Classic Strawberry on my mind!

Today I really feel like I am waiting for Strawberry, and that wait is lonngggg. I don't have any other dolls on my mind today, though there are several in stores now that I'd love to get. I just keep thinking about the new classic series The Bridge Direct is going to put out for "fall" which means we should start seeing them in late Summer. They've Already put out the classic 5.5 inch SSC, in Target, stores and the classic rag doll from Barnes and Noble of all places. I was lucky enough to receive these 2 dolls from berry friends as gifts! Berry friends are the best!
 

I adore everything about these dolls. The packaging is wonderful and they are so close to the original. Well, the 5.5 inch doll is super close and I enjoy the liberties they have taken with the rag doll.

But what can't stop thinking about is those dolls that will be here later in the year. I can't wait to have the opportunity to buy a vintage looking Blueberry Muffin off the shelf! How exciting is that!?!? (Oh, and I like the cloth hats for Huck and blueberry!)


In a way I am even more excited for the sets with the pets, well of course for the pets, but I really love they that they have created some new fashions for them! Doesn't Lemon's dress make you feel like we finally have a Party Pleaser Lemon, especially since she's packaged with SSC in her PP dress? Isn't it cute that Blueberry's outfit is like the 1991 Blueberry fashion?

And then there are the new playsets and rag dolls, too! I think tomorrow my thoughts will be filled with red and green again, waiting for Strawberry!

The many faces of Mattel

My house growing up was definitely a Barbie house! My older sister had tons of Barbie, and when old enough, I joined the ranks. We'd spend an entire day playing Barbies, making a "town" on my parents bed. My mom would be the local dressmaker and create a couple quick fashions for us while we played. Needless to say, we had LOTS of Barbie clothes!

Something I never really thought of when I played with the dolls what how nice it was that Mattel didn't use the same face mold for all the dolls or even for all the Barbie character, herself.  As a teen my sister's Barbie things went in boxes in her closet, and me, well we already know -- I became a collector! That's when I started collecting porcelain dolls (cute ones, not creepy ones!) and Barbies that I kept in the box. These were my first real doll collections, as it were. It's also when I started appreciating the that same face was not recycled on everything. What personality Barbie had was due largely to that.

When I think of my Strawberry Shortcake collection, the one era I stopped collecting completely was the Playmates era. While I think the dolls are so completely beautiful, they never really felt all that Strawberry to me. And they used the same face for all of the characters, only changing the color on the eye paint.  So while they were pretty, and had fabulous hair, they ended up being kind of boring to me.

But back to those Mattel faces! I hadn't been living in a Barbie world for many years. But when Monster High came about I got into it. How fun to have these zany characters in their fabulously fun outfits. It felt, and looked, fresh.  And once again, the big thing for me was that their faces are different!

Thankfully, I had gotten over my completionist ways before I started collecting any Monster High dolls. So, I have a smattering of them. Just the ones I can find in store that strike my fancy the very most.  And I have to admit, that after not so long my attention was called away by another Mattel line, Ever After High.

Ever After High really caught my attention through the cartoon. I just loved the premise of the whole thing and they way they were telling the stories.  The dolls were fabulous, but then after a few lines, wait, what? They are Mattel, but their faces are pretty much all the same!?!?!  I was disheartened by that. But I was also vocal about it on social media, as were many others. And now it seems like they are really stepping up to the plate and giving us more facial variety.

I wonder why on earth they didn't from the beginning? Were they putting more of their dollars into the terrific clothing and accessories? I mean on average I'd guess an EAH doll has twice the body coverage as a MH dolls does. That's more fabric cost for them. And I think their packaging had to cost more than MH, as well. Hmm, Now that I think about it, the new lesser EAH packaging is happening right about the same time and we are getting more face variety.  I guess it always does come down to cost. 

But no matter what, I applaud Mattel for putting a good amount of their dollars into facial variety. I can get a better outfit for a doll without too much effort, but face-ups can be a real pain!

Strawberry Roots

Have you ever had a collection that you feel has taken control of you at any point?

When I first found Strawberry Shortcake on ebay I had to get some of the vintage dolls. I really was only interested in the five inch dolls. 'That's all I am going to collect', I told myself.  And the Bandai line of dolls was hitting the stores around the same time, I believe.  This was so exciting to me. I could once again, not since my K-Mart experience in 1993,  go to a store and buy Strawberry! 'I am only going to collect the 5 inch dolls', I told myself -- probably as I put one of the cute minis into my cart. 

