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In today's fast-paced world, hobbies are more than just fun pastimes - they're an essential part of our lives! Whether it's model building, gardening, painting, playing an instrument, or geeking out over board games, hobbies provide us with many benefits, from escaping from daily pressures to developing new skills and providing social connections to others. Like Stanley Gibbons and Baldwin's, Hornby Hobbies are a cornerstone of collectables, boasting globally recognised brands such as Hornby, Airfix and Scalextric. They recently commissioned a study to delve into our obsession with hobbies and the impact they have on our lives.
The result: hobbyists are more positive about life, reflecting the positivity and mental wellbeing that comes with having a hobby. The time and money spent on hobbies is contributing to what has been dubbed the 'joy economy'.
We have always been a nation of hobbyists. From Churchill and his passion for painting, Queen Victoria and her love of tiny wooden dolls, Tom Daly's obsession with knitting, or Francis Bourgeois combining modelling and model building - hobbies come in all forms.
One of the more unexpected results was that of co-hobbyists! We often see hobbies and, in particular, collecting as a solitary pursuit, labouring over a collection into the small hours, determined to beat others to the best material! The study however, suggests those who share them extract even more happiness, including those who share with their significant others!
Click here to read the full report
