We learn today that Juan Bonillo, a retired truck driver living in his native Almería city, has amassed a collected of over 24,000 keyrings over the last 40 years.
Juan has turned his hobby into his passion since his retirement, and has completely outfitted his garage where he used to keep his truck into a small museum. He has personally built all of the stands which display his collection, and can proudly show you any of his keyrings within seconds, thanks to his exact inventory system he uses to keep track of his treasures. He started his “private museum” after his collection outgrew the mass of boxes he used to keep it in, and, one assumes, the wife started to complain.
Since his retirement Juan has branched out into actually making novelty keyrings, as he enjoys the metalwork and has all the equipment he needs to keep busy. He keeps the designs or gives them away as gifts to family and friends, often in exchange for a new one that someone brings back from their voyages especially for him.
“Every keyring has a memory and a story for me” he says happily.
Rather surprisingly, Juan doesn’t actually use a keyring. “I find them a bit bulky and impractical” he confesses as he produced his personal set of keys to the reporter in question. “I just remember which key fits where”.