So, we flash forward to some dozen years later. I've been to the abyss and back! I'd gone insane. I had cards, books, minis, shoelaces, kids clothing, kitchenwares, cosmetics, etc. If it had an image of SSC from any era, I probably had it. Now, this is all well and good if you're intent is to collect those things and if you are truly interested in having collections of those things. But for me, many of these subcategories of SSC collections some how just happened to me.  You may roll your eyes at that, I do, but in the last few years, I feel like I suddenly opened my eyes and found that my collection had gotten away from me, I'd let it take the wheel. And I wanted it back!

I started selling the items that weren't dolls, at first on a very small scale, the things I felt I could live without. It wasn't easy for me at the beginning to break up complete sets, but I kept telling myself that I was only breaking a rule I had set for myself.  It really wasn't much at the beginning, but I used the cash I got for these items, to buy more dolls while I was waiting for the next incarnation of Strawberry. I realized that waiting for Strawberry also was part of the problem. When there was no Strawberry doll to buy -- because I had them all, what was the harm in buying a vintage greeting card, or two, or twelve, or now I have to have all the cards that have baby Apricot on them, and ones with Blueberry Muffin and then of course any with Custard, and on and on.

It felt good to earn back some money and I was on a roll.  I began to sell more and more. It was freeing to no longer be under the thumb of completing this book collection and that mug collection etc etc.  I'd sold many items, but I still had cabinets and bin after bin full of SSC things I wasn't displaying in my large space, that was, in fact, half the upstairs of my home.

Then came a time when I needed more income. I didn't want to sell really, but knew it was the adult thing to do. At this time I started to sell the many prototype items I had along with many rare things I'd acquired, too.  It was really hard, but sometimes being an adult is.  I was sad about losing such great things from my collection for a long time.

But then slowly that free feeling was coming back.  It even felt wonderful, eventually.  I had been so attached to having these things that no one else had. That now made me feel rather ill. Strawberry is for everyone and her glory should be shared with everyone. I've always felt that. And that very feeling is a blog for another day. But in this situation, I felt like who was I to hoard these things for only a select few friends to see? Who appointed me curator of Strawberry? No one! I certainly didn't have the most fabulous collection of protos and rare items, but it was impressive.  Except that it wasn't. I simply bought these things from those selling them because I had the money to spend on them -- Big deal.

So, I'd gotten over my need to be a completionist collector and I'd gotten over some odd, not really in my general character, need to have the rare and one of kind items. And I had really begun to feel like I'd gotten my head out of the sand and was becoming the collector I'd always wanted to be: a doll collector.

Now, I still have lots of other items of SSC and many other lines, but I don't have box after box of things that don't ever see the light of day. They are simply things I've not sold yet, or that I will keep because I truly enjoy, not because I need it because I have all the rest or because it's super rare. I have the items I love for the joy of Strawberry, for that feeling towards these dolls I had as a kid and still do. Don't get me wrong, this office is still a sea of pink and red! I still have a collection that makes normal people's eyes bug out when they walk into my office.  I love that, and I hope I always have way too many dolls around me!


I'm not decrying having it all! Isn't that the American dream? Seriously, I applaud those who have this vast and organized collection of everything Strawberry, I even admire them. Truly. But I never set out to be one of those collectors. I have a love of so many other kinds of dolls that came about while waiting for Strawberry, that that is always what I'd wanted -- lots of DOLLS -- all different sorts of dolls. And that is what this new room in my new home is really starting to look like. I am so glad that something in me was able to see I'd gotten way off track with what it was I actually wanted and that the resale value on Strawberry items has been able to fund my new/old direction.

Now, I've got to leave you here.  See, there is a vintage SSC sticker lot on ebay that's ending soon and I just gotta have it! ;P

Lalaloopsy Land

Today I was thinking about Lalaloopsy.

This is a collection I originally went at fast and hard, like so many others.  I have 2 dolls from when they were still Bitty Buttons. How I wish I'd not deboxed those ladies.



I don't recall who exactly sued MGA over the name Bitty Buttons and I wonder how warranted it really was, because when you google bitty buttons nothing comes up that seems competitive with the dolls.


