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Passion or Obsession? 

Michael Loop's Lunchbox Collection

Evansdale Library, August 2025 - May 2026

“I started collecting vintage lunchboxes in the mid to late ’90s, when they weren’t quite vintage. As a child of the ’80s, picking out your lunchbox was a rite of passage and paramount in setting one’s “coolness” factor that would carry through the whole school year. Much like picking out a toy, the excitement of choosing your lunchbox was palpable during school shopping. Would you get there early enough to grab the lunchbox you had your heart set on, or would you have to hunt through the dregs and settle for whatever was left on the shelves, risking the potential embarrassment of the cafeteria?

The problem I always had was that there were too many awesome lunchboxes I wanted, so began my collection. I originally started out trying to repurchase some of my original boxes from grade school, which eventually gave way to the mindset of, “I always wanted that box as well!", and the collection grew. Every mark, dent, and scratch tells a story of how it made its way through the bus, the playground, the walk home, and its life after the school year ended. As I get older, the nostalgia and memories of these lunchboxes are what carry the weight of their value for me. Most have been purchased at flea markets and yard sales; others through more contemporary means via eBay. But the boxes I appreciate the most are the ones that have been gifted to me by their original owners, to become the steward of their childhood.

I hope you enjoy viewing my collection as much as I have enjoyed collecting it.”

—Michael Loop, Artist and Maker Space Manager, WVU Lane Innovation Hub


Do you have a collection you’d like to share? Get in touch with Sally Brown, WVU Art in the Libraries curator, sally.brown1@mail.wvu.edu.