23rd International Black Doll Show and Sale!

Saturday May 26, 2012 KiKi and I went to the Phila. International Doll Show! Here is KiKi waiting for me to get ready. She is sitting in the upstairs hallway and talking to Ghanaian Barbie.

I have never been to a doll show before. What about you?

No me neither. I just live her in the hall.

No me neither. I just live her in the hall.

We were both going to see what was for sale, meet other fashion doll collectors and hopefully meet some other blogger from the area. The last two things didn’t happen. Hey, if you were at the show, let me know! We took the Broad Street Subway from Fernrock. Parking is center city is a nightmare! KiKi has never taken the sub.

KiKi at the sign in table waiting for show to open.

We arrived before they opened like any good collector. We waited with the others who were hoping to get  in early.  We wanted to be the first to purchase.  Last year I got there right after they opened.  I just missed the Diana Ross Barbie!

Ms. Hayes was there!  She was so busy showing and selling dolls that she was a blur.  My photography didn’t help either!

She has some collector dolls for sale like:  Byron Lars dolls...

This Mackie doll...

 She also had a large variety of other Barbie, fashion, celebrity dolls and action figures. She had this action figure there!  This is the first time I have seen him!

He has several pionts of articulation.

Close up!

She was discounting her items to move!  I purchase a few things.  She was aslo discount her thing that were puchased for the children who attended the show.  She want to help start the next generation of doll collectors!  That was important for her!

There were a few others selling Barbie and 1/6 scale things like this vendor

There were some dolls and some outfits. 

I purchased this outfit.

 I wanted this one but didn't get it.

 

This Tatiana has a better size head than Mattel's version does.

This vender was very nice but I can't find her card with her name!

More boths and vendors!

This doll was cute!

MJ was there too!

Hey Muff, close your eyes here! 

This seller has doll that look like real live babies. They are made of silicon and feel and jiggle like a living baby. The eyes are the best for looking human. I saw someone holding one. You really had to look hard to tell it wasn’t a really baby. So, you either love these dolls or they creep you out. I don't think I would buy them but they were interesting.

I just love her!

Too cute!

This doll looked like she was asking for something!

The perfect baby--cute and no requirements!

She looks so real in person

class

One class for chidren

While waiting there I ran across this article on Eunice Johnson-Co-founder of Ebony Magazine.  I didn’t know she had passed.  I was temped to take it with me because it was there to be cut up but didn’t.  I was nice to read.

So, On The Real!

I like the real deal on any situation; so I am giving you my opinion on the show. It didn’t seem international (I could be wrong) and it was more of a sale than a show! There weren't as many classes as I remembered there being in the past. Not as much education as the past either but I wasn’t there for that anyway. There weren’t as many doll vendors as I have seen prior either. So for me, it wasn’t as good as I remembered when I purchase my Shani dolls. One visitor said to me that she could remember when the show took up a larger space at the Convention Center than it did this year. I guess that is a sign of our economy.

It has moved back to the Convention Center this year. Last year it was held on Temple University Campus. To me it seemed larger there but it wasn’t as well lit as the Convention Center.

There were maybe 3 or 4 vendors with 1/6 dolls or items along with their other things. No strictly1/6 venders. No FR dolls there! It was more of a sales event of handmade dolls than fashion dolls. That was why I hadn’t come in several years before last year. It took me less than 30 minutes to look around and see what I wanted. Most had everything that they had out. A few let me look at what they had as backups. What did I purchase? That’s for a future post!

The show could have benefited from more people like Chynadolls there and limbe dolls there. Not sure if they would have made a profit. I wonder if other doll shows are the same. Please let me know. This kind of pushes my need for a local doll club. So I will try to schedule a meeting in September.

My Interview Answers!

When I did the Mass Blogger Interview Post I was laboring under two misconceptions. First, I’m a little busy lately, so I thought this would be easy! I wouldn't have to do much but put the questions up! I’d get a few quick answers and it would buy me some time to work on my next blog entry. Second that those question would and should be answered on my own blog and not yours!

Boy was I wrong! When I saw the first answer, I knew that for many of you, it would be better answered on your own blog. You bloggers gave some really interesting answers. I especially enjoyed the pictures and the links you provide. I think I've learned a lot about many of you and tons about collecting! Oh, and if you haven’t answered, It is not too late! Some of you answers were so good that you should provide a link to your answers to your profile.
So here are my answerers! See Marta, I didn’t forget!

