HOW IT STARTED. Just over 30 years ago, Mark was living in Bangor, Maine. His friend was having a bad day, so he stopped at a store and bought a PEZ dispenser to cheer her up. It was a small random act of kindness which led to a 30+ year hobby. He and his friend started taking road trips to find PEZ dispensers - in the days before internet. A meticulous collector in the beginning, Mark kept them in their packages to preserve the backer card, which also helped keep their value. As any collector knows, when you collect, you need space. Mark used to store them in tubs. Some of the earlier PEZ dispensers came in cereal boxes, a cutout in the box showing the PEZ. And the rest came with candy. Unfortunately, squirrels also discovered a love of his collection. After that, most packaging went to the wayside and the collection continued to pile up in tubs. A few select rare ones resided in his home office, but the collection stayed largely hidden, until a couple years ago, when the PEZ Wall was born.
The shop on MLK Jr. Blvd., where Mark spends a lot of his time hand crafting Savannah Square Pops, was the perfect place to display and share his collection. The first display was simple. PEZ dispensers tied up on foam board with fishing line. It was a hit. Last month, the PEZ Wall got an upgrade with custom made cases. Four rows stacked three deep. Much more room to organize, display, and enjoy the collection. If you haven't see the collection yet, stop by for a Square Pop and enjoy perusing this journey of love and appreciation for a small candy dispenser. It truly is a wall of art!
Fun Facts:
Mark attended his first PEZ convention in Orange, CT - home of the U.S. PEZ factory where the candy is paired with the dispensers.
The name PEZ comes from Pfefferminz, the German word for peppermint. The first letter (P), the middle letter (E), and the last letter (Z) of PfeffErminZ.
PEZ was invented in 1927 in Austria by Eduard Haas III.
The original use for PEZ was as a mint to help adults stop smoking.