The best advice I have been given is to be sure you love the dolls you pursue, or enjoy the process, or both.

Doll lovers all have particular reasons why they gather these little (and not so little) replicas of humans and creatures.

For some collectors the value is important. For some it is "vintage", or "modern" that is important. For some it is the dolls by particular doll designers they pursue. For some it is the motivation to express a skill-such as sewing, knitting, repainting, or photography.

Doll collecting can be the way to a career, a method of supporting a family, a legacy for your children, a reason for social interaction, or a simple hobby.

Whatever is the reason we do it, doll collecting offers a promise of some kind of satisfaction.

And if we are good at it or enjoy it, the promise is fulfilled...

On Doll Collections...

Doll Collections create a space challenge. And questions of doll protection...

Do you keep your dolls in their boxes? in glass cases? in darkened rooms?

No matter how careful you choose to be here are a few good tips:

*Keep your dolls out of direct sunlight

*Keep pets away from the areas you use to store your dolls, or use your dolls.

*Prevent small children from unsupervised play with dolls you choose to preserve (keep crayons in a separate room!) If you choose, bring the dolls out for special times to develop respectful use of certain dolls. Great teaching time! 

*Be sure your hands are clean when you handle your dolls.

For more careful handling:

Use cotton gloves to handle dolls if you have fragile vintage dolls, or any doll you want kept in pristine condition.

*Cover dolls with a soft cloth or keep them in enclosed shelves to keep dust off.

There are a lot of creative, attractive and unique ways to store or display your doll collections.

Check out my Pinterest Board for ideas. Doll Collections

And check this link I just found with some great photos of doll collection displays that add to a home's features. Doll Collection Home Design Photos, on Houzz

Choosing dolls for your collection is a personal thing, but we have reasons...

Once we identify why we are collecting dolls, or what we love about it, the choices we make can be based on a variety of factors:

• the age and era of the dolls we collect
  
• the designer or company
  
• the look of the doll
  
• the material the doll is made of
  
• the size we want
  
• the handle ability
  
• the use it will be put to
  
• the source
  
• the cost
  

And we may ask, how will the doll fit in to the collection? Are we filling a gap? Are we adding variety? Are we buying yet another favorite? Are we buying at all...maybe it's a trade. Perhaps you are creating your own doll. 

For some of us, there is a lot of excitement when we are choosing, or waiting for a doll to arrive, whether it's a vintage doll, a ball joint doll, a Smart Doll, or a Little Darling, or another Little Darling...

Think about your process as a doll collector!

How do you choose a doll?

The scale of my dolls, the relative sizes of one doll to another, has surfaced as an issue again as I share my doll photos with Someone I Know. And I find I am facing a kind of doll discrimination....

As I began my doll collecting in earnest again a while back, I was paying a lot of attention to scale. I collected lots of photos and information for reference, measuring my dollies and pouring over photos of dolls that might be a good fit. Since I was starting with a variety of sizes and proportions to begin with-think Terri Lee, Barbie, and 14" baby dolls for a start, it was a challenge to make decisions about who to add....

I decided to collect doll friends or "family" for my singletons, since having only one of each really showed up the wild difference in scales. It wasn't easy for me to imagine making up a photo story with my vintage Barbie and Terri Lee together.  

So the old Terri Lee acquired a friend from the 90's (who recently fell to pieces soon after my Terri broke the rubber bands holding on her appendages...but that is another story). And Barbie now has a Liz Taylor and Clark Gable to keep her company.

My two old Dee An Cee Cindy dolls at least had each other. But I thought  perhaps I wanted them to have children, to create a story about moms.... Since they are 14" I couldn't use the two 14" Dee An Cee baby dolls I have had since I was little. That would just look strange. So another doll hunt manifested 2 little 5" Berengeur babies, which will do. And so cute!

As my dolls' friends arrived, with some very successful scale matches and others not-quite-right (Tonner 18"males have smaller heads than my round faced 16" Ellowynes), my get-it-right scale demands started to relax as my dolls got to know each other. Okay, I mean as I got used to seeing them together. 

And my photos started to include these slight mis-matches, as if everything was All Right, like in this photo of tall Crissy, playing hairdresser and stylist to tiny Agnes Dreary.

