Hello Dear Readers!
I hope everyone is
doing well! I’ve decided to dust off the blog to talk about a doll
show I went to yesterday. I haven’t been to too many doll shows
in my life. This is actually the second time I’ve gone to a doll
show, my first time was this same show last year. It’s in
Salisbury, NC, which is about an hour from me. I believe this is
their last show of the season, but they also have shows in Asheville,
Nashville, and Raleigh during their season. It’s part of the
Southeastern Doll & Toy Shows and their website can be found
here. You can also find a two dollar off coupon on their website for
the entry fee. I will mention that they also had index cards
available so people could fill out the information there and get the
discount, which I do appreciate them making it more cost effective,
but it stings slightly… I used my printer ink to print out the
coupon!
It’s held at the
Salisbury Civic Center:
Here’s the doors
to the building:
And the view from
the doorway into the room the show is held in:
That’s the last of
the pictures I took in the event. Felt a little self contentious
taking pictures in the show. Also, I took a picture of a doll and the
woman whose booth it was was staring daggers at me, so that was the
end of that.
But it’s not the
end of the post. I want to share all the goodies I got!
I started spending
pretty early when I got there. You have to jump on a deal
when you find it. The first thing I bought was this doll:
I believe she’s
Top Model Teresa from several years ago. She was only five dollars,
so I decided to get her. I don’t think I’m going to keep her, so
I’m going to clean her up and list her on eBay… eventually. I
assume the seller didn’t know what they had since a lot of stuff
the had was a bit higher priced for me (I am not
paying thirty dollars for a Skooter).
I also bought these two bags from the same seller at ten dollars
each. Inside there’s a bunch of Kelly and smaller sized doll
clothing. I have a real weakness for Kelly stuff even though I just
have one Kelly and one Tommy doll that I actually change the clothes on.
I haven’t gone through it yet, but I saw enough that I wanted that
I didn’t have (and some things that in better shape of what I
already have). No shoes though, but I also have quite a stockpile of
shoes for them.
The next thing I bought was this miniature American Girl doll.
Haven’t done any research on her yet, but she was just ten dollars.
Her apron is American Girl, but I assume nothing else is. I’m going
to clean her up and list her. She’s cute, but I’m not super into
little dolls like that (with an upcoming exception).
After that I bought another Barbie doll. According to the sales tag,
she was a convention gift from the 2012 Barbie Convention. I mainly
bought her because she has an articulated Belly Button body, and she
was just ten dollars. I think her head is a Barbie Basic (I want to
say from the Jean series). Her lips have been repainted and the paint
is staining her face. I’m planning on removing the chipping paint
and using acne cream to try and remove the staining. Hopefully her
original lips are under that paint. I’m not sure what I’m going
to do with her. I don’t really need another body, so she could be
sold as parts or complete. I’ll work on fixing the staining before
deciding what to do with her.
Next
I bought a Francie outfit.
This is Land Ho from 1969. This was more expensive at twenty
dollars, but it has the
ribbon tie and the circle piece to keep the ribbon in
place so I figured it was
worth it. I’m missing the hat and the shoes so I’ll have to keep
my eyes peeled for those. I’ve been doing a big focus on getting
more vintage Barbie clothes. I was tired of running a little nudist
colony and I don’t have the energy, desire, or skills to dress
everyone. Right now vintage Barbie herself
is in a good clothing spot,
but I really need to get Francie and Skipper clothes. Unfortunately
they can be pretty expensive and I remain cheap (Doll shows not
withstanding).
I also bought these super cute little baby dolls. I think they’re
hard plastic and they’re both marked Germany. I have a total
weakness for these little dolls. I know that they’re simple little
inexpensive toys but I find them so incredibly charming. I just love
their little sleep eyes. They need some help with their stringing,
but aren’t they the cutest? They were only two dollars for both of
them.
On
the subject of sleep eyes, I also bought this antique doll eye
rocker. I have been dabbling slightly in antique dolls (bisque,
wooden, and china), so I thought it was worth picking it up at five
dollars. I don’t have a doll of that size that needs the eyes
replaced, but I thought it would be good having it as a spare.
Unfortunately I’m not sure where I can store it, I think it’s a
little macabre to keep it
with the antique dolls. But look how pretty the eyes are!
I
also have dabbled ever so slightly in dollhouse furniture. I have a
Strombecker walnut secretary desk that I decided to keep so I’m
always on the lookout for things to go along with it. There was a lot
of dollhouse stuff at the show, but nothing I really needed, until I
saw this. It’s the most adorable frog pitcher. When I found it, I
had to have it. Luckily it was just three dollars. It’s ceramic. On
the bottom it’s marked “V. Casson” and “France”. I
just looked it up, you can get your own frog pitcher here for twenty
four euros! (I
was not expecting that price). I
was hoping to find a chair that worked for the desk and a Barbie
sized vase of good quality, but it was not meant to be, but
I am patient on those fronts.
