Catching up with Consetta

Have you given away or sold any more of your collection since appearing on the show?
No we have not sold anything, but we have donated more items to Rancho Obi-Wan!

Have you purchased any more Star Wars memorabilia since appearing on the show?
Yes. Yes we have.  Just one week after filming we discovered a huge Star Wars yard sale happening within a couple miles of our house. To our amazement we met a family that had also been collecting for years and was selling large quantities of Star Wars items at extremely low costs (the entire garage and yard were filled with bins of unopened Star Wars items!) We bought/rescued seven large bins of new Star Wars items.  We helped spread the word to our local fellow Star Wars friends and made new ones during the course of the weekend since we made a few trips back to the sale. Once again, Star Wars brings people together.

What's your most prized possession? Would you ever part with it?
My Darth Vader action figure collector case remains very near and dear to me. My parents knew how much I wanted one and we could not find one anywhere in Southern Indiana where we lived. My Dad was a truck driver and while on the road found one in Texas and brought it back to surprise me for Christmas. It was the best Christmas gift ever and I'll never forget that moment and hearing the story of what my parents did to make this dream come true for me. Would I ever part with it? No. If someone offered me a million dollars for it then I'd have to say yes. Why? Because then I could use the money to support my parents and make sure they'd always be taken care of.  They've always been there for me and supported me and I want to be able to provide the same for them.

Since appearing on the show, have your feelings or interests in collecting changed?
My interests have not changed in any way, but I think my feelings towards it have.  The experience of filming the show really made me realize what collecting means to me and why it's been such an important part of my life.   I understand many people will think I'm crazy and obsessive but my collecting and passion for Star Wars has brought me a great deal of happiness.  I met Garet, the love of my life, because of Star Wars.  I'm incredibly fortunate to have something that started as a childhood fascination and has brought me joy throughout my life.

Will you ever stop collecting?
If for any reason collecting was no longer fun for us then we'd stop. At this time we love collecting together and enjoy every moment. 

Is there any item out there, you don't own, that you'd just love to get your hands on?
There are many items we'd love to get and searching for them together is part of the joy of collecting. I personally would like to somehow acquire an original piece of the Death Star.  I know it's something Garet has always wanted and I'd love to be able to get that for him! We've always both wanted the Animated Yoda Statue so the fact this item came into our lives during filming was truly a galactic find! 

Do you now set boundaries on how much or how often you're allowed to collect items?
No. We both agree life's too short for boundaries! Plus, you never know when you're going to come across something or find an item you love.  We do however take into consideration the space we have available to properly display the items we want to add to our collection.

How did Elyse's visit help you as a collector?
Although we didn't see eye to eye with Elyse and disagreed on many levels we did try to learn something from the experience.  Prior to meeting her our collection already had huge emotional and sentimental value to both of us.  We honestly had no idea what the monetary value was and had never thought about it since we never considered selling or parting with anything in our collection.  It was hard to hear her discuss our collection in monetary terms and keep talking about it in dollar amounts as that is not what it is about for us.  After some lengthy discussions about what it means to us and where she was coming from it did help us both realize the value of what we had in our collection.  She assisted in helping us see that we should have our items cataloged and documented at the very least for insurance purposes.  She also helped us see the importance of keeping original boxes of items as they are also part of the "story" and history of the piece…even though we'd never part with it!

Aside from Star Wars do you have any other collection interests?
I love stuffed animals and continue to rescue stuffed animals on a regular basis;)  I'm also incredibly fond of Hello Kitty and Pikachu. Fortunately, Elyse didn't have time to try and convince me to part with any of these things ;)

Consetta's Collection Intervention Conclusion...
Garet and I were both incredibly apprehensive about participating in this show.  We knew there were many ways the final cut could play out.  We had no idea if we'd look completely crazy or appear at odds with each other with the use of sound bites and editing.  The only thing Garet and I have ever disagreed on was who was 4-LOM and who was Zuckuss (a disagreement Star Wars fans will understand!)   Ultimately at the end of the day we know the whole story, everything that took place and who we are. This was a chance we took because we wanted to share our collection and try to convey that it's ok to geek out and be who you are.  Hopefully our love of Star Wars and each other will encourage others to let their geek flags fly.