Collectors can collect anything. No matter the item, the hobby seems to add a little fun and interest to life in general, and to the living space in particular.

According to the online article, The Psychology of Collecting by Mark B. McKinley, collections can range from the typical, for instance teapots, stamps and baseball cards to the unusual. The article named barbwire, manhole covers and bad poetry as examples of the unusual.

“For some people collecting is simply the quest, in some cases a life-long pursuit that is never complete,” McKinley writes. “For some, the satisfaction comes from experimenting with arranging, re-arranging, and classifying parts of a-big-world-out-there, which can serve as a means of control to elicit a comfort zone in one’s life….”

Eric Manuel, creative director at Sulphur’s Brimstone Museum & Henning Cultural Center, has been collecting since childhood. He’s created his own comfort zone in his home, where the collection, including art on the walls and accent pieces, gets switched out, sometimes monthly.

“I collect things because they complete me,” Manuel said.

His world is made up of books and record collections. The record albums run the gamut from Big Band phonographs to Iron Maiden vinyl. He is an artist who creates miniatures and posters and collects posters and other art. He also collects toys, old and new.

“I bought a Hot Wheels Tie Fighter this morning,” he said.

He saw the latest Star Wars movie about a week ago and thought it only right to add one of the single-pilot Imperial fleet starships.

Manuel is keen on collecting. He is not as keen about being interviewed. Except for his wife, Jenn, whom he describes as his favorite collectible, and about 20 people who share this collecting introvert’s world, he’d rather not socialize.

The people he does spend time with have an appreciation for all things Eric.

“Where else can you visit a house, eat off a Star Wars plate, drink from a Star Wars cup, play with Star Wars toys and maybe even hear a little Star Wars music played on the piano before viewing a Star Wars movie?” he asked. “My friends have said that a visit to my house is like a vacation.”

Collecting is as natural a part of Manuel’s life as eating.

On Wednesday, Manuel and his wife have a standing lunch date. It includes shopping for the newest released comic books, one of the things he collects.

He’s hooked Thom Trahan, Brimstone’s Museum’s executive director. Their first collecting adventure was a trip to Walgreen’s because Manuel had heard the store had a Batman collectible.

Manuel said his collections are symbolic of friendships and also hold memories of growing up in the ‘80s.

He collects the artwork of local artist John Martel. He also prizes his collection of Ninja Turtle drawings, drawn especially for him by the late Dreek Ownes, who was a local tattoo artist.

Memories and the emotions that the collectibles invoke help distinguish collecting from hoarding, according to Manuel. Collectors carefully arrange their items.

Compulsive hoarders often have piles of stuff they don’t even know they have and items can become a hindrance to cooking, sleeping, cleaning and personal hygiene.

Anything with the Ninja Turtle theme catches the interest of this collector