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Dear Diary,
Whew! Day 2 at the National Barbie® Doll Convention has come and gone, and I'm having a terrific time. So many things to do that are all so much fun! Let me fill you in on all the details ...
Nancy with Star City Doll Club
workshop participants |
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My day started with some really fun workshops! The first one, Charm Doll Pins, was presented by a very talented woman, Nancy Graham. Nancy has been collecting Barbie for many years, and bases her tiny designs on vintage Barbie dolls from the 1960s. These 2¼" creations are made of a hard plastic, can be designed to anyone's specifications, and make darling pins, necklaces, earrings, or ornaments. Workshop participants spent over an hour creating their very own charm doll, choosing from a variety of hair colors, skin tones, and outfit options using supplies like glitter, glue, and fabric. During the workshop, I couldn't help admiring the adorable matching vests worn by four ladies who were hard at work on their charm pins. I eventually introduced myself, and discovered they belong to the Star City Doll Club in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nine of their 15-member doll club are attending the convention this year. Thanks for talking with me, Tamra, Karen, Michelle, and Barb! It was great meeting you.
My next stop was the Hair Club For Ken®, put on by a delightful woman named Suzanne Bowns. A die-hard Ken collector from childhood, Suzanne showed participants how to apply flocked hair to Ken doll's head. With nothing more than a little glue and a tiny paint brush, and using a substance actually called "flocking," individuals applied various colors of flocked hair to their vintage or modern Ken. For me, the idea of altering a doll in any way seems like a recipe for disaster (my childhood dolls all have chunks of hair missing from botched hair cuts!). However, flocking Ken doll's hair was actually pretty easy. And the results looked fantastic. Well, in most cases. As my new friend Jef Beck (the mastermind behind one of my favorite sites ManBehindTheDoll.com) pointed out, results vary. Jef, take my advice. Stick with the website. Flocking's not exactly your strong suit! ;)
Suzanne Bowns and participants in the
Hair Club for Ken workshop |
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After giving Ken his new 'do, I headed to the Millinery For The Fashion Doll workshop. In this informative session, Bill Jones and his daughter Kimmerie showed participants how to construct a hat or crown, Barbie-size. Talk about detailed craftsmanship! Armed with nothing but fabric, ribbon, scissors, glue, a mini-curling iron, and some aluminum foil, collectors fashioned some truly stunning samples. Wow!
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And what would a convention be without a little souvenir shopping? Taking a quick break from the wonderful workshops, I dashed over to check out all the cool Queen of the PromSM merchandise which, by the way, is selling fast. Upon entering the souvenir salesroom, I was greeted by two very enthusiastic volunteers from San Jose, California, who greeted me, saying, "You're that Ponytail Press Lady!" I guess they've checked the website recently! In any event, these lovely ladies helped me decide on my purchase of a nifty denim shirt with a Ken doll face emblazoned above the breast pocket. It's too cute!
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Miniatures from Diorama and Displays workshop |
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My purchase safely stashed, I hurried back to the workshop area just in time to participate in the Dioramas and Displays session. There, co-presenters Madison Plendl and Michelle Blankenship helped participants create their very own miniature topiary. Both Madison and Michelle have won competitions at previous conventions for their incredibly detailed dioramas. Madison confided that her specialty lies in props while Michelle excels at depicting action in her displays. Thanks for all the great tips, ladies!
I spent the afternoon bouncing from one activity to the next. One thing I've discovered about the convention, the action is non-stop, and if you're not careful, you could miss something. So after checking out the fashion show rehearsal and peeking my head in on the competition judging, I made my way to the salesroom. It was breathtaking - rows and rows and rows of dolls and accessories. From vintage to modern, customized dolls to NRFB items, this was Barbie doll heaven! It's funny, I've seen photos of most of the vintage dolls, but rarely do I actually get to see them up close and personal. What a thrill it was to see the early versions of Midge®, Allen®, Barbie®, Ken®, and Skipper® from the 1960s. And the clothing - I ran across outfits I had forgotten about from childhood that brought back some great memories.
While it's cool to see all these vintage dolls, I was a little disappointed not to find many dolls from my era - the late 70s, early 80s. Sure, I ran across the occasional Donny Osmond doll, and Malibu Barbie®, but I wasn't finding the one doll I came for. And I had scanned almost every sales table in the room. As I rounded the last turn on the salesroom floor, with five minutes until the room closed, I saw her. There she was, in a pile of deboxed dolls from the same time period - Western Skipper®. That's right, you heard me. Western Skipper. She was my favorite Skipper doll from childhood. Only I'd spent so much time combing her long blond hair that one day her head popped off, damaging her neck so badly that re-attachment wasn't an option.
What's a girl to do when she finds the doll she's been searching for? Remain calm? Jump for joy? I believe 'pounce' is the word I'm looking for here. Quickly, I snatched her up, held her tightly, and approached the saleswoman. Relax, I told myself. But as the woman smiled at me, I blurted out excitedly something about the fact that this was the doll I'd been looking for, and I was so incredibly happy to have found her. The woman simply smiled and told me that's why she was in the doll sales business, to make other people happy. She, too, loved Skipper, and was pleased to make my day.
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Michael Augustyniak's Disco Sales room |
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Coming off the high of my Skipper success, I wandered into one of the many dealer's hotel rooms where they sell all things Barbie and found myself in J. Michael Augustyniak's room, which had been transformed into the Disco Sales Room! For anyone who doesn't know, Michael is considered one of the leading authorities on Barbie doll's history. His collector encyclopedias, Barbie® Doll Exclusives And More (First, Second, and Revised Second Editions), are my bible when it comes to doing research. So imagine my excitement to finally meet the man I turn to on a regular basis for guidance! Michael had lots of great dolls and fashions from the 70's including many of the Sears exclusives. It was a wonderful trip through time. Thanks, Michael!
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A quick change of clothes, and it's off to the evening festivities, which include a very entertaining fashion show, dinner, and a live auction of one of-a-kind-dolls. The fashion show blew the audience away, and featured collectors dressed in stunning versions of Solo In the Spotlight and Senior Prom from the vintage era, as well as Lisette™ Barbie® doll's dress and accessories, and phenomenal renditions of two of Bob Mackie's designs -- Fantasy Goddess of Africa™ Barbie® doll's costume, and The Tango.
Vicky Lewis in her stunning
Tango costume
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Brenda Blanchard who wore the Fantasy Goddess of Africa outfit had to pay extra to get the neckpiece on the plane! Vicky Lewis was stunning in The Tango, which she worked on for four months.
And Willena Nanton, the collector who wore Indigo Obsession, crocheted the costume herself. She said it took her only two weeks -- amazing! It was beautiful.
Lisette comes to life |
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Joy Frake, who wore the Lisette gown seemed to be the doll herself come to life. The recreation of the fashion was simply amazing.
The men got into the act as well, modeling several Ken fashions from over the years. Everyone did an unbelievable job in re-creating these fashions and their time and energy showed. They all seemed to be having the time of their lives as they slinked down the runway to the delight of the convention crowd. The fashion show was definitely one of the highlights of the entire convention.
At official meal functions during the convention, everyone is assigned a table. I sat at a table with eight wonderful collectors. Here's a convention secret: not only are collectors some of the nicest people you'll ever meet, they're also some of the most generous. At our first official meal function, the table hostess, and there's one at each table, gives everyone else at the table several gifts. Before the night is over, I walked away with a Barbie doll, numerous doll accessories, candy, and the promise of more to come. Isn't that awesome?!
Some of the one-of-a-kind auction dolls |
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After dinner, the live auction begins, hosted once again by funny lady/convention co-chair Norita Bergmann, and assisted by convention co-chair Dwane Adle. All proceeds benefit the 32nd Degree Masonic Learning Center for kids with dyslexia, with the exception of one Mattel-designed doll that benefits Project Angel Food. The auction dolls and clothing are unbelievably gorgeous, all one-of-a-kind items that eventually fetch anywhere between $500-$6,000! By evening's end, $17,000 had been raised for charity. It's really quite a sight, seeing these dolls elicit such feverish bidding from around the crowded dining room, and knowing the money is going to such worthy causes. Of course there were a couple dolls I myself would have loved to walk away with, but unfortunately this scene is too rich for my blood. I'll just stick with my $10 Western Skipper, and call it a day.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's report, when I'll tell you all about my prom night, some ten years after my last one. Maybe I'll even be crowned Queen of the Prom! I can dream can't I?
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