Bios Page 3 (N to S)
Bios Page 4 (T to Z)
Adrial, Spain ~~ I'm from Madrid, Spain. I started collecting when I was 21, my brother didn't know what gift he could gave me for my birthday, he went into a Shop and saw a Barbie Scarlet O´hara with the green dress, the one Mattel released in 1994. And when he gave her to me It was love at first sight, soon I opened my old Barbie Box with my forgoten childhood ladies, "Peaches and Cream, pink and pretty.." I put them on nice Oscar de la renta outfits and well.. "Collecting worm" bite me. :)
As I am a student with occasional part time jobs, I can´t buy as many Barbies as I would love to. I have two wishlists, one called "Barbies I can have" those with reasonable prices for me lol and "dream doll list" where I put for example Madame DuBarbie, Porcelain Ballerinas or Faberges. Now, Im 24 years I have around 35 more or less, and some playlines. And I also customize, when I have time to, of course. ~~
I love period costumes, victorian themed dolls for example. I also love fantasy dolls, like fae, angels...żmy favourite doll?..Hard to say, I love them all. :) But those I played with when I was a kid are so special for me.~~ Collecting in Spain is quite difficult, we have to order everything to shops outside Spain, although we can buy a few collector edition dolls here, prizes are soo excesive. Most of the time It´s cheaper to order abroad and even more If we order a lot of things so we can save on shipping. Its something quite usual for us to join and order multiple items. The worst thing is that sometimes dolls are stopped at customs and we have to pay a lot of taxes, so let´s say collecting in Spain it´s like and adventure!! lol ~~ I´ve been around the board more than two years, since summer 99, and I love it, because I have learnt a lot about dolls just reading the posts, I love the pics people posts and above all I love that I always find help here. No matter what I have asked, always there had been a helping hand. :) ~~ One of the first dolls I ordered from the USA via ebay was Harpist Angel, when the doll arrived, shipper was intact but doll´s box was seriously damaged, no COA, doll loose inside the box (wings where slightly torn) and the worst, the harp was missing. The seller never belived me, and of course did not returned the money back. After some serious discussions with her via email, I just gave up and decided to fix doll´s hair, after all It was mine and she was my dream doll then. I fixed her wings and bought a little toy wood harp for her. Well, one day I post on the board I was searching the harp, was one of my first posts, some time after a lady called Shelly Butler wrote to me, few days later I recieved the original Harp for free!. I could not belive it!. So, Mrs Butler, if you read this, thanks a lot again for your help. :)
9/18/02
Amy in So.Ca ~~Hi everyone! My love for Barbies started when I was a little girl and I played with them every day. I'd freaked out one time when friend came over and tried to cut one fo my Barbies hair! :o) I started collecting in about 1989 when I got the 2nd Holiday Barbie, and I've been collecting ever since. My favorites are Madame Du, Pink Splendor, and Billions of Dreams. The two that I really didn't like at first but loved once I saw them in person were Symphony in Chiffon and the Rendezvous Masquerade Barbies. I'm a stay at home mom of one daughter who just turned 4 and is a handful! I love coming to Vicky's and have met so many nice Barbie collectors here. Thanks for reading! :o) 9/18/02
Andrea in CA~~Let me start by saying that I am no writer, or wiz on the English language!LOL ;0)~~
I have ALWAYS loved Barbie!! From the begining I have always owned a Barbie-never been without her. First I got her for birthdays and gifts, then I had to do chores to earn a Barbie (YUP, I WORKED FOR BARBIE!! LOL), now I am able to buy my very own barbie's. YEHAW!!!~~I can't explain how much I adored my barbie's when I was a little girl. I remember the times when my parents would reward me for the work I had done or the grades I had earned with a Barbie. I would find the very best doll; once it was Barbie and the Sensations, then it was Cool Times Barbie, and so many more from there. I would open my Barbie in the back of my parents van on the way home from the store and make sure that all the little peices and parts stayed in tacked in the little baggies (like I do now!). After I was done playing with them I would put them right back in the boxes they came with. I really can't remember a time that I didn't play barbie's!