That's when Someone I Know started to kick up a fuss about it, as he saw some of the doll photos and stories for the first time (great editor if I can stand all the constructive criticism).

Now I hear myself justifying the use of this slightly big headed doll with a perfectly proportioned one,  the big-eyed dolls with normal sized eye dolls, the skinny dolls with the chubby, the large with the small....

Come on, nobody will care like you say they will. Will they?

So...if my Barbies end up at a party with my Terri Lees, and I post the photos, you sticklers will know it is due to the steady deterioration of my own early discrimination.

I mean, have you noticed how many big headed humans there are?

 And how many small minded?

Mixing with the rest of us?

And we put up with it! 

Doll scale discrimination must be acknowledged and questioned!

There oughtta be a law.

Wait a minute. I think I have lost my perspective...

I am going to go play with my dolls for a while.

Read more on Scales and Sizes...

Darling Lil" Bee is a shop on eBay and Etsy selling adorable sundresses, like this one, for 13" Dianna Effner's Little Darlings...

Just a few months after I decided I could live in a caftan and a shawl for the rest of my life, after a lifetime of fascination with clothes, shoes, and fashion generally, I dropped into the world of doll fashions.

Opening my childhood trunk of Barbie and other doll clothes reignited the admiration I have for the dressmakers to the dolls. My mom herself knitted and sewed very cute Barbie clothes. This is not an easy task!

And it is a joyful task that many skilled artisans engage in, as a hobby and as a living. Sewers, smockers, knitters, cross-stitch experts, hat and shoemakers bring their talents to the creation of tiny fashions, to the delight and gratitude of doll collectors-who-don't-sew, or don't want to-like me.

I am immersed now in choosing wardrobes for a variety of dolls. And I am filled with admiration for the wonderful people who provide dolly wardrobes. So I want to acknowledge a few of them here, and add photos (or links to photos), names of the artists, and the shops on-line that provide the beautiful fashions...

Erin Green made this lovely sundress and matching hat, and provides shoes to match... And she has a wonderful selection to choose from at her eBay and Etsy shops.

And if I skip a shopping trip to buy a new T-shirt for myself, and spend another day in my beach sarong, I can peruse her adorable choices and provide another pretty dress for another Little Darling. A sacrifice I am willing to make....

Keep an eye out here for more photos and write ups of some of my favorite doll dressmakers!

Most sell their doll clothes, like Erin's here, and Janice Mundy at Sew Sweet Designs for Dolls, and mrsbobbinsews on eBay.

and Kathy Groulx on Etsy.

And doll dressmaker Tomi Jane's exquisite work is worth a look (on Flickr) for doll fashion lovers like myself!

So, if you are a lover of doll fashions, or are in the market for some doll clothes

(especially for 13" dolls like Little Darlings, my focus at the moment) Stay Tuned!

For now, let's go window shopping at Darling Lil' Bee! So fun!

These cute short sets for 13" dolls like the Little Darlings here, made by the talented Janice Mundy, are from her eBay shop mrsbobbinsews. Thanks, Janice! But gone now... :(

It's mid July, time in the fashion world to wrap up the summer sales and start showing fall wardrobes. What a thought! It's 30c here!

Now, dolls are dolls...they don't feel the temperatures the way we do. But when it's hot, my dolls wear sundresses, shorts. and sandals or barefeet. If it gets cool and cloudy they get a sweater on. As September approaches, we'll start looking at cute fall school clothes. And I just found myself admiring a classy dolly winter coat on Pinterest...

As a follower of fashion magazines like Vogue and Elle Canada, I am used to this rush to finish up a season. But we have plenty of hot weather left to enjoy. And I just finished staining a little picnic table so my dolls can enjoy a barbecue outdoors. Whoops, I mean, so I can take some summer event photos with my dolls. 

Glad I got these short sets in time!  And for a look at a very fashionable brown and pink flowered capri set also made by Janice Mundy, check out my Flickr page... (It's also on my Photo Collections page at the moment.)

Janice is right on fashion cue with several cute school-time dresses at her eBay shop, mrsbobbinsews. And a website too,  Sew Sweet Designs for Dolls... AND a Facebook page, Sew Sweet Designs for Dolls. Busy lady...

