About

I am a mousepad collector and I’ve been searching for this website. Perhaps you have been searching too.

Hello, I’m Padder and I’d like to welcome you to what I believe is the first website on the internet dedicated to all things mousepad; collecting them, making them, using and displaying them. Sure, there are plenty of sites that sell mousepads, and there are quite a few collectors who design and sell them via such portals as Zazzle and Café Press. But in all my searching I simply couldn’t find a website that focused on the fun of collecting mousepads or the methods of making (imprinting) them. Even worse, I couldn’t find a community of people interested in mousepads as a hobby.

Who Collects Mousepads?

For a long time I thought I was the only person who collected mousepads. I’ve been collecting them since the mid 1990′s when I worked at a specialty imprinting business. While there I had a chance to see first hand how mousepads were imprinted using silk screen, sublimation and heat transfer processes. What especially interested me was the wide variety of layouts, graphic designs, typography and color to be found on mousepads. To me they were little works of art on a personal size canvas; as pleasurable to view as any framed painting. I gladly retrieved as many mousepads from the trash as I could, including misprints and samples. When I wasn’t scouring flea markets, thrift shops and outlet stores, I would send requests to other imprinters who gave away samples.  But it wasn’t until I started making (imprinting) my own mousepads that I really understood that I was engaged in more than just collecting. I had become a hobbyist.

How I Became a Mousepad Hobbyist

I considered collecting mousepads my hobby, but the dimensions of my hobby changed the day I walked into a dollar store (trolling for mousepads of course) and saw a display of mousepad kits! There were probably 20 or so kits on display for $1.49 each. That’s two mousepad blanks and two sheets of transfer paper for a buck fifty! I took them all.

I like the term “mousepad hobbyist” to describe someone who not only collects but makes mousepads. It connotes a fuller involvement in the hobby. However, there’s no need to be exclusionary about it. A person who only collects is as much a hobbyist as one who only makes mousepads. But for those who do both, calling oneself a mousepad hobbyist is easier than explaining that you “collect and make mousepads”.

Growing a Mousepad Community

And that brings us back to this website. While collecting and making mousepads is fun, I, like most hobbyists, wanted to display the fruits of my creative and aesthetic genius (HA!). More than that, I wanted to get in touch with other mousepad collectors and see their collections! Taking my own stack of mousepads out of their boxes and admiring them once in a while just wasn’t enough. I longed to “talk shop” with another collector. I wanted to find why other people collected mousepads and made their own. I wanted to expand the enjoyment of my hobby through contact with others who are also “mad about the pad”. So I searched. I searched for a discussion group, a Bulletin Board or a forum about mousepads. I scoured the search listings looking for links to other collectors or pad-centric blogs. I was looking for community and I couldn’t find it. Eventually a light bulb in the shape of a mouse pad appeared over my head and flickered on: “Hello, Mrs. Necessity. Can Invention come out to play?”

Thus, the idea for THE MOUSEPAD COLLECTOR was born. I understood that I would have to create the dedicated mousepad site I had been trying to find.

The Mousepad Expert

One of the basic suggestions for a successful blog is to “be the expert”. The idea is to be the “authority” in the field one is blogging about. Sorry, I’m still waiting for my “expert” license to come in the mail. I created this site to learn about making and collecting mousepads as much as to offer what knowledge I have. My sincere hope is that visitors will engage the topic and participate in an active and informative community. My work is far from perfect. I’m still experimenting with the process of making mousepads at home. Perhaps you have learned a better way? I hope you’ll share your knowledge here.

This Must be the Place

Thank you for coming to The Mousepad Collector. The adventure has just begun. I’m going to keep scanning the web for all things mousepad. I want to add to my collecting enjoyment and pad-making skills as much as possible and I’m sure there are many resources out there yet to be discovered. However, for the time being, I have found the site I had been looking for, even as I keep striving to create it. Forgive me if I sound somewhat immodest but if you are a mousepad hobbyist, this is the place you’ve been looking for.
Welcome!