Tuesday, May 17, 2011

New dolls and a doll show review. . .

I went to the Brimfield antiques show over the weekend, and came home with a larger doll family than I went away with!

I told myself I had no desire for this sort of doll, but when I saw her, I thought she was so pretty, and at $15, I could hardly leave her behind!



I know she’s a repro straight off the bat because of her eyelashes. You never see lashes on this sort of a doll, and even if you did, I suspect they would be across the entire eye, and very fine and delicate.

I can’t figure out what era she is supposed to be a reproduction of, however. She’s got elaborate hair so I thought maybe 1870s? I need to do more research, so I can choose a style of clothing that is right for her.



I also found I could not resist this tiny doll head!



And when I say “tiny,” I really do mean tiny!



My thought process behind this purchase was, Charlotte is so jealous of the time I spend on other dolls, what she needs is a doll of her own! (The title for my blog really does seem accurate right about now, does it not?) ;)

Sadly, I did not get to admire any French Fashion Dolls at Brimfield. I think those dolls are just so valuable, that they never seem to show up at regular, general antique shops/shows. In fact, the only place I’ve seen them was a “Doll, Teddy, & Toy” show I went to back in March. It’s held at the Dedham Holiday Inn, and seems to take place twice a year (March and October).

Pros of the show:

Enough gorgeous, rare, spectacular dolls and accessories to put a doll fanatic like me in to cardiac arrest!!! I can stress the eye candy factor enough. There were so many French Fashion Dolls, that I contemplated selling a kidney so I could take one home! There were many other dolls as well, and all kinds of excellent clothing, accessories – you name it! Both antique, and nicely made reproductions. And it wasn’t all $1000 items either, because I saw some boxes of Monique wigs at great discounts, and things like that. And, the folks at the admission desk outside the show were super nice and made us feel quite welcome.

Cons of the show:

The room is super small, so the fact that it’s so tightly packed with booths and people, while giving a great variety of beautiful things to look at (and buy, if you have the funds!), it also means it’s a bit of a challenge to navigate. A claustrophobic person would not enjoy it so much! The worst of it was the dealers themselves, who were clearly excited to be reuniting with their doll pals, (and understandably so!), but unfortunately, when they are blocking the entrance to their booths so they can be nearer in order to chat with one another, it makes it a bit harder for the customers to make their way in to their booth, or even past it to another!

Also, I hate to say it, but some of these dealers were not nice people. I had some good chats with a couple of nice folks, but there were multiple dealers where I walked to their booth, gave a friendly smile and complimented their excellent collection of things for sale, and in return, got an icey scowl. I know not what I did to tick off so many total strangers, but they clearly wished I would die and immediate and horrible death. Maybe they sensed that I only had like $40 with me, and clearly should be therefore treated like dirt. It was really disappointing because I was hoping to get to chat dolls with like-minded folks.

Diagnosis:

I think it’s worth it, if you love antique dolls – even if you aren’t planning to spend. Just be prepared mentally to deal with the tight, small room, and don’t expect all the dealers to be friendly. Oh, and bring a coupon plus $6 for admission. Coupons can be printed here - although it looks like they aren’t quite ready to download and print just yet. (And if $6 seems high to window shop, consider it the equivalent of paying admission at a museum!)

1 comment:

  1. I love the photo of the kitty paw with the little doll head. That's just too cute. I have two kitties of my own--one in particular gets very jealous whenever I'm working on my dolls.

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