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Telling her own tale: Waukesha woman shares her story on how her love of Winnie the Pooh turned into the world’s biggest collection of Pooh memorabilia

By Megan Marshall Wisconsin
PUBLISHED 3:56 PM ET Oct. 16, 2023
 

WAUKESHA COUNTY, Wis. — A rather unique Guinness World Record keeps getting broken by the same woman in Wisconsin.

Deb Hoffmann lives in Waukesha and owns a collection of about 24,000 Winnie the Pooh items. Her collection grew too big for her house. Now, most of it is kept in her backyard’s indoor office space.

 

What You Need To Know

  • Deb Hoffmann lives in Waukesha and owns a collection of about 24,000 Winnie the Pooh items
  • Her experience building the world’s largest Winnie the Pooh collection is now the focus of a book she’s written 
  • “It’s not just about the items, it’s about the whole package, the whole life experience,” Deb Hoffmann said. “It just so happens that mine is with Winnie the Pooh.”

 

“We’ve got shelves and shelves of books and plush,” she said. “They are on the floors and ceilings. They are everywhere.”

She started collecting Winnie the Pooh items 30 years ago. It started as a love for the stories and characters. Then, searching for unique pieces turned into a hobby. Each piece represents a memory.

“I pretty much remember where I got every item,” Deb Hoffmann said. “Who I was with. Was there something I had to overcome to find the item?”

 

(Spectrum News 1/Megan Marshall)

 

While she does most of the treasure hunting herself, she said strangers who’ve heard about her send her items they have.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love collecting the items, but what’s more important is the people I meet, the things that I do and the places I get to explore,” she said. “That’s what the real fun is these days.”


She credits her husband, Gary Hoffmann, for helping her pursue this passion. He helped create a tracking system for all the memorabilia and has traveled the world with her collecting pieces.

 

(Spectrum News 1/Megan Marshall)

 

“It’s a great way to document what we have experienced because of the collection,” he said. “We have experienced things like going to England. We probably wouldn’t have gone to England or France if it had not been for the collection.”

Deb Hoffmann’s experience building the world’s largest Winnie the Pooh collection is now the focus of a book she’s written. It’s called “How It All Began: How Collecting Items Became Collecting Experiences.” It’s available on Amazon.

 

(Spectrum News 1/Megan Marshall)

 

Part of the message she shares in the book is to find something you’re passionate about and go for it, because you never know where it could lead you.

“It’s not just about the items, it’s about the whole package, the whole life experience,” Deb Hoffmann said. “It just so happens that mine is with Winnie the Pooh.”


(Spectrum News 1/Megan Marshall)