The largest collection of rabbit related items began as a love story.
The collection, which consists of 40,550 items as of 22 January, was started by Candace Frazee and Steve Lubanski of Altadena, California, USA.
Steve just wanted some-bunny to love when he gifted Candace what would be the very first item in their collection on 14 February 1993.
Candace lovingly referred to Steve as her “honey bunny,” so he gave her a white plush bunny for their very first Valentine’s Day together.
That same year, Candace gifted Steve a porcelain white bunny for their first Easter.
“The first and second bunny in the collection are our favourites,” said Candace.
Steve likes to say that Candace is his "favourite bunny".
Throughout the years, the gifts multiplied like rabbits when the couple began giving each other a bunny every day as a love token.
They would often hide bunnies from each other or go shopping for them together.
Today, each item in their $1.7 million collection sits at The Bunny Museum in Altadena, California, USA.
The Bunny Museum first began as a private collection in the couple’s Pasadena home before it opened to the public in 1998.
Eventually, the collection outgrew their home and the museum moved to a large building in 2017.
The museum, known as “The Hoppiest Place in the World,” welcomes guests from around the globe.
The Bunny Museum is the world’s only museum encompassing everything bunny related, from antiquity to contemporary art including 10 Rose Parade float bunnies and Bad Bunny items.
“When we first started collecting, we joked that we lived in a bunny museum,” said Candace.
Our family and friends would say, it was too bad others couldn't see our collection, so we decided to share it with the public as a museum in our home.
The bunny items are grouped together depending on what type of object they are.
The Bunny Museum boasts over 100 different categories, including teapots, salt and pepper shakers, books, jewelry, and movie posters.
Each item that is collected is logged on a computer and most of the bunny items are kept in glass cabinets in the hope of minimizing the dust bunnies - although they are part of the museum too.
“Dust bunnies do live at The Bunny Museum,” said Candace.
“Yes, there is a dust bunny section.”
Candace says she and Steve are at an advantage when it comes to collecting bunny items.
“Most people collect teddy bears, cats, dogs, and cows. They don’t have a holiday,” she said.
“The bunny does, so you are guaranteed new items every Easter.”
Once Easter is over, finding bunny memorabilia becomes a bit more difficult so Steve and Candace scour swap meets, yard sales, and estate sales.
“We don’t covet,” said Candace.
Whatever hops our way is meant to be.
Candace hopes The Bunny Museum will educate visitors on the role rabbits play in pop culture, folklore, and superstitions.
She says The Bunny Museum is a unique way to learn and that it is an accumulation of knowledge about an animal that is mostly overlooked.
“Most people, when they think of bunnies, they think of Easter and Bugs Bunny,” said Candace.
“They don’t know that David Bowie had a bunny stalker or that a woman claimed to give birth to bunnies.”
Candace also says she loves when visitors show up at the museum dressed as bunnies.
However, she says the most rewarding part of sharing her collection with the public is the joy it brings.
“Some visitors cry from excitement, remembering a loved one or seeing an item that triggers a memory.”
Every week some visitor is brought as a surprise to them. They come blindfolded, eyes shut, or with a scavenger hunt sheet full of clues.
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