The Call of Cuteness

Nikole Salinas | Pulse

Pulse sat down with students from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to learn about the small plush and plastic toys adorning an increasing number of bags across campus. 

Rebecca Rodriguez, a junior in business management, Mathew Casañeda a junior in theatre design, and Alyssa Aguilar a senior in theatre performance, each took the time to share their thoughts and insights with Pulse about the world of ‘trinkets’. 

Q: What are trinkets to you?

Aguilar: Trinkets to me are just about any small thing that you can slap somewhere. They’re mainly meant for decoration. I think as long as they bring you joy, it doesn’t really matter whether they have a practical use or not.

Rodriguez: Trinkets are basically little tiny things you find that spark joy inside you. Things that you find either like in your everyday life or [things] you seek out and you just collect them.

Q: What do they mean to you?

Aguilar: They’re kind of like a form of identity because a lot of the trinkets that I use personally, I have slapped onto  whatever bag I have at the time. It’s meant to display my interests, and a big part of who I am is showing my interests off.

Casañeda: To me, it just means  being able to show yourself outside of, just like, what you wear.

Q: What got you into collecting trinkets?

Casañeda: I think ever since I was a kid, I just loved toys. Like those were my friends when I was younger, like toys and just like little things. Then I would go to antique stores and get clowns. So I started collecting those, then I moved on to other things like earrings and accessories. 

Rodriguez: I guess like as a kid, you know, you’re walking in the street and you see like a coin or you see like a rock that you really like and you end up saving it. I think it definitely comes from that childhood curiosity that everybody has. Especially with cute little toys that have little eyes that look back at you and you’re kind of just like, “it’s so cute!” I want to keep it forever. That’s kind of what it means to me and how I got started doing it. 

Q: What are some of your favourites?

Aguilar: Personally,  I like to collect things like acrylic charms or plushies or enamel pins. Half the time, and usually I’m carrying around my favorites. I don’t like leaving things at home, so I end up cramming things in my bag that I shouldn’t.

Casañeda: I have so much like, I literally, I can’t even like, pinpoint one. It’s like asking a parent if they have a favorite kid, like, obviously we have one, but you just can’t say it.

Rodriguez: I really like toys from my childhood. I think if you looked at a lot of them, I would be able to say like for almost all of them that I had this as a kid or this is from a TV show that I watched as a kid. I really like things from when I was a child and toys that I could never really have that I can have now.

Q: How do you feel about the huge rise in popularity of the idea of trinkets in general?

Aguilar:  I’ve definitely noticed a lot of the little baby angels that everyone’s like walking around with and I’m like, “wow.” Personally, they’re not my cup of tea, but I can see the appeal of [why] a lot of people like them.

Casañeda: I’ve been seeing so many people with, like, every single thing that they can get their hands on.  I love it, but at the same time, I hate it because now I can’t get my hands on it because once it gets popular, it’s like, “okay.”, I can’t even collect it anywhere because it’s going to be $10 per box.

Rodriguez:  I think that’s good, it’s nice to share something with people. A lot of times you don’t really connect with people or I don’t really connect with people, but if I see a Sonny Angel in someone’s bag or a Labubu-I’m kind of just like, “Oh hey, like, I have one of those too. I like those too.” Then I end up showing them my trinkets on my bag or the key chains I make, and we end up connecting.