Trinket trade boxes became popular in 2022 after artist Rachael Harms Mahlandt began mapping “little wonders” throughout Portland, Oregon, and turned it into a global guide that maps thousands of installations, including trinket trade boxes. Videos of the trade boxes flooded Penn State alumna Laura Collazo’s TikTok feed in late 2025, and she knew she had to open one in State College. The idea of a trinket trade box is similar to a free library, but instead of books, it is filled with trinkets. Collazo said State College made sense to her because the town had already given so much to her. The Penn State alumna now owns her own marketing firm and credits State College for helping her get there.