I am looking forward to fall shopping at Janice's shops ...soon.

Right now it's iced lemonade time with my Little Darlings. They are waiting for me at the cafe!

PS  Here is some updated info from Janice Mundy, left in her kind comment below...

If anyone sees anything they like from former listings, I am happy to discuss whether they are able to be duplicated as I generally only make one or two of each design to start with. Please visit my Facebook page and check out the pictures there as well...same goes for requesting special orders there: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sew-Sweet-Designs-for-Dolls/385019868269178?ref=settings

I am a doll photographer and collector and Suzy, my next door neighbor is a quilter-extraordinaire...

It was only a matter of time before I made a request of her. I wanted a cute little quilt, made from my children's childhood fabrics, for my dolls to picnic on.

This is one side of my new beautiful, reversible,  18" doll quilt.

It was hard for me to choose between my favorite fabrics, full of memories. So Suzy suggested a red side and a pink side, solving my dilemma. 

And she brought out her fat quarters to add some variety. It was so fun, and also the beginning of lots of stories about her own quilts, and her life...

When this Little Darling arrived (handpainted by Helen Skinner), of course her first photo shoot was set against Suzy's adorable quilt.

For more photos of this quilt, and its red side, hop over to my Photo Collections page!

You can see more photos and watch little videos about Suzy's quilts at her site, Suzy Q's Quilts...

Just as I am leaving to embark on a road trip, or even pop down to the post office, if I pass a dolly by, I get the request...

I keep a couple of doll travel bags handy,  pretty pink silk and sturdy black corduroy, but my dolls are not picky. A cloth grocery bag will do. Actually, I do have one doll who prefers the pink drawstring....

(Get a grip on yourself! Seriously? ...I'd rather not answer. I don't like your tone.)

When I admitted to a friend, a close friend, that a doll usually goes with me everywhere, she said I needed a doll car seat. I looked at her closely to see if she was mocking me.

(She is not a convert yet, only asking me to get a particularly cute doll for her granddaughter. But since she added it was so they could have fun spending time playing together, I am hopeful.) 

I asked her if the car seat idea was to keep the doll safe? What's the matter with being tucked into my tote? That's pretty safe. But she replied that it was so the dolls could see better on their ride!  How nice!

(She's mocking you.)

If only I had the courage. 

But if I keep reading those Facebook posts long enough, the ones that say go ahead and be your crazy self and never mind the haters, maybe I'll start looking for a little car seat. A really high one.

My dollies would love it!

At least, that's what I think they'd feel.

If they could, I mean.

Speaking of car rides...I carry a 72 hour bag in the car, which sounds super organized, but it is probably missing a few things a few things, things I would be sorry weren't there. If we were in a pinch...

Lately I have caught myself thinking that there ought to be a doll in that bag. But which one? Who gets to live in the 72 hour bag?

It's a dilemma because I don't have any volunteers.

Okay, I haven't actually asked.

(Excuse me?)

I can't, off the top of my head, think of one of my dolls that I would want to stick in that tight spot. Maybe Hugh, because he seems a little grumpy and snobby, which I couldn't tell from his picture when I ordered him. (Seems so hard for them to make a great Ken doll!)

But would I pack his girlfriend too? Then I am two down. Should I just put all my Barbies in there? There aren't many and they don't get a lot of photo action anyway.

Whoops, no, I got a fast answer on that one. Not Moana, my vintage, so not her buddies Liz or Butler. Imagine Liz Taylor in a stuffy bag! Not likely.

My reasoning for having a doll in my 72 hour bag is because I think my dolls are good, good for me, like medicine. 

But also because I seriously love my dolls (seriously?) and I would not want to lose them all in a disaster. So, water, food, medicine, bandaids, dolls...Try putting that list on a survival site. Ouch. I can see the comments now....

Kids would understand, but only a small number of grown ups would get it. 

That's it! I'll say it's for the children! Genius. (What children? ....Well, any children!)

Okay, I can see that if I just put a little time and attention on this matter I might come up with something. But I am not going to "ask" because what will I do if Lula volunteers to go in the bag, because she thinks it would be an adventure, or Scout, who likes to be useful, or Hal, who is just so nice he would sacrifice himself...

