A bag full of tags

UNIQUE HOBBIES

It was this ‘shopaholic’ nature of hers that made her start collecting price tags of different items. But what started as a mere way to monitor expenses soon turned into an interesting hobby. She confesses, “I used to buy a lot of stuff. Owing to my dwindling savings, I had to keep a tab on all my expenses. My friends collect invoices and bills. But I decided against that because that would have just turned into a pile of boring stuff. Price tags are more fun to collect as they are colourful and come in all possible shapes and sizes.”

The 23-year-old works as an operations analyst in a financial firm. Though many might find her hobby quirky, she takes pride in her well-stocked collection. She asserts, “Price tags are generally considered trash. The first thing you do after you buy something is to rip off the tag and throw it in the bin. So when a couple of my friends actually saw that I had a huge box of price tags, their first reaction was one of surprise.”

What fascinates her about price tags are the myriad shapes and sizes they come in. She tells Metrolife that a few of her favourite ones include those shaped like a heart and a bow.

She adds, “I have a few tags from a company called ‘Rat-Trap’ which look like a rat has nibbled on them. There is another one made out of cloth and has beautiful designs on it.”

Then there are tags made of jute, recycled paper, metal etc. Her collection also includes price tags of bags.

So what is it that she loves shopping for the most? She replies, “I love buying clothes. But if I go shopping and find a bag with a cute price tag, I just pick it up. The same thing applies for other accessories too.”

So does she have the tendency to go hunting for price tags? She laughs, “Definitely not.

I collect even the simplest tags. But if I like the tag on the dress that I want to buy, it is just an added advantage” But she is quick to add that she may soon start scouting for innovative-looking price tags that can be added to the collection.

Ask her how she plans to store them and she says that right now, she keeps everything in a big box. There are new additions to the collection almost every other day. She opines, “Maybe someday I will sit down and count all of them. I will even calculate how much money I have spent altogether. I am sure it will run into thousands, even lakhs!”

Her dream is to have a collection of tags from all across the globe. She explains, “My collection has price tags of things that I have purchased in Hong Kong, Singapore and places around India. I want to keep adding different kinds of tags to this and make it a global collection.”