When did you start collecting dolls?

I think most of us had Barbie dolls as a child but I started collecting as an adult. When I think about collecting I don’t just think of very rare dolls you keep in the box but the dolls pursuit of dolls. Like my profile states, I was doing a temp job at a local toy store over the holidays. (I did a lot of temp jobs along with my full-time job to pay off my house as single women. I meet my husband two week before my house was paid off!) My job there was to stock the Barbie and doll isles. How much fun was that! I saw all the beautiful dolls that they had and said I would get myself one when the house was paid off. Fast forward a few years and I had got a black Barbie or two from the local Toys-R-Us and had them sitting on a shelf in my bedroom. I still didn’t see myself as a collector. There were two events that change me into a collector. The first was attending the Black Doll show here in Philadelphia and the second was find a doll in a local hardware/variety store that I had never seen before.



What was your first purchase as a collector?

The three Shani dolls and I doll called Elle.  I had seen the Shani dolls in the store when I was working but they weren’t there when I was ready to buy. 

Elle was the first doll I had seen that was that dark.  They sold her to me for a discount because she was so dark that no one liked her! Well I had to have her then.  I had her several years before Princess of South African came out and a few years before Mbilli.  I have her on a  Princess of South African body.  Her old body was of poor quality.  She has purple eyes!

 How many dolls do you own?

About three hundred dolls give or take a few. Most of my dolls are Mattel dolls: Barbie and friends and Disney. I have one original body Rees doll, and two Integrity Toy Mattel hybrids (three in total) , I have other popular fashion dolls, some off brand dolls and many action figures. I have found out that in doll world as in the real world….you can never have enough men!
What is your favorite doll and why?

I have dolls that come and go in favor. They might change depending on my mood. I even have background dolls but I have two favorites dolls: Ms. KiKi (Kenyan Barbie hybrid) and

Ms. D (Julia Repo hybrid).

 Ms. D is the sentimental favorite because she is Julia and Ms. Kiki is just a favorite and she is my favorite of the Shani head sculpt.



What doll or dolls are not your favorites and why?

I only like 1/6 dolls and of them only certain ones. So, all cloth and porcelain are out. What I don’t like also is all big head dolls like My Scene, Liv, Moxie, Bratz and…I’m sorry, Monster High! I just don’t think they look 1/6. I also don’t like dolls with those creepy glassy looking eye or large eyes like Liv and others!
What is the biggest challenge about collecting dolls?

First is money, second is space and third is that I like to be able to see dolls in person to know if I want them. Many dolls are not sold in stores. Fourth is keeping it organized.  I find myself look all over for a
doll sometimes or and item of clothing to take a picture.


How do you display or store your dolls?

I do have some little setups around but I don’t have a cabinet or anything like that for them. Maybe one day. Right now I store them in cardboard boxes to breath.

Sydney on the bedroom table.  Sydney will be appearing at the Student Union.

Ghana Barbie relaxes in the upstairs hall.

Have you ever been to a doll show?

Yes, but there is only one in the area—the Phila. International Black Doll Show and Sale. I need to find more.
When you travel, do you look for dolls?

If I am traveling by myself, yes. I always want to look for dolls. When I am away with my hubby, he doesn’t what to do that type of things on vacation.
What is your latest purchase?

This Girl

I’m calling her Shania

What doll is on your wish list now?

I want some AA FR men!

I have two tall gals with no tall guys around here. And well, I purchase an AA Magic Wings Mariposa doll (small Mackie face) from a local flea market the other day and she fell out of the bag somewhere along the way to my car and now I have to find her or at least her head.



What do you wish you didn’t purchase?

The Dancing Liv Alexis!

I didn’t know her body did articulate until I got her out of the store. I take most dolls out of the box at the store so I don’t take the trash home. It is also easier to sneak into the house that way. I haven’t been able to sell her or any of the Liv heads and wigs I have. I think the market is flooded! Anyone interested in some Liv heads?



What is your favorite doll related item?



I have a lot of stuff but I guess my go to pieces are my park benches

and backdrops! They show up a lot in my pictures. Nothing else is used as much right now.