And I can't bear the thought of not having them around every day.

As...dolls, of course.

No wonder he's confused, poor lad...

(You mean besides the fact that he looks like a girl? ...That's enough! There's a different standard of masculinity in the bjd world. Don't get me started!)

Jack has discovered that he is a r-e-c-a-s-t. I told him he was a knockoff when he asked why he was different than his Iplehouse brothers. It was...kinder.

Recasts (shhh!) are not respected in the doll world. My friend didn't know when she gifted me with this beauty. (Who could resist him! He looks like he's melting.). 

True doll artists don't like it when their work is copied, understandably. It's like a doll underground, right in the open on eBay, and Internet sites you can get to with a click of a button. For the unsuspecting, and doll-world-ignorant, and for people who have no idea how much a Real bjd can cost,  it all appears legit.

Actually, the legalities around doll copies are a little fuzzy it seems. Lawyers have been consulted apparently, and there is a lot of debate. But it is very clear that the issue is a Hot Topic. I'm talking death threats. For the humans who stand up for,  you know, the R word.  Really. Policing in the doll world...who knew.

I experienced it myself when I asked a bjd photo site administrator if I could add this beautiful lad, and received... complete silence. So, I won't try to share him again. Except here on my own site, his own home. Or on my own Flickr page, or my own Pinterest board.  (Call me if you need bail....Uhhh, thanks.)

I can't risk it. I don't want the authorities to show up at the door. And maybe demand that he is recycled, like  they they do with the synths in HUMANS.  Or take me away. Who would dress the dolls when they wanted to go outside? Who would take them for car rides? 

So, he is a knock off. That is my story from now on and I'm sticking to it. I wanted to get this post in now, while this site still has only 0.26 visitors a day. After this I'll just plead ignorance. 

And, I'll never get another one, another...you know. I'll tell my friends. Not even to practice restringing, or to try my own repaint. (Hey, wait, those are good ideas. Let me rethink all this.)

As for disillusioned Jack, he headed out to the Wall, without even a goodbye to his Legit brothers (well-half brothers). Or a coat. But, as Luck would have it, he passed by a pretty little Ellowyne who needed some help. And no one can say that Jack isn't a nice guy, er, doll. So as far as I know, they are still...busy.

(Strip story follow up...Jack is Downcast)

An odd thing about bjd's.... That stands for ball joint dolls, for any newbies to the doll world.

Before I communicated with other doll collectors, and before I started to hang out on bjd Flickr pages and blogs, I imagined that the bjd dolls  I was pouring over, came from another...place. A fantasy world, or as Phoebe puts it, a parallel universe. The world created itself in my mind, populated with gods, fairies, elementals, giants, spirits...dolls with special powers or attributes. I started to choose my bjd's to inhabit this world I was imagining.

I discovered that this is common. It's common to place bjd's especially, in fantasy situations (yup, those kinds of fantasies, too. Do glamorous-breasted attributes count as special powers? I'll let you decide). From little large eared elves and winged fairies, to dripping blood fanged grey skinned vampires, to beautiful princesses and irresistible warriors.... I had just jumped aboard a bandwagon.

My other-worldly dolls, though, share space with worldly Barbies, chatty Terri Lees, and Ellowyne entrepreneurs bent on making this world a better place. 

However, some of my not-bjd dollies also have special powers. Like Silent Sam, my mute African beaded doll. And Ernie, my First Nations man. They communicate telepathically, with my Elemental bjd's, and with each other.  Ana, my first absolutely adorable but ordinary Little Darling doll, has somehow picked up on it and is doing her best to tune in...practice, practice, practice.

So, I know it sounds hard to believe, but I think a few of my dolls are psychic and can sometimes read MY mind, which is perhaps how Jack discovered he is not a Real bjd. (See my last post.) Who else would have told him? And I really think it's how I know what my dolls want. They are planting, telepathically, thoughts in my mind. 

I have to stay alert. 

I have to go now. I just had the urge to bring my bjd's out to the porch. Where they can hang out together. While I look for a good source for trendy bjd T-shirts online. And uh, and shoes...

