Mickey Huang, red-carpet host for the 2008 Golden Horse Awards, is better known to Taiwanese as "The Toymaster." Ten years ago, inspired by what he saw as blossoming creativity in the toy market, Huang moved from collecting CDs to collecting toys, eventually becoming the "obsessive collector" he laughingly calls himself today.

In that decade of collecting, Huang has amassed a collection numbering over 5,000 pieces, an investment of over NT$1 million. His house is festooned with shelving large and small displaying his collection; even the toilet and bathroom have pieces on display.

Laughing, Huang tells of a visit from his friend Bu Xueliang. Seeing the collection, Bu shook his head and commented, "How could you buy all of this? Do you have any idea how much money you've blown?"

"I had to respond, so I told him, 'Liang, this whole home full of toys is probably still not worth as much as what you spent on a single imported car.' Different people see value differently," says Huang.

Cute, creative, and connected to his childhood memories-these are the kinds of toys Huang most loves collecting. He also shared with Taiwan Panorama some of the items in his collection he feels have healing effects.

One of these is an alarm clock based on Japanese cartoon Chibi Maruko-chan. When it's time to get up, the titular Maruko yells out, "Get up! Something good's sure to happen today!" With this kind of alarm, even inveterate slugabeds can start the day with a spring in their step.

Another of these pieces is a lit replica of a sign from Shibuya Station on the Tokyo subway's Yamanote Line. For Japanophiles like Huang who can't travel to Japan often, this brings a little of Shibuya into their home, making it feel almost like being there.

Other items that put a smile in Huang's spirit are his voice-activated toys; his electric-fan-shaped cellphone ornament, which actually spins when a call is coming in; and his model old-fashioned ramen and wind-chime stands, which at the press of a button make the sound of a car horn or a chime sound respectively.

"There are so many of them, I could never get all the different kinds out here," laughs Huang.

Another of his favorites is a posable wooden doll with a face like the emoticon :) (representing a smiling face), with the opposite, :(, on the other side. When you're in a good mood, put the smiling side forward, otherwise the frowny face can come to the fore. As well as being plain fun, this also has an emotional displacement effect.

Huang explains that even though his friends call him mad, collecting toys for him is no different to how other people like buying brand-name bags or fancy cars. His toys only cost from a couple of hundred NT dollars to over NT$1000-a low price, but they bring him a sense of satisfaction, and their value goes far beyond the monetary.

"The moment I open my door each day and see that array of colorful, creative toys waiting for me, I feel like I'm brought back to reality. It's a happy feeling, and even when the world outside is trying to bring me down, that moment feels like it cuts me free of that world," laughs Huang.

Some items from the collection of Mickey Huang. On the left is an old-fashioned wind-chime stall, on the right an equally nostalgic ramen stand. Above is a cellphone ornament shaped like an electrical fan, which moves when a call comes in.

One of the pieces in Mickey Huang's collection is a posable wooden doll with faces on it, which can be flipped from happy to sad as your mood changes.

Some items from the collection of Mickey Huang. On the left is an old-fashioned wind-chime stall, on the right an equally nostalgic ramen stand. Above is a cellphone ornament shaped like an electrical fan, which moves when a call comes in.

One of the pieces in Mickey Huang's collection is a posable wooden doll with faces on it, which can be flipped from happy to sad as your mood changes.