Here is the original 2010 press release for Bitty Buttons.  I so remember loving them instantly and feeling like if I were to design a doll right now, it would be something like this! And I really loved that their through line was something wonderful and new can be made from something old. I love that it kind of made sewing/crafting important, too.

I was, and still am, a big fan of MGA's Moxie Girlz. I love everything about them, right down to their name! And coming from MGA at that time, I was rather surprised by that. I'm very much not a Bratz fan.  Though, I do have a few Bratz kids and babies in my collection, but that's a post for another day. This seems like a total non sequitur, but I bring up MGA's Moxie Girlz in this Lalaloopsy post because I well remember how much a few of us in my main SSC group had to have the basic Sophina doll that came with the "rag doll".  We all wanted it, just for that that little rag doll!


This was in 2009 and this doll became really hard to find for a while. Everyone who wanted her wanted her for that fantastic plastic little mini rag doll. Now, this is where I want to be a fly on the wall and know the inside scoop. Was the hubbub over this little doll what got MGA to create Lalaloopsy as it's own thing, or were they already in the works and this little doll was simply a test market or little insider nod for what was to come? I do hope some day we will all know! For all I know, it's out there on the web somewhere and I've missed it. If you know, please do let me in on it.

Wouldn't it be great if MGA would make this little Moxie rag doll into a full-sized Lala character and name her Moxie!?!?! I know I'd buy that. And I have to admit, I long ago rather "gave up" on Lalaloopsy.

Why? They started coming out so fast with so many characters and in so many versions. I knew I could never keep up and I knew I wouldn't want to, either. It was simply too much!  

And this is just 1 version of each of the lines. Many lines have several series!

I often wonder how the companies decide how much and how often dolls are released. It really does seem like I am forever waiting for Strawberry. And while it creates excitement, I also get bored and turn to other dolls to spend my money on.  Lalaloopsy seems the opposite of that. There certainly was, and is, enough to keep my eyes and my budget firmly planted in lala land, but it so quickly got to be overwhelming and I threw my hands up and gave in.

I still collect the odd mini here in there if it's one I have to have.  But they lost me as a true collector by the shear volume of doll product.

I think you can see a theme here.  :)

I really do love that Lalaloopsy isn't simply a redressing of the same characters over and over,  yet when there are so very many characters, I don't feel like I get to know them. And so now my only really connection is one that catches my fancy here and there due to the colors they used or that it's sewn from something that means something to me.  Besides holding the attention of tried and true collectors, maybe that is what MGA is after in this rapid fire style of product production. I really don't know, but I am glad they are still around and glad I get to pick and choose and find the Lala's that really speak to me. With so many platforms it can be hard to know where to turn my collector's head, but I sure have fun dizzying myself in pursuit!

Sunbonnet Babies

Until recently, I had no clue how far back the history of Sunbonnet Babies went. And I really didn't think about how closely Knickerbocker followed the original design when introducing their Sunbonnet Babies vinyl dolls in the 1970's. Here is a good place to read the history of them. I love that in 1875 it was a young female artist who created them in a challenge to show expression without showing a face. They were a hit and became plate art and then children's primer characters in the early 1900's.

Just think, some 100 years later, in 1975, Knickerbocker created a doll line of them. That's is beyond wonderful, to me!

These characters of Molly, Mandy, and May,
surely where what inspired Holly Hobbie, created in the 1960's. And this is where it becomes apparent that in a way we Strawberry Shortcake lovers owe it all to Bertha Corbett and her creation of the Sunbonnet Babies.  See, Holly Hobbie was a contract worker for American Greetings and created a nameless character that very much resembled the sunbonnet babies, but was still her own own creation.  It was a hit with American Greetings and became Mrs. Hobbie's namesake. One of the leaders at AG was convinced this needed to be a rag doll and created the prototype himself. In 1974, Knickerbocker obtained the license to create the Holly Hobbie rag dolls.  A few years later, much the same thing occurred from an illustration by American Greetings affiliated, Muriel Fahrion.  If, in 1875, the Sunbonnet Babies weren't created out of a challenge, would there be Holly Hobbie?  If Holly Hobbie hadn't happened,  would we have Strawberry Shortcake now?  I shutter to think of life without all of these beloved characters. 

