My 2000th post! Notes on Why to, (and Not To) Collect, and Happy 4th!

   Happy 4th of July!

   Yes. This is my 2000th post! I can't believe I've done that many, but then, it has been a little over 11 years since I started this blog. The original reason I started it was to have contact with other people who might share my excitement over a particularly good find, because nobody around here did. I found that it was fun because I got to write, which I've always done, do some photography, which I've also done for ages, and generally be creative. I keep getting suggestions that I should start a YouTube channel for the blog too, but my answer to that is always the same: I don't want to be looked at! Of course, there's always the method that people like My Froggy Stuff use, where just the hands are shown. I bite my fingernails, so that is pretty much off the table too.

  In any case, let's talk about collecting.

  Why collect? 

1. "I need it." 

  Are we talking about dolls here, or something else? Because if you 'need' it or not almost depends on what you're collecting. If you're collecting dolls, no you don't. Get over it. You don't 'need' them. If there's a disaster, you can't eat them, use them for shelter, or wear them. Then why collect them? We'll get to that. Most things that are 'collected', as in, rounded up and kept, aren't collected because you need them. I do have to say that when people 'collect' various bits and pieces for some future use, that's more of a 'need'. If I find a particular piece of discount art supply, found item, or interesting thrown away item, and I think I can use that later, and save myself having to buy something then, I 'needed' that. It will be useful, and save me money later. That's not collecting though. That's stocking.

2. I am a completist.

  You start by buying something you love. But then, there are other editions of that thing, or other things that go with it. You don't really care for them, but you have to have everything connected with the original thing. Well don't. That is sort of connected with the Number 1 listed below. Also, it can lead to number two under the second heading. Only buy what you love, and leave it at that. I was that way as a kid. If I bought one thing in a series, I had to get it all, because I am obsessive compulsive. Not having everything bothered me. It went together, so I should get all the things. I try to be better about that now. Again, see below.

3. "I want it."

  Well why do you want it?  Is it because everybody is buying it? Is it because it's a status symbol? Is it because it's fashionable, but not really your thing? Or is it because you really love it? That last answer is the only reason to have anything. I have watched things on YouTube recently where somebody is decorating their house or room, or, as it's referred to these days, their 'space'. (I swear, if I hear one more person talk about their 'space', and not their house, or their 'window treatments', and not their curtains, my head is going to explode.) They just go out and buy a bunch of random things because they are fashionable 'decor', or because they fit their 'colour palette'. The worst thing they do this with, is BOOKS. They have no intention of ever reading the books. They may not even know what books they bought. They just buy them to decorate with! They buy them for the colour, because it matches the rest of the random crap they're decorating with, or the general look of the spine. Try reading the books for a change. I may have a lot of unrelated stuff on shelves throughout my house, but it all means something to me. Fuzz made that clay monster mug in art class. Those are my and Ken's baby cups. Ken bought me those Smiskis. Ivy made that ceramic box. Emma bought me that planter. I've had that glow in the dark lion, a gift from my cousin,  most of my life.  I got that ceramic pig lady on my first trip to England. My grandma gave me that antique picture in the metal frame when I was a kid. Mom bought me that carousel music box. Unsentimental Niece bought me that water globe. My sister painted that picture. They may not all match a colour scheme, but when I look at them, they bring back happy memories, or make me think of people I love. My books are ones I love, on subjects I'm interested in. And I read the books.

  4. I love it.

  Okay. Now we're talking. This is the only good reason for people to 'collect'. If you love something, and you want it around, that's a reason. Things that make you happy, or, as Marie Kondo would say, 'bring you joy', are things worth having around, or collecting. That's a short, simple explanation, but it doesn't need to be any longer. This goes with what I was saying in number 1. If it makes you happy, gives you pleasure to have around, it's worth it.

Why not collect?

1. You are only doing it because it's the in thing.

  I remember when Beanie Babies were the thing. I knew people who didn't really like them, but bought them for an 'investment'. I knew people whose kids weren't really into them, but bought them for their kids because they were the toy of the moment. Here's the thing: Don't buy things for investment unless you like them too, because you might just get stuck with them. At the height of Beanie Baby mania, Ken and I, as doll and toy dealers at the time, couldn't understand why anybody thought they would hold their value. To hold value, a thing must stay, or become scarce. Examples include toys that break, or have small parts or accessories that can get lost or broken, and toys that are produced in small numbers. Beanie Babies had no breakable parts. They had no accessories, which due to their size are often easily lost or broken, and often, worth more than the toys they went to. And lastly, Beanies were produced in the skadrillions. I guess there were a few that were produced in small quantities, but not many. I've been to yard sales where people have tubs and tubs full of Beanie Babies they are trying to get rid of. Some people still think they are going to get big money for them, even at yard sales. Some people put a dollar each on them and still can't get rid of them. Thrift stores have the same problem.  So if you're buying something, make sure you love it.

2. Because you have enough now.

  Collecting is fine, as long as you know when to stop. I probably don't. I need to get rid of things, but I'm starting with things I didn't want in the first place. The sales page is getting a makeover. Please stop by when I get it back up, and buy something. Make it something you love! Remember the rules! But buy something, will you? Help me unload. I have too much stuff.

3. Because you have no one to leave it to.

  Sorry. Not a good enough reason. Especially if you are all alone. I have talked to people who are stopping collecting the things they love, or are getting rid of them, because they are getting old, and  their family has no interest in what they collect, or because they have no one to leave the stuff to. Some people say they are getting rid of their things before they die, because their family will just throw the stuff away. Not good reasons. Keep it. Enjoy it while you are here. Just make sure that you have made provisions in your will for what will happen to your things when you are gone. Leave them to a museum that houses that type of thing, but make sure you specify which things are to go to the museum. Leave instructions for your things to be auctioned, specifying which things are to be auctioned, and who or what gets the profits, (your kids, a charity you have chosen, etc.), and provide information as to who is to auction them. Some people say they are getting rid of the things now so the things aren't a burden on their family when they are gone. That's a better reason. But if you specify in your will for an auction company to come in and take care of that for them, then you should still be able to enjoy your things as long as you can. Once again, specify which things are to be auctioned, and which things you are leaving to specific people.

  Nobody can say why some people collect one thing and some people collect another. Everybody has their thing, as I always say, that thing that for some unknown reason hit them just right, and makes .them happy. And when that thing hits you, whatever it is, you might start collecting it.  

The Doll Show Story: I made a sale!

  So, Sunday was the big doll show.They installed new lighting since the last show. It was amazing seeing the place properly lit! No more people carrying flashlights around to see what they're buying!

  As big as it was, there was a lot of empty space compared to previous years.

Dolls as far as the eye can see...and now we can! This was taken from the stage. You can't see here, but there are two more levels on each side and at the back.

I couldn't show how large the place really is without a wide angle lens.

This is from the back, facing the stage. This is one of the two upper levels.

From the back corner, looking across.

I don't know who these dealers are. I was just trying to show the size of the place and some of the stuff being sold.

  As some people were saying at the Cincinnati show I did recently, shows are dying. This show, busy as it was, was nowhere near as busy as it used to be. It's a shame, because it's so nice to be able to see and touch things before you buy, and be able to really examine them.It's also nice  to have contact with so many other like minded people. I saw my friends Karen, and Casey, as well as other familiar faces.We didn't sell much, but we did cover our table costs and make a tiny amount besides, if, as Ken points out, you don't take into account the cost of the items.
  I made a few purchases, including a non talking Scooba Doo doll for $2. She has some damage and hair that seriously needs a do,but she'll display fairly well when I'm done with her.
  I also bought this really cool set!

There's no date on it, but it looks to be 70's.

   It's just what I needed! You'll be seeing more of it soon.
  But the biggest news is that I sold my first 1/48 scale furniture! (I can't say my first furniture because Ivy reminded me that I sold a 1/12 couch.)

I made the three piece set, and I sold it to a lady who bought them as her first items for her 1/48 dollhouse.

  As you can see from this picture, they are pretty tiny. This picture is bigger than real life! I think they were my favourites of the furniture I've made. I actually enjoy making these super tiny ones more than the regular doll house size. I was thrilled to have someone want them enough to buy them! I almost wanted to hug her!It was a little sad to see them go though. It's always that way with something I've made. I always hope they go to loving homes.

  I still have a fainting couch in the same fabric.

  And a red and white set without the stool. That was the only stool I've made so far. I liked the pleating on it.I have made a few other 1/48 scale pieces.

Maybe I'll make a stool for this set after all.

There is also this fainting couch

And this couch.

  The miniature show is next month, so we'll see how I do.

Doll Show Prep

  I decided to forego the doll auction today and tomorrow and try to be good. That means I am missing the auctioning of the ENTIRE contents of a miniature museum! Oh well. I probably couldn't have afforded anything anyway. : (  Besides, I have lots to do anyway. This Sunday is the BIG doll show in Columbus, and we are going to be selling (AND shopping!). I spent today sorting doll accessories and dolls from a big tub mostly full of  Barbies. (So THAT's where I put that Holly Hobby friend Carrie doll!) I am hoping for some amazing finds. And some amazing sales! This show is gigantic. I've mentioned before that a doll artist who did the show last year said this show is bigger than the United Federation of Doll Clubs convention. Shows have been doing very poorly recently, and I know of one in the state that is no more as of this summer. I hope the big show continues to do well. It happens twice a year, (run by two different groups.),and it always has interesting stuff. I always find some good buys.I'll try to remember to take some pictures this year to show how huge the show is. For now I need to get back to work. I'll be combing doll hair while watching tv with Ivy for the rest of the evening.

Why 'Planet of the Dolls'?

  Ok, so you love your dolls. But do you sometimes feel a little overwhelmed? This blog is called Planet of the Dolls because, yes, it's a play on Planet of the Apes, which is one of my obsessions, (Yeah, I'm a science fiction nerd.), but also because sometimes it feels that way.My house, I mean. I love the movies "Magic", and "Dead of Night", which both have ventiloquist dummies that 'take over' their 'masters', and although I never liked the "Child's Play" (Chucky) movies, I did enjoy "Trilogy of Terror", with Karen Black being attacked and (Spoiler) eventually possessed by a Zuni warrior doll. In this house we have always said that those type of movies should be the most terrifying for us, because there are so many dolls in this house that if they came to life there would be no way we would come out alive. It would be like a plague of locusts or something! Kind of like the scene in "Small Soldiers" where they are fighting the Barbie type dolls that have been brought to life by the soldiers.
  Every now and then I look through my stuff and see what I can possibly live without, in an effort to thin the crowd. When I do this though, I usually end up weeding out very few dolls. I find myself using arguments like, "Well, these two aren't exactly the same." or "This one is so small, it really won't make much of a difference anyway." I recently went through about 4 boxes, (They were small boxes.), of Barbie sized and Kelly sized dolls to see what I could get rid of. Well, I ended up eliminating about 2 Barbie sized and three Kellys. Pathetic.  I've heard of the 'when a new one comes in and old one must go out' rule of doll collecting. I have a hard time with that one. Everything I have I got because I really like it.I rarely change my mind. That's why I have things I've had since I was a kid. I liked them then, I like them now. That's why Ken's fairly safe. I liked him enough to marry him in the first place, so he's not going anywhere.Now recently we made the buy of the century at an auction. I ended up keeping dolls that I hadn't even seen before, let alone been after for ages. These I question, and I may eventually send some of them packing. For now though, I have a Flirty Christina, a weird looking Ratti doll with freckles, teeth, and a somewhat creepy grin, and some others that I might not have even had a desire for had it not been for that darned auction.
  Ken complains that I have too much stuff, but then he goes and buys me more. You're just enabling me Ken! And he spoils me. He needs to learn to put his foot down and say no once in a while. When I whine at the checkout and want that candy bar, (Read: swear that I can make my money back if I bid on that Ebay lot and still keep what I want.) he needs to take my hand and lead me out of the store, (Read: tell me we absolutely can NOT afford it right now.) But NO! He just says, "I trust you. Go ahead. Just don't spend more than X amount of dollars." What can you do with a husband like that?! (In case you're wondering why I defer to Ken on the spending,it's because I make some of the money around here, but it's a drop in the bucket. I've been an at home Mom all these years and I am only starting to try to build a business with my hand made dolls and furniture.)
  I sometimes think, what if we had a really big place, and we could open a doll and toy museum? That would be really cool, and I could keep all my stuff and see it when I wanted to, but it wouldn't be in my way all the time.Well, I can dream, can't I?