How often do you photo your dolls and what doll is the most photographed

and/or photogenic?

Not as often as I should. Right now, I do it mostly for my blog. I hope to do more fun photo shoots. The most photographed is Ms. D (Julia Repo hybrid) and the most photogenic is Ms. KiKi (Kenyan Barbie hybrid). I just love her big brown eyes!

This was my favorite photo shoot! The Dance of Rouba!  KiKi's Office and dress from the The International Black Doll Show In Philly!

Dominique is complaining that of all the great shots of her I would choose that one!
 
 

Ms. D: OK, that's better!
 
Do you talk to other collectors in person or just on the web?

I don’t know too many collects other than the ones I have met on the web. So I mostly talk to them on the web.



If you had the chance to speak to Mattel or other toy makers, what

would you say?

To all---

There has to be quality in your item! There reason why some dolls end up in secondary markets and the thrift store is because they are sturdy and well made.

Natural looking makeup is important too. They are dolls not clowns!

The next step in doll evolution is articulation. Don’t be a Dodo!

Your lines need more diversity of dolls in female and male dolls. Black men and women come in more than one complexion and most have dark eyes. Not every redhead has blue or green eyes and even blondes have brown eyes.

Develop you lines. Example: We see the Barbie sister but what about clothing packs and other stuff? It might be too much for the store but how about on line?

Action Figure Companies—it is not just little boys buying your figures! Keep your figures 1/6! You will sell more that way. Large hand and feet aren’t necessary for them to appeal to boys. The more your figures can fit into other manufactory’s items, the better they will sell

More realistic looking clothing for girls and guys!



What doll do you wish would be reissued?

Mattel Diana Ross,

Janet Jackson and

Tutti's friend Carla!


What two dolls would you combine and how would you want them

combined? (Muff style question)

#17 with an articulated body and more AA males on an articulated body!



Well, I hope you found my answers as interesting as I found your!

Thanks For Looking!

XOXO

Ms. Leo

Mass Blogger Interview!

Hi All!

I have an interview with a local couple who collect dolls coming up. In the
process of gathering questions for them, I thought it would be neat to ask
these questions of you by doing a mass blogger interview! So feel free to
answer these questions and share with your fellow bloggers
your collecting experiences.  You can skip question that you don't want to answer.
I know that asking how many dolls you have can be like asking a gambler how
much they owe.



When did you start collecting dolls?

What was your first purchase as a collector?

How many dolls do you own?

What is your favorite doll and why?

What doll or dolls are not your favorites and why?

What is the biggest challenge about collecting dolls?

How do you display or store your dolls?

Have you ever been to a doll show?

When you travel, do you look for dolls?

What is your latest purchase?

What doll is on your wish list now?

What do you wish you didn’t purchase?

What is your favorite doll related item?

How often do you photo your dolls and what doll is the most photographed
and/or photogenic?

Do you talk to other collectors in person or just on the web?

If you had the chance to speak to Mattel or other toy makers, what
would you say?

What doll do you wish would be reissued?

What two dolls would you combine and how would you want them
combined? (Muff style question)

If there is something I didn't ask that you would like to say, you can put
that in too.

Thanks For Looking and Commenting!

Sisters And Mother's Day!

I purchased a set dolls on ebay last week!  I have seem her on a few other
bloggers sites and wanted one of my own.  I don't remember seeing her
in the store but I haven't always been into Kelly sized dolls.

There were three of them but I think I will only need two.This is their sales
photo.  I added panties to the photo as not to shock anyone. LOL! 

I wanted to put one on a Kelly size body because I wanted one tall and one
smaller to make them sisters or maybe they will be twins.  This meant I only
needed two! The third is on its' way to Cat at A Doll Affinity.  I hope you like
her Cat.  She has very nice hair.

After purchasing her and looking at some of my other small dolls,
this post came to mind.

Dominique and Renee's mother died when they were in their teens.  Most of
their family pictures were distroyed in a flood but their church parish had
pictures of each child that attended bible school which started at age three!


Dominique at three years old

Dominque now!

Reneen at three years old.

Renee' now!

So, here is Dominque and Renee looking at the only pictures of them
when they were little and remembering their mother who made sure they
went to church as they were growing up.  They will go to church on
Mother's Day and remember her.

Thank You

For All You Do

Mothers Everywhere!