Obviously, I'm a huge Strawberry Shortcake fan, but before my love for her, I was a major fan of Holly Hobbie.  In fact, much of my fashion, room decor, and play-time was inspired by her. But before her, I had my Sunbonnet Babies.

I still have mine, and they sure show the love they received nearly 40 years ago. I also have a set of them still in their cellophane covered boxes, which I got off ebay a few years back. They are terrific little 6 inch dolls that came with their bonnets, dresses, smocks with their names on them, shoes and socks, and pair of underpants.  There was a blond, a brunette, and an auburn haired doll.

What drove me nuts as a 3 or 4 year old, and still does, is that they were not specifically designated as a character. What I mean to say is, the dolls were in-box,  in their outfits, but the aprons had the names randomly printed.  So sometimes the blond was Molly, but then another she'd be Mandy, etc, etc. You can see an example of that in the below pics. I always wondered what what the story was behind that. Seems like have have a google search in my near future.  In all of the pics of the dolls here, the pink writing is always Mandy, but the 2 names written in blue switch around.

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At any rate, I believe I settled on the brunette being Mandy, the blond as May, and Molly was the Auburn. I still have some of the doll clothes my mother and grandmother made for them. And the high chair and buggy set my gramma got me that fit these dolls. I need to unpack those and show you it all some time. For 40 years their storage place has been in a empty generic laundry detergent box!

 

If I were writing this before I moved a year ago, I'd be able to open up the cabinet to my left and pull the box out and show it all to you, but alas, I did move and many things are still unpacked.

Anyway, as this blog continues, you will come to know well that I have a major adoration for the Knickerbocker toy company and had many of their toys as a child and now love many that I didn't didn't even know existed back then.

So, did you have the Sunbonnet Babies on your radar as a child?  Did you know the history that I have recently learned and shared here?

For the Love of Honey

I have no idea when exactly I got the Honey Hill Bunch clubhouse set.

 I had to have been little more than a toddler. What I do recall is that is was this line of dolls that implanted my love of dolls, and more specifically, little dolls.  Yesterday, I went through a bucket of my old toys I had sitting on a shelf near my desk.  2 of my Honey Hill kids were in there. 1 was Darlin' and the other was Li'l Kid. Darlin' is missing her smock and her nose. For some reason, I have a feeling I was the one who bit it off.  Anyway, I washed all the toys in the sink, including these girls. I put a touch of Fructis conditioner in their hair and it came out amazing. I have to say I've conditioned a lot of dolls hair and Fructis gives the best results.  The above pic is of them today after they've dried.

Lil' Kid has some staining.(probably from spending umpteen years in a bucket with my rusty Coca cola transport set)


But other than that, their clothing is bright and strong. I am extremely impressed. See, while I have always loved my dolls, I was also a bit of a tom boy. These dolls went in the sandbox, in toy cars on mud "racetracks",  took baths with me,  and shared my pillow. And they probably did those things daily over the course of a few years. I know I didn't play with them for spans of time in those years, but they truly were favorites of mine. And how I loved that playhouse.  There was so much for the kids and I to do! And of course they interacted with their often times neighbor, and another favorite of mine, the Tree Tots Firehouse.

I remember there being some kind of import placed on that The Honey Hill Clubhouse was just my set, not a hand-me-down from my 3 older siblings, and not something for them to play with.  That probably basically meant that my oldest brother would catch heck for taking their heads off and hanging them along the basement stairs the way he did with my sister's Barbies.

Maybe something about this set being "just mine" spurred my love for it.  But I think that the interactivity of it, along with those soft little bodies that still feel good in my hand, and great hair for hair play really made it a toy with lots of playability. And, perfect for me, it combined dolls and tom boy things. Spunky was a character  from the set that i really identified with.

I still have some of the pieces of the playset. The felt tree canopy and  tent cloth have long ago disintegrated , but the rest of it could be brand new with good washing.  I remember having 2 Darlin's, too. So of course they were twins!

Besides the  clubhouse set there was a later, Baskin Robin's Ice cream shop set and a couple vehicles. I had all the characters shown on the Clubhouse box, but there were later releases of others as well.

There was also a paper doll set and coloring book, which I am sure I had as I was a major investor in the paper doll and coloring book markets as a kid!


Thank you Mattel for the smile on my face now, and the hours of smiles as a child the Honey Hill Bunch gave me.