If you don't collect something, I feel sad for you. When I was in high school, my family took a vacation to Orlando. We went to Universal Studios and had a blast. Next door to Universal Studios, at that time, was the Hard Rock Café. I implored my parents to take me there to see what it was all about. Some friends in school had been wearing Hard Rock Café t-shirts and when I told them I was taking a vacation to Orlando, they suggested I go to the “Rock Shop” at Hard Rock.
Having never been to a Hard Rock Café before, I didn’t really know anything about it. I had seen some of the slogans on t-shirts: Love All, Serve All, which seemed cool. I agreed with my friends that I should own one.
When I walked into the Rock Shop with my family, who was in somewhat of a hurry to move on to something else, I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people in there. I didn't have much time to find a t-shirt that I liked, and instead was drawn to a guitar pin that was under a glass case. The pin, as it turned out, was cheaper than a shirt; I bought it.
That pin began my fascination with the Hard Rock Café and, more importantly, the guitar shaped pins from Hard Rock.
I have been collecting the pins since then and have amassed a small (compared to how many pins are out there!), but cool collection of them that range in cost from about eight dollars to about fifteen dollars.
The collection, I’m sure, isn’t worth much. (Although, I did google one limited edition pin that I own and discovered that that one was sold on eBay for three hundred dollars. This particular pin was purchased in Boston in November of 2001. It’s a flying V style with an American flag design. It says USA up the neck and has a black ribbon around it with the date, September 11, 2001, on the ribbon.)
Most of the pins in my collection were purchased by myself while visiting a Hard Rock Café. Most of the pins are either from the NYC café or the Orlando one. I tend to visit those two cities more often than any others. There are a few from Boston and a handful from Niagara Falls. Other pins are from: Nassau, Bahamas; Foxwoods Casino, Connecticut; Philadelphia, PA; Washington, DC; Baltimore, MD; Atlantic City, NJ; Myrtle Beach, NC; and London. There are also a few pins that came to me from being a member of Hard Rock's All Access program and from owning a Hard Rock credit card.
There are all different types of guitars. Strats. Teles. Some are non-traditional shapes and some are not quite guitar shaped at all. Shapewise, my favorite ones are the ones that look the most like guitars.
I have been given pins from friends and family. These pins make me especially happy. To be given something that belongs in a collection that you have is to be given a token that symbolizes that the giver knows you. I have pins that my brother gave me that he picked up at Hard Rock Cafés that he has visited while on vacation or traveling for work. My dad has bought me a few pins while traveling. I also have a few from random friends, including one from London, which is the pin that has traveled the furthest to get into my collection.
Today, I had to rearrange my collection to make room for two new pins that I purchased while on my recent vacation. While going through my collection, I mentally reminded myself of where each pin came from, the approximate date of purchase, and the circumstances surrounding the choosing of that particular pin (for example: there is one pin that I purchased while on vacation after completing Grad school that has a cap and tassel on it). Recalling the ones that were given to me by friends and family were the pins that made me smile the most. It’s heartwarming to be reminded that people in your life actually know you enough to give you something that you collect.
PS -- There's room for more!
Having never been to a Hard Rock Café before, I didn’t really know anything about it. I had seen some of the slogans on t-shirts: Love All, Serve All, which seemed cool. I agreed with my friends that I should own one.
When I walked into the Rock Shop with my family, who was in somewhat of a hurry to move on to something else, I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people in there. I didn't have much time to find a t-shirt that I liked, and instead was drawn to a guitar pin that was under a glass case. The pin, as it turned out, was cheaper than a shirt; I bought it.
That pin began my fascination with the Hard Rock Café and, more importantly, the guitar shaped pins from Hard Rock.
I have been collecting the pins since then and have amassed a small (compared to how many pins are out there!), but cool collection of them that range in cost from about eight dollars to about fifteen dollars.
The collection, I’m sure, isn’t worth much. (Although, I did google one limited edition pin that I own and discovered that that one was sold on eBay for three hundred dollars. This particular pin was purchased in Boston in November of 2001. It’s a flying V style with an American flag design. It says USA up the neck and has a black ribbon around it with the date, September 11, 2001, on the ribbon.)
Most of the pins in my collection were purchased by myself while visiting a Hard Rock Café. Most of the pins are either from the NYC café or the Orlando one. I tend to visit those two cities more often than any others. There are a few from Boston and a handful from Niagara Falls. Other pins are from: Nassau, Bahamas; Foxwoods Casino, Connecticut; Philadelphia, PA; Washington, DC; Baltimore, MD; Atlantic City, NJ; Myrtle Beach, NC; and London. There are also a few pins that came to me from being a member of Hard Rock's All Access program and from owning a Hard Rock credit card.
There are all different types of guitars. Strats. Teles. Some are non-traditional shapes and some are not quite guitar shaped at all. Shapewise, my favorite ones are the ones that look the most like guitars.
I have been given pins from friends and family. These pins make me especially happy. To be given something that belongs in a collection that you have is to be given a token that symbolizes that the giver knows you. I have pins that my brother gave me that he picked up at Hard Rock Cafés that he has visited while on vacation or traveling for work. My dad has bought me a few pins while traveling. I also have a few from random friends, including one from London, which is the pin that has traveled the furthest to get into my collection.
Today, I had to rearrange my collection to make room for two new pins that I purchased while on my recent vacation. While going through my collection, I mentally reminded myself of where each pin came from, the approximate date of purchase, and the circumstances surrounding the choosing of that particular pin (for example: there is one pin that I purchased while on vacation after completing Grad school that has a cap and tassel on it). Recalling the ones that were given to me by friends and family were the pins that made me smile the most. It’s heartwarming to be reminded that people in your life actually know you enough to give you something that you collect.
PS -- There's room for more!