#Shattered #Shining #Interview #Bobblehead #Restorer #WorthPoint
Sports collectibles come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. The many manifestations of sports memorabilia span every collecting category, from ticket stubs and autographs to pins and uniforms. This reality becomes inescapably clear when one visits the National Sports Collectors Convention, where you can explore booth after booth of sports rings, trading cards, baseball gloves, and even toys.
That’s where we had the chance to chat with Chris Callan, who’s built a serious reputation for himself thanks to uncanny powers of bobblehead doll repair. Callan is an artist by trade who puts his skills to work in service of one especially fragile sports collectible.
Although bobbleheads may not seem quite as delicate as art glass or thinning, weathered paper, these dolls have their share of vulnerabilities. As Chris reminds us, bobbleheads are toys meant to be used, and their mechanism and finishes can be easily damaged if they aren’t bobbled with care.
For Chris, bobblehead repair began as an affordable solution to his own collecting woes. When he discovered that a desired Cardinals bobblehead was out of his price range, Callan decided to try his hand at restoring a cheaper, less pristine version of the doll. Since then, Callan has gone on to repair a variety of bobbleheads for several clients, including an incredible doll that belongs to a very pricey monster trio. (We know it’s not exactly related to sports, but you’ll definitely want to see this cool character brought back to life by Chris!)
To see more of Chris’s incredible artistry and to learn more about his work, watch the entire conversation between Chris and WorthPoint’s VP of Editorial Content, Eric Bradley. We’ll even show you a few more incredible before and after photos of his restorations! We hope this deep dive into the bobblehead world inspires you to branch out into a new universe of sports collectibles and to treat the dolls you already have with a little extra care. Then again, if you think you have a doll that’s beyond repair, you can always hire Chris to restore it to its former glory. Watch the video to find out how!
Nodding to the idea of even more bobbleheads? Check out our Blog article on National Bobblehead Day.
In addition to her role as HIP’s curator of photography, Allison Radomski is a writer and filmmaker. She spends her days hunting for analog cameras, scoring her own movies in her laundry closet, and building her collections of Polaroids and handkerchiefs. She has degrees in cinema & media studies and religious studies from the University of Chicago.
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