~~I started collecting the high end and collectible Barbies in about 1997 (I was about 20 years old). I saw an ad in the TRU paper advertising that if you spent $75 on barbie you get a free "My Fair Lady Doll". I bought the collector edition Glinda the Good Witch. We won't discuss what Barbie I got free, because I didn't. We'll just say that I really don't like TRU (and that's putting it nicely). Anyhoo-From then on I went crazy! Buying everything from pink box Barbies, to fashion avenue's. Then I found out about the Toy Clubs!! I was HOOKED! My very first high end Barbie was Mackie's Madame Du-which got me hooked on the mackie's, buying everyone I could get my hands on. Five years and 400 Barbie's later, I think I am finally comming to my senses. I have sold off most of the fashion avenue's, and pink box dolls. However, I still buy 2 or 3 of each doll. Why? I will never know. 9/18/02
Andrew in Mtl~~Hi all fellow Barbie lovers. my name is andrew and i live in montrčal, quebec, canada. i played barbies with all the girls on my street. this was late 70's. i wish i hadn't given them all to my little sister who destroyed them today. my Superstar
Barbie with sequined cap & Ballerina were my favorites. i must of had 3 or 4 of those Ballerinas'. i kept pulling her crown off. lol. then got upset and got another. hehehehe alas there gone...sob sob! lol.
my barbie bug started agian in 1999 on a trip to south beach, fl. my 'partner' bought me 40th anniversary and a publix special edition valentines xoxoxo Barbie. that opened the flood gates to my mania! through many canadain & US dealers and internet i have well
over 200 now. i like to collect in series CE, SE, & LE. avon, designer, fashion, holiday, repros' & especially Silkies. i couldn't help myself from getting them all in multiples so i can play and redress them. now the problem is Vintage Clothing!!! i only have a 2 Vintage sheaths for my 'girls'. rather easy to find 'cruise stripes'/'roman holiday' & olive dot sheath. they fit the Silkies so well. i wish FA's were made that way. what it must have been like to be able to buy these little outfits back in the glory days. i feel funny saying that because for me i got my first barbie in 1978. i have other interestes aswell. we must be well rounded. (mom pipeing in) lol. such as gardening, movies, working out, traveling, planning parties & SHoPPiNG! i also speak french. Montreal is a french speaking city so i had no choice. it's a transferable skill. i'm not complaining. if you're still with me... thanks for letting me share:)
i love hearing other peoples' stories. 9/18/02
Angel in AZ~~As a kid, I didn't play with Barbie, but with cheaper knock-offs that were available in The Netherlands (Cindy and Fleur). In 1999 a friend, Brian, gave me "Dutch Barbie" from the Dolls of the World collection when I was visiting the US. It was just a way for him to tease me more for being a Dutch milk maid. I kinda liked the Barbie, but thought she was a little bit stupid too: nobody in the Netherlands was wearing clothes like that anymore, and those braids! The text on the box just made me laugh, I thought it was so silly. BUT I did fall in love with the guy who got me the Barbie.~~About a half year later I moved to the US to live with Brian. And then a whole new Barbie world opened up to me: Barbie is more than a big smile, blond hair and pink clothes! I have always been interested in cultural variety in the world and I love to travel (another hobby of mine that reflects this interest of what's going on in other countries is my stamp collection. It's so cool to see what every country wants to celebrate on their stamps). So when I saw the Moroccan Barbie at a store, I was hooked to the Dolls of the World series! In two years my collection grew so hard I can hardly believe it (I think I have about 170 Barbies now). Aside from the Dolls of the World collection I now also collect other culture related Barbies (like Yuming, Kebaya and Mackie Goddesses) and historical dolls (Great Eras, Fashions of the 20th Century etc.). BTW, I am a deboxer, and I usually buy deboxed/displayed Barbies to keep my collection affordable. For a long time I had a $15 maximum for a doll, including shipping, but that seems to be impossible nowadays. The