a Starbucks-filled variety in another room.” username=”JojieAlcantara”]

Sue Ang with Starbucks employees in 2016

The SueBucks Memento is a house filled with a delightful assortment of Hello Kitty toys in one room, and a Starbucks-filled variety in another room. Still in another empty room, she is currently setting up for her latest love:  the Sylvanian Families which she fell in love with in November 2014.

SueBucks Memento Starbucks room 3

The most difficult challenge she has faced was when budget was tight and the items she was looking for were so rare or limited that she had to find ways to get them.  So how did she get the rarest finds in her Lego, Starbucks Global Icon Mugs (Corfu and Seville) and HardRock bottle opener magnets?

“Through the help of friends around the world,” she responded. “I believe it it’s meant for you, it will just come.”

One of her rare Hello Kitty items
Robotic Hello Kitty and Lego Kitty

Her most memorable Hello Kitty item was a plane set given by her parents as a surprise birthday gift. She was touched by the gesture.  Another memorable gift from a friend was a Robotic Hello Kitty from Singapore.  Many times she would receive items from friends all over who are as excited to help add to her collection.

Sue with fellow collector friends in Singapore

The fun part is meeting other colleagues around the world, like the time she had a meet up with fellow collectors in Singapore.

Rare Spain city Seville Icon Series Mug (2008) that was discontinued abruptly and replaced with the real name Sevilla. On ebay, an authentic one costs more than a thousand dollars.

Does she sell some of her items? — only when she has a spare.  The most expensive stuff she has sold were Starbucks icon mugs because collectors want to have them even if they were costly. Today, she still has to complete her version 1 of the icon mugs, the very first designs that Starbucks made.

The idea of putting up one of their houses as a gallery for her collection was because it was growing so fast.

“It was my dream to build a museum someday,” she said. “And I wanted to show, share and inspire other people.” She plans to add more attraction and a food shop soon. Sue encourages wannabe collectors to be passionate and to follow their hearts’ desire. She also collects die cast cars, magnets, teaspoons and Jollibee toys.

Second batch of social media friends with Sue

 

The SueBucks Memento (along with her Hello Kitty World) is located in Santan Street, Mintal, Davao City and is open from 9am to 4pm.  Entrance to her private collection is P200 for adults and half for kids. You may contact her through [email protected].

Published in SunStar Davao on July 31, 2019

Read my full story on “The SueBucks Memento Experience” published in SunStar Davao today, July 31, 2019. 

Me in the Hello Kitty Mirror

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