I was given my first Rainbow Brite dolls for my fifth birthday - back in 1984. So technically, you could say that my collection began then.
Receiving a couple more dolls for Christmas that same year brought my total doll count to four - 12" Rainbow Brite, Starlite, 12" Red Butler and 12" Romeo. Sadly, Starlite and hand-sprite Romeo returned to Rainbow Land at some point in time, but I still have the others :)
(Can you spot the Rainbow Brite stampers I got as well?)
I began actively collecting Rainbow Brite memorabilia in 1995 - when I found a Rainbow Brite record player at a thrift store. I started picking up anything Rainbow Brite related that I could find, at thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales...friends even started giving me childhood items that they were no longer attached to. In early 1998, I discovered Ebay, and the rest is history.
At this point, I've collected more than 3,100 items. To my knowledge, it is the largest Rainbow Brite collection in the world. I've dedicated 500 square feet of my house to display my collection and dubbed it the Rainbow Land Museum. Located in Apex, NC, all fans are welcome to take a tour - just contact me for an appointment (rbnet@rainbowbrite.net). You can view a PDF list of my collection here, and more pictures of the Rainbow Land Museum can be viewed here. You can even watch video tours of the museum below!
The museum has also been featured in the news! Links are below. And I don't plan to stop adding to my collection any time soon :)
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http://metro.co.uk/2014/02/21/80s-fantastic-woman-turns-home-into-museum-for-cartoon-star-rainbow-brite-4312622/
http://www.buzzfeed.com/tabathaleggett/this-superfan-has-a-rainbow-brite-themed-home
http://www.uproxx.com/gammasquad/2014/02/home-turned-into-rainbow-brite-museum/
http://curbed.com/archives/2014/02/24/this-is-how-a-rainbow-brite-superfan-does-home-decor.php
http://blog.truffleshuffle.co.uk/index.php/2014/02/the-perfect-way-to-rainbow-brite-n-up-your-house/
http://thisbelongsinamuseum.com/post/77703955464/rainbowbrite
http://international.okezone.com/read/2014/02/24/214/945908/perempuan-as-pamer-koleksi-1-500-pernak-pernik-rainbow-brite
http://www.961kiss.com/onair/tall-cathy-47018/rainbow-brite-themed-house-12093117/
http://www.sickchirpse.com/top-5-weirdest-news-of-the-week-1-is-so-dark/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFqQwXNKn64