Sven as "Stefano, The Actor"

Greetings, god dag, hejsan, guten tag, buon giorno, godt dag, Hail Odin, and Good Day, M'Lords and Ladies, many Blessings Be Upon You!

Welcome to our ME page.

Sven's Plunder is the culmination of various art avenues that we have explored over the past 25 years. It was created by me, Steve Hosley, to encompass my work, my wife's work, and the accomplishments of our life together, including the new contributions by our sons, whose stars are now starting to rise. Welcome to this melting pot of artistry and collectibles, creative adventure and theater, the world of nostalgia, entertainment, things that used to be and the shape of things to come.

Dane, "Stefano" and "Gustav"

     Like most of my comic/art/collectibles peers, I began my collecting with comic books back in the early 1970s. It's gone through many transformations since the early days of 15 cent comics, from vintage artistry that is simplistic but now classic, to the graphic novels of reknowned artists worldwide. This interest, obsession, lead me to partnering with a co-worker from Diamond Comic distributers of Denver to form H&R Stuff-n-Such and vending at just about every convention presented in the Denver/Metro area, meeting and making friends with many artists and collectible dealers. We started modestly and enjoyed the FAD days, and saw a sad decline over the span of 15 years when buyers either simply lost the Fad interest, or went to eBay instead of traveling to convention sites. That was a blessing in disguise.

I've performed in live theater since High School and then on into college where I received a full scholarship at Minnesota State University. From there I went on to do many professional theater productions in the Saint Paul/Minneapolis area, including "The Imaginary Invalid"~"A Streetcar Named Desire"~"Arsenic and Old Lace"~"Oklahoma"~"The Glass Menagerie"~ etc.

Then one fine day in 1981 I answered an ad for a local Theater Company out of Buffalo, MN, that was on it's way to Orlando, Florida to be subcontracted with Disney World's Epcot Center, simply named "SAK Theater." Before performing at Disney in the UK and Italy and at Universal Studios, I traveled the Renaissance Festival Circuit across the United States and Canada representing SAK Theater as director, performer and P.R. man, in the streets, on television, and film. 

It was at this stage in 1982 that Pamyla became a part of the Plunder at the tender age of 21, but she is currently NOT FOR SALE.  She was just finishing her first novel, and has gone on to write for many magazines and newspapers, and two more novels, and along with her work as a black and white sketch artist, her claim to fame is "Mothers' Web" amulets. All through the late 1980s and most of the 1990s, "Mothers' Web" creations saw great success at Renaissance Faires and through local metaphysical stores and novelty shops throughout Colorado's Front Range and the Metro area of Denver.

Each June and July, Stefano's International Theater performs at the Colorado Renaissance Faire in Larkspur. Come and see us de-form improv Shakespeare like you've never imagined. My cast of performers currently, and proudly, consists of me, Sven/Steve/Stefano, and our two oldest sons, Dane (as himself) and Orion/aka-Gustav Gulskeg, and their cousin Dylan.

Pamyla, simply known as The Nordic Wench, takes a break from the sweet world of Trolls to become stage manager, make props, costumes and write and rewrite scripts, and appears as crowd prompter, attention getter, and armed guardian of the tip hat in the sweaty, dirty, wonderfully magical world of the Renaissance Faire.

Sven's Plunder listings can consist at any time of collectible comics, posters, collectors cards, rare autographed items, as well as special OOAK items from my personal collection from my days at Diamond Comics; (my favorites) rare promo items from movies, comics, cards, etc.

As often as possible, I like to list some of my generous toy collection, which can consist of anything from Star Trek- The Original Series, to Star Wars, to Super Heroes, and many, many oddities, some vintage, some forgotten, some things you never knew existed. As difficult as it is to part with some things, there comes a time for every collector when he must trim his collection in order to make room for the new; even if they're old.

Out of this passion Pamyla created "The Trolls of Trollheim." Mothers' Web is her official trademark, but we like to use the all-encompassing term "home of trolls" which is said almost the same way in Swedish, Norwegian and German, three of the major cultures from whence the "troll" emerged in legend and myth. (We didn't omit Denmark intentionally, it was just overstating the 'obvious,' and neither of us speaks Danish.) As most full blooded Scandinavians, Pamyla grew up with troll culture as commonplace, and has many vintage items completely contrary to the cute little collectible trolls on eBay; spooky, craggy and long of nose and toes, hiding in dark places, and not the kind you want to dress up in lace and ribbons. But these things she creates and buys now make me, Sven, say ridiculous words like "cute" and "darling" and "sweet" and other words that are foreign to my "manly vocabulary." Pamyla is a troll Collector first and a OOAK Creator second, and each piece she creates is a work of art unto itself. I look forward to each new "character" and the story that accompanies him or her, as these things take on a life of their own.  A word from Pamyla on the subject of OOAK trolls:

     "Thank you for supporting me in this adventure; I have made some very good friendships that will hopefully last beyond our era on eBay, I wish I could spend all my time and money right here! There are so many excellent artists creating costumes, clothing and entire pieces of art, that each is unique and beautiful in its own way. I feel very fortunate to "intermingle" on the auction pages with such creative designers. I would like to believe that all OOAK creations by any of the fine artists is purchased and loved for what is; everyone has their favorite breed of troll; however, I fully expect that some of the trolls I have sold may not be everyone's preferred collectible and may be stashed away in a box or up in a closet somewhere and the costume and/or mohair, proudly worn by the favored troll of the venerable buyer. Wouldn't I do the same? Probably not, but everyone is different and I see a special character in every troll I handle. 

 I was chronically ill when I was a child, and so my mother taught me how to knit to give me something to do while bed-ridden. I was 4 years old when I started to knit ugly little squares with big unintentional holes throughout. But I had that "mastered" before I could write. From that experience, I developed a very real love of needle craft and at the age of 12, my Grandmother, Ragnhild Elizabet Johansson Albinsdottir Swanson, gifted me with her priceless knowledge of crochet and along with it, HER mother's collection of antique steel hooks and two very precious 50 year old booklets of crochet techniques.

What began as "granny square" afghans, evolved into everything else~my Grandmother's philosophy was "if you can see it in your mind, you can make it." Little did she know where my mind would wander in the following 34 years.

Tack så mycket,
 Mor Mor. Jag älska dig. Välkommen igen.

     As long as the 'folks and stories of Trollheim' continue to give joy and entertainment, I will continue to find them, listen to them, and pass their tales onto you. 

Where is Trollheim? 

Trollheim is everywhere trolls find a home."  

~ Hälsa er Familj ~

pamyla

So far, my time selling on eBay through Sven's Plunder has been both fun and profitable, and what I used to share with local folks, I am now able to share with people all over the world. I am interacting internationally with people of like interests and reinforcing what I've always known; the world is smaller than you think, and your newest friends are only a cyber link away!

Thank you for buying Sven's Plunder! 

~SVEN~