This doll, Mirai, came to mind when one of my readers, okay, my one reader, told me he is thinking of beginning his own doll collection but doesn't know where to start.

(I hope he has a good job. If not, he could start by printing off  a picture, haha...Listen, that IS the beginning of a doll collection. Dollheads like us DO have pictures of dolls on our walls. Haven't you noticed?... "Dollheads"? Is that a thing? ...It is now!)

Mirai is a VERY well known doll in Japan. It is so famous and popular that Japan chose it as their official mascot of Japan tourism. Then Malaysia did. She stars in books and specials on TV, if I have my facts straight.

And Danny Choo designed her. Danny Choo is Jimmy Choo's son. Jimmy Choo the famous shoe designer.

Info straight from Danny's site...

WHAT IS SMART DOLL?

Designed, manufactured and assembled in Japan by a startup called Mirai, Smart Doll is a line of 60cm tall articulated fashion dolls designed by myself Danny Choo. The Smart Doll product is a fusion of art and both modern and traditional molding methods which enables us to create a stylish and fashionable line of fashion dolls for an international market.
The “SM” from “SMART” means “Social Media” while the rest means “ART.”
Smart Doll is art which connects people in ways that an online social media service cannot possibly do in an offline world.

 Doesn't that sound like the perfect place to start?

I am excited about this doll. She has an amazing body structure...check out the stages of her, from skeleton to finished product. Different from even the best bjd's out there.

Mirai is created to appeal to people of all types, genders, and ages. Little kids, cool teens, young women into fashions, 29 year old males,  old lady doll collectors, people from Other Countries. Whether you are a dollhead or not, this is a doll with appeal.

Besides thinking of Mirai for my reader on the lookout for a good startup doll, she also came to mind when I wrote about my dolls coming with me on car rides. Wishing I was braver about having my dolls out in the open. 

Danny Choo walks around his city with Mirai on his shoulder.

Okay, so he wants everyone to have one, or his Kizuna, her friend. 

But I couldn't help thinking of the business potential of having this doll. Imagine, say, Vancouver. Walking downtown, in the business district, in your suit (or on casual Friday in an artsy Tshirt and carrying your skateboard). With Mirai on your shoulder. Doesn't that just scream business opportunity? Can't you just picture yourself signing new contracts, after sharing Japanese beers with potential clients who recognize what an internationally savvy person you are? It's so...respectful.

And having a Mirai dangling from your briefcase or backpack, or with her articulated arm wrapped around your head, I think would give you a kind of street cred. To a variety of humans.  Smart Humans.

And only 60,000 yen  A smart investment at double the price! 

Something to think about.

Not in the city? Maybe you are out in a camp somewhere, working Then it's the casual and useful khaki pants, canvas shoes, and toque she wears, that could be the appeal.... She would fit right in. She would keep you company when you are working in the field, alone, or attract others to your table in the Workforce Dining Module.

Find a cute little pickaxe for her. (She can have a small magnet in her hand so she can actually hold something metal. I know I have convinced you now! Can you send me a picture when you get her? I don't have one yet. A Real Mirai I mean...)

I hope my reader comes back and sees this. And buys one. Danny Choo might notice and send me a free Mirai for my good salesmanship. Can't wait.

If you want to see more photos of Mirai Suenaga, google her. Or go right to the site. I'll make it easy for you...Smart Doll

There. My good deed for the day.

(Hey! I think I may have 2 readers now. So excited! Do friends count? See KP's comment on my 72 Hour post.)

 This is my interpretation of what my daughter's cat is saying to her. To Tas, her beloved kitty is saying something like...Oh mommy, don't you want to spend some quality time with me before you get down to your boring work? Look, I'm so cute and cuddly. 

For humans there are actually books for our babies about common facial expressions, and what they mean. Lots of common expressions-happy, mad,  sad, surprised-in the human world.  

But with pets, and dolls...watch out.

Think of making a book with pet or doll expressions.

The debates would start!

I think you gotta know them...

My friend thinks my doll Ana is sad. No way! That's not a sad look. She's peaceful! Sheesh!

How am I ever going to do stories with dolls with wild interpretations like that!

