Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Retro Push Button Japanese Pencil Cases

Note: This post was moved from my Hail Kawaii blog to this one
Pretty exciting on the outside.
I know that pencil cases probably aren't the most exciting thing in the world, but I'm secretly sort of in love with them. You see, when I was little in the early-to-mid 90's, it was all the rage at my elementary school to have a really ridiculous pencil case that had buttons on them that made various gadgets pop out. The coolest cases were pastel colored and had blobby animal mascots on them. This trend was on it's way out by the time our grubby little hands got a hold on these pencil cases, so their popularity was quick lived amongst my age group.

But even more amazing on the inside! Photo from Flickr.

I, of course, was not one of these cool kids with the magic push button pencil cases, but these ridiculous cases sort of stuck with me over the years and I have been trying to hunt one down. Unfortunately they tend be outside of my pencil case budget since everyone else tends to be nostalgic for them as well and are quick to snap them up when they pop up on Ebay. Even the new ones ("Deluxe Pencil Case" they are often called) on Amazon are going to cost about $25 after shipping, which is probably twice the amount that I've spent on pencils in the last decade. 

Check out how deluxe this is! On Amazon.

I'm pretty content with just looking at them online though, as there are a number of retro pencil case collectors out there who share a pretty impressive Flicker pool, and push button cases are sprinkled throughout the pool. But I still do dream of the day when I happen to visit a flea market that has one of these excessive exorcises in pencil holding for a cheap price.
Some of them were a bit more deluxe than others. From Flickr.

Some were relatively simple. From Flickr.
For a change, have some mint green! From Flickr.
The more I stare at them in their dreamy pink push button wonderfulness, the more I talk myself into thinking that I need a crazy place to put my pencils and I'm honestly probably going to give into my nostalgia one day and and just spend the $30 one of these is going to cost me. As far as collections goes, it's not the most pocket-emptying one you could have, it's just the fact that I know that some of these weren't that expensive back when they first came out, and I'm sure there are hundreds the world over just gathering dust in the backs of closets just waiting to be discovered again!

That's one of those blobby pastel animals I mentioned. From Flickr.

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