Impossible to miss Alain Pouchol’s house in Rougnat (east of the department, near Auzances): it is invaded by 2,360 little blue men. “I buy some on the Internet. I crack quite quickly and I heat up the menu”, says the collector, who admits having already spent 2,500 euros to build his collection. He finds his Smurfs on resale websites or in flea markets. Sometimes it is visitors who bring it!
After the collection of beans, place for the smurfs
Before the Smurfs, he collected the beans from the galettes des rois. But tired, he let himself be seduced by the smurf figurines. This taste for collecting is a family affair: his mother collected beans, his sister accumulatesare garden gnomes.
– Philippine Thibaudault
The Smurfette with her heels holds less well
Figurines, of all sizes, are everywhere : along his fence, on his windowsill, on the gutters… Each time, he finds a new place to complete his collection. “My last smurfs come from a batch that represents professions: there is the pianist, the banker, the ice cream seller” who have taken up residence next to its front door.
The collection is maintained daily
Hundreds of items that require maintenance. “Every day, I check that they are still there, that they don’t come off. For example, Smurfette with her heels holds less well” says this enthusiast. Alain Pouchol is not limited to figurines: he also collects smurfs perfumessmurf soaps, smurf mugs, smurf posters, smurf t-shirts!
At 59, he intends to continue his collection and pass on his passion to his godson.