Okay, I have a little trouble myself figuring out how to let you know that Scout is excited with her new badge. That is one sullen looking doll. Pretty and sullen. Wow.

Thank goodness for thought bubbles.

Love pets. We've had lots, thanks to a friend who, years ago, sent two kittens home on a sleepover with my children. Now what?  Have you ever tried to send a kitten back? Fast way to losing all your brownie points with your kids. Try telling your little curly headed deprived child that she's too allergic while she's cuddling a soft kitten. I had kept the whole existence of "pets"  from her for as long as I could. Then, the choice- daily steroid cream and kitten, or no kitten. Guess which a kid will pick? OMG. In the end I caved.

And the random pets flooded in for years, my kids picking up strays and bringing them home,  or feeding a new stray in the backyard while I drink coffee on the front porch until the cat thinks it has a home here.  I do remember actually choosing a pet from a litter once. How novel. But that was because one of the strays, already established as a pet,  was not "friendly" enough to sit on a child's lap, or get put in a doll buggy with a bonnet. (Did someone say doll?)

But I digress....  At this point in my life I choose dolls over pets, now that the kids are elsewhere, and the last pet is gone too. I get a lot of the same satisfaction from my cute and funny little dollies that pets offer their people. (Not just cute though, also majestic and royal. I have dolls that are like German Shepherds or race horses, seriously -don't call them "cute".)

Dolls are a lot less work. No feeding, except for an imaginary picnic or romantic dinner set up for a photo shoot. But the food is pretend and you can use it over and over. 

No yard clean up or pet hair on your couch. Okay, you gotta keep track of all the hair-ties, socks, and ribbons. But you are not up at 6 am to feed them after they've jumped on your bed and licked you. You don't have to get up in the night to let your pet out so you don't regret it in the morning. 

Although I was up and out at the other night at midnight, doll in each hand and camera around my neck, to see the blue moon. We sat out under the stars. And howled... 

Dolls and pets. Gotta love them.

Well...Scout tells me you don't have to love pets.

Scout, that's not the best way to endear yourself to Humans. They have a thing about pets. 

Did you just say you don't care what Humans think? Go to your room!

Okay, you've got a point. I'll take you to your room... (excuse me...)

I just finished writing about how dolls stay where you put them...

But I admit I had a thought  a while back, that one of these days I am going to find my dolls Somewhere Else. That they have synthed somehow and are making choices for themselves. Moving from room to room, partying, going for night walks under the full moon. And I will have lost the advantage of Total Control. Causing confusion. I thought it had happened already the other day, when I discovered 3 of my little dolly children in what I call my office.  But then I remembered that I had put them there myself, after a photo shoot. Perhaps early dementia and dolls moving around "by themselves" go together? I better see my doctor.

For now there is stability. I find my dolls are where I put them.

My problem today is...

I was doing a short morning photo shoot after bringing G, my human, coffee in bed. I left my half coffee on the porch. When my photo shoot was done I returned to the porch. And gasped, actually gasped, when I found G sitting there in his rocking chair. On the porch. Not where I had left him, in bed. Okay, in my defense, there was something about the way he was sitting motionless, looking off into the distance. But still...

The lines are blurring. And it's not my glasses.

Okay, so it's not here yet.

This photo is of my only doll from Africa. 

But I am very excited, because my youngest daughter was here today with her good friend, Lindsey. Lindsey is headed back to Togo, Africa, where she is a Recreation Director at a school there. I immediately recognized an opportunity and introduced Lindsey to a few of my dolls. Especially Silent Sam who is beloved here. But let's face it...not a lot of buddies from his home continent. Well, not any. 

And it worked! Seeing the longing in Sam's eyes, Lindsey started to talk about the dolls she has seen in Togo. African dolls. African dolls made by African elders. Blind African elders. I got a little longing in my eyes too, when she told me about these dolls. 

I want one, I think I said.

And I made sure that she has my address.

And I stuck a $20 in her pocket. 

I'm so excited.

I'll check the post office tomorrow. 

Silent Sam is practicing his French, because that's the official language of Togo. But he is also learning some words in "Ewe", which we think might be what his new friend will be talking. Sam is saying, "Hello, cousin".  We are ON this!