Introduction.

   You may have heard that there are as many reasons people 'collect' as there are people who collect. That sounds about right to me. There was a time, (Which my husband never tires of rubbing in.) that I said I didn't collect dolls. I wasn't denying that I had a...few. I was only saying that I didn't collect dolls specifically. In that respect it's still true. I have a bit of a 'collection' of a lot of different things. Too many for my own good. (What even counts as a 'collection'? More than one? More than two? More than a hundred?) For example:Vinyl records? I have a ton.Beatles stuff? Don't even get me started on that one. I have a lot of pretty art postcards. I amassed quite a few pigs of various mediums at one point. Later I somehow started buying vintage aprons and ladies hankies. I have a lot of children's books with beautiful illustrations. I have a gigantic cache of vintage fabric (Because, "Someday I'm going to make myself a quilt."Yeah.) The last few years I've been working on autographs of old movie stars.(Latest: William Powell, from my husband last Christmas.) And of course,all those dolls. At some point I had to say, "Ok. I collect dolls." It's one of those things you kind of grudgingly admit, because people look at you funny. Collect paintings and people think you must be intelligent and rich. Collect souvenir spoons and people don't pay much attention. But tell them you collect dolls and they want to run screaming into the night. To a great amount of people there's just something creepy about a grownup who 'plays with toys'. Especially dolls, which tend to spook people because they have faces, eyes that some people can't stand to have 'staring' at them.People are much harder on doll collectors than people who have model trains or antique tin toys. In fact, they're harder on collectors of 'girls toys' all around. Guys can get away with so much more. I even noticed that when my oldest child was in her early teens, and still enjoying her dolls, that she was looked on with much more criticism than boys who still had action figures or adults who play video games. I look at it this way. Dolls are art too, just like paintings and sculpture. In fact, dolls start life as sculpture. Somebody has to sculpt that original mold for those dolls. And they manage to instill those dolls with personality and character. That's not easy. It is, in fact, an art. I see dolls as another thing I like to look at, like those illustrations or vintage aprons. Some of them are appreciated for their beauty, some for their whimsey, some because they are just so incredibly cute, they are just irresistible. And some, like my Little Miss No Name appeal to me and creep my husband out so badly he can't stand to look at her. It's just like falling in love: there is no reasoning out why something appeals to some people and not to others. I like Little Miss No Name because she looks like she needs to be loved. I think her big sad eyes are cute. She makes me feel needed! (My husband is not necessarily comfortable with this method of choosing what I love. It doesn't do much for his ego.) I suppose some people are bothered by the way some doll collectors 'relate' to their dolls. The problem seems to be that dolls look like people. They are replicas of real living things, so people tend to...treat them like they're alive sometimes. Sometimes it's hard to look at those faces and not see a personality. You just KNOW what that little person would say if they could. Some people just carry that to the next stage. I don't tend to give personalities to my collection very often. Almost the only dolls I have that have personalities are my childhood dolls, (Because that's what kids do with dolls. They bring them to life. Except this one friend I have. She thought it was so weird when my oldest was a little girl, playing with her dolls and making them talk. She thought that was completely freaky. "Didn't you make your dolls talk when you were little?!" "No!" "Well what did you do with them?" "I dressed them." Well you must have had a ball.), and the dolls I have that  I played with, with my kids when they were little.(They insisted I bring my dolls in to play. Of course they had to have personalities then. As a creative person who once longed to be an actress, that wasn't  hard for me to get into! Then they insisted I needed my own doll house. I kept saying no, no. I don't need that. Then I found a big Barbie sized wooden dollhouse at a garage sale for $3...So then I created a family of dolls. And then another one.You know how things can snowball sometimes. Now my kids have outgrown dolls and I have no one to play with any more!)
  I just like having things that I like. That's the only qualification for something getting in my 'collection'. I'm not limiting myself to any specific type of doll... or anything else. If it makes me happy, that's the only criteria.And I suppose that's all that matters when somebody asks me if I collect dolls. I shouldn't worry that they're going to think I'm one of those 'weird doll people'. What do I care? It makes me happy.