I also bought the top and scarf for Barbie’s Cool ‘N Crisp outfit
for twelve dollars. It’s another vintage outfit I’ve always liked
and don’t own yet. It’s a little dingy and I don’t think you
can wash it without the red from the stitching running into the white
fabric. I think it’s been washed before since there’s some color
transfer, so I might try washing it with a color catcher sheet to see
if I can get it a little cleaner. I’m missing the skirt, but it’s
a simple red cotton straight skirt I know I can make a stand in from
supplies I already have.
I
also bought a Suzie Sad Eyes doll for twenty five. She’s one of the
few small dolls I’ve made an exception for in my collection. I’ve
been pretty lucky stumbling onto them (I’ve found two in thrift
stores over the years),
so I have a modest collection of them. This one is my most expensive
one, but I decided to get her. The seller also had two dressed dolls,
but they were more expensive and
I was running out of money.
I’m not sure if her hair
has been cut or just choppy from the factory, but she’s very cute.
I mostly have ones with black hair so
she is a duplicate but I still like her. Her eyes look less wonky in
person, not sure why they look so off in pictures. I’m still on the
look out for a redhead and an AA version, but
those tend to be expensive (and she’s a casual interest).
From the same seller I also bought these clone cat eye glasses. I
don’t have a use for them, but I liked them. That green pair is
what got my attention. They were originally two dollars, but the
seller bundled them in with the doll so they were technically free!
I also bought this Barbie outfit from the same seller. They also
bundled it with the doll, so instead of paying four dollars, it was
twenty five for everything. It’s Best Buy 8261. I’m not sure who
will wear it. Most of my 70’s dolls have melting issues at the
limbs (which I do repair, but isn’t perfect and can keep melting)
so I wouldn’t want to dress them in something they could ruin and
it’s not era appropriate for the Mod dolls. But, I have it, and can
decide who can wear it later. It might end up on a Superstar.
We are now onto the final grouping. This stall was a little … not
my favorite. A lot of the stuff in there wasn’t priced and that
always makes me uneasy. I think the seller bought a lot of their
stuff at auction. There were a lot of things with lot numbers on
them. Also, when I was looking through some of the stuff they had a
giant live moth flew out of it. I don’t think anyone else saw it,
so I just went about my business. They told me they would be willing
to make a deal, so I bundled up what I wanted and they made an offer
of 20 dollars for everything, which I gladly took. I did ask them
later about a vintage Barbie they had that had been repainted with
boxy black eyebrows and brown eyes, but they wanted 80 for it. A lot
of the customization had been to hide flaws (I could tell her hair
had been cut and she had some damage to her hand), so I passed. Also,
I didn’t have that much money on me since it was the end of the
show, but let’s see what I did get:
I
bought a bag that had the white long gloves in it. I can never have
enough gloves (even though I rarely have a need for opera length
gloves). The Growing Skipper shoe was in the bag and so was the
hanger thing (anyone know
what that is?). I picked up
the Tutti shoe elsewhere. I had hoped to find the match in the pile
of stuff, but no luck. I also picked up the 90’s era jewelry box. I
have one just like it that I
use to keep track of tiny earrings, so I felt like I could use a
second.
I also bought this random lot. Most of it isn’t worth anything.
It’s mostly solo clone shoes. There are some square toe shoes and a
couple TLC open toe shoes (and a pair of Dawn shoes, not sure if they
are clones or not), but most of it is just … junk. I wanted it
because tucked away in there is Superstar Ken’s bracelet. It’s a
pretty small piece and hard to find, so I decided to pick it up. I
also like the box of random necklaces. I will most likely just keep
the Mattel shoes and the bracelet from the lot.
Another
random thing I picked up is
this Barbie travel toothbrush that is still sealed in the box. It’s
from 1986, not sure why I wanted it. I just thought it was neat. I
have like … 10 things from the 1980s in my collection (at most), so
it’s not like there’s a lot of things like it around here. Not
sure if I will keep it, but I have it for now.
I also bought another doll dress. This is the shirtdress from
Smasheroo. I’m slowly building my Mod clothing collection. It’s
not my favorite outfit, but a lot of the clothes at the show was
pretty expensive and this was in good shape.
And finally I bought a clone dress. This dress is very clearly based
on Movie Date but with a darker striped fabric. I don’t own Movie
Date (but it’s on the want list) and while this dress is a bit of a
mess, I’d like to see if I could fix it up some. Here’s hoping
that stain comes out!
After
that I did make another stop at the local Habitat for Humanity store.
I almost bought a vintage doll, but when I opened the bag she had the
worst hard plastic disease
smell to her so I left her behind. I did buy some fabric. I took a
long break from it, but I have been getting back into sewing. Little
things here and there. If people would like to see some of the things
I’ve made recently, please let me know in the comments and I can share some of it.
Overall
it was a good day, but let me tell you something that happened at the
show. I think I was the only person wearing a mask at the show, I’m
vaccinated, but we’re still dealing with it so I don’t feel
comfortable going out without one. Especially since my dad caught it in September. A vintage Barbie seller asked me what era I
collected, I let her know I collected 1959 to 1976. She asked me if
that was the dolls I played with as a kid. I was born in 1986! I know
she couldn’t see the lower part of my face, but I was SO offended!
So
that was my doll show haul. Does anyone have any favorites from what
I bought?
Also,
we’ll be seeing each other again at the end of the month. ;)
