Collecting runs in the family for Proctor Auctions owner Ronnie Proctor, Laine Priestley reports.
It is only natural the man who sells so many southern locals’ lifelong collections would also have his own special fixation, right?
Ronnie Proctor, third-generation owner of Proctor Auctions, said every Proctor who had ever been at the helm of the business had their own collection of something specific.
His grandmother collected scent bottles, his father collected clocks of all kinds.
And Ronnie Proctor? He collects ceramic bulldogs.
"The benefit of owning an auction house is when a bulldog comes in it's quite easy to buy," he said.
Ceramic bulldogs made their way through the shop doors more frequently than one would think.
Some people specifically collected Bing Grohdahl ceramics, some people’s favourites were Beerswick bulldogs - Mr Proctor was a fan of any that caught his eye.
"It did start off as a collection of porcelain dogs - just all dogs - but then I sold the others and just stuck with bulldogs."
Mr Proctor said he was not the "be all and end all" expert on ceramic bulldogs, he just "loves bulldogs".
"Their personalities are just cool - they’re caring and just want to be loved all the time," he said.
He had his own two real bulldogs, who had a part to play in sparking his interest - Matilda and Coltman.
"Coltman, as in Liam Coltman the rugby player," he said.
However, Matilda was the energetic of the pair, whereas Coltman, despite his namesake, was a heavy snorer who "just doesn’t want to move".
Mr Proctor’s collection started about a year ago, and since then he had amassed a healthy number of the ceramic pooches.
"Any kind of bulldog that comes in now it's just like ‘oh I need to have that’ ... but there is times where it's like ‘I can't have that, it's too expensive’."
Along with the bulldogs, he had a few scent bottles in a nod to his grandmother, who was very fond of collecting them herself.
He had one of his grandmother’s scent bottles that he snapped up when her collection ended up going through their auction house.
"My grandparents started Proctor Auctions over 50 years ago - I now collect the scent bottles for my daughter, who reminds me of my grandmother so much."
Mr Proctor did not just wait for things to come through his own auction house either.
He had managed to source a vintage ceramic bulldog for $300 from Dunedin’s Haywards Auction House.
Usually, the particular piece he bought could fetch up to $2000, but due to a small chip that had been repaired on the piece’s foot, Mr Proctor came away with a great deal.
His collection is due to expand, with 10 more ceramic bulldogs ordered en-masse from Trade Me expected to show up in the mail very soon.
