My name is Joshua Wise and I am the founder of Pick and Choose Wisely. Both my brand and logo were inspired by background in powerlifting and physical therapy, my last name, the owl being symbolic for wisdom, and my long history with Pokémon. In hindsight, like many Pokémon collectors I got into the hobby as a preteen in the 1990's. I couldn’t afford cards that I really wanted so I saved lunch money to buy as much as I could and I traded as often as I could. I wanted the “Japanese happy birthday Pikachu“ more than anything back then and the best place to trade for one where I lived was The Flower Shop.

Once I got my first job in high school making $7.88 per hour (well above minimum wage at the time) I came across eBay and the price of Pokémon cards were at an all-time low. I began buy and bid on all the cards I could never afford. I would even take out pay day loans for larger purchases. Risky, I know… Some of the highlights from my growing collection were the Japanese fan club Goldstar Espeon, first edition base Charizard, the trophy Kamex computer error card with the “R” outlined in white, and many others. Unfortunately, in my early 20s I no longer saw the need to collect. I was "too cool for school," so I sold my entire collection for about $500 on eBay.

Fast forward to 2024, the cards previously mentioned are now worth six figures. I wonder which famous Pokémon content creator purchased my collection back in the early 2000’s. Anyway, in 2018 I became curious about Pokémon again. After a quick glance on eBay to see if people still collected Pokémon, the nostalgia immediately kicked in. But, prices were a lot higher than in 2018 compared to when I sold my collection years prior. I knew If I were to get back into collecting, it was now or never. Otherwise, I'd never get another chance to be able to afford the cards I wanted that always seemed to be out of my reach.

In 2023, I created my store to give collectors like myself opportunities that I never had as a collector. More importantly, the Flower Shop where I traded cards was a small business within my community that supported my favorite hobby. Now, my mission is to support small businesses of today who continue to support my hobby.