more expensive dolls Brian bought for me. ~~ I started customizing Barbies because I thought that some dolls weren't done too well, and others that I wanted in my collection, Mattel would never make. I thought that Kenyan Barbie could be done much better. So now I got three Kenyan women and a man, made after pictures that I took on my travels. More Stevens are waiting to get dressed up. Brian has always been very supportive of my Barbie collecting and customizing, he himself is a 1/6th scale collector (mainly Japanese and Scottish). He build shelves to display all my dolls, and he makes great accessories for my girls. For instance, my OOAK Scottish Barbie has a bagpipe, and OOAK Sri Lanka Barbie holds a bowl of rice to offer at the temple. He made a wine vat for Lucy Italian movie, complete with stomped grapes in it. A man like that you shouldn't let get away, so last May Brian and I got married. 9/18/02
Anika~~I'm a 33 year old AA woman. My story actually starts on a sad note. I started collecting Barbie back in 94 when my mom was really ill. I was buying dolls with no rhyme or reason. I was just shopping to be shopping. It was after my mom passed away in 96 that I stopped collecting for a few months. I think the 1st doll that really got me into being a collector was Emerald Elegance. When I saw that doll in the case at TRU I had to have her.~~ Soon there was a new love in my life. I found Barbie Bazaar and people with lists who were selling all kinds of dolls that fit into my budget and my collection grew. I actually stopped counting back at 400 so I'm not sure what I have now. One day I will do an actual inventory but for now I'm just happy looking at my "community". I had never played with Barbie or her friends and family as a little girl. I was too much of a tomboy for that. Now my collection of Barbie, her friends & family, celebrities, Star Wars, Star Trek, & Disney fill the want I never had but have now. 9/18/02
Anita aka Bellatrix ~~ I'm from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I've been on this board for quite some time, but I don't post too often.~~ I'm 22 and currently a 3rd year computer engineering student. My hobbies include the following: collecting coins, astronomy, electronics, learning languages, playing piano, singing, skiing, skating, and of course, collecting Barbies.~~ I've been collecting dolls for a little over a year. I have around forty Barbies in my collection, but still no Silkstones or any vintages yet. My favorites include Mademoiselle Isabelle and the Merlin and Morgan Le Fay set. I hope to get Empress Sissy and Venetian Opulence someday. I also collect Disney dolls. My favorite Disney doll is Belle on Broadway. I like collecting cultural and dolls with clothing from the olden days. This is why the Dolls of the World series is one of my favorites. 9/18/02
Anne in DE ~~ I am the mom Brooke in DE collects with! I have always loved dolls and remember saving my $3.00 to buy my first Barbie. I think she is a number 3 and she is on loan to my daughter Brooke in DE at the present time. When I was a teen I made wardrobes for my 2 sister's Barbies and I am still sewing for Barbie. I like the silkstone dolls and any red head ones. :-) Brooke and I really enjoy collecting together and while I rarely post I do enjoy reading this board. 9/18/02
Barb in Chicago~~I'm Barb J, thankful to be married for over 33 years to the world's most tolerant man. I've got two daughters, born 16 years apart ... which makes Life ever an adventure!... I've been a working mom all my life, and have been running my own business as a PhotoStylist since 1978. ~~
As for Barbie in my world... well, I am older than dirt, so you can guess that I've known Barbie from her very beginning. Of course, in 1959 my attention was divided between following my beloved Chicago White Sox in their quest for the American League pennant and making little outfits for my 'Barbie'clone. Yes, the lucky doll even had a handmade Sox uniform. :-)~~
Back then, one doll was more than enough... and now it's hard to believe that was ever the case... I have collected such great variety and have so many favorites. My preference has always been for a dressable and poseable doll... and now I am enjoying the many variations of jointed dolls in the pink aisle. They keep getting better!~~ My collection is actually an extension of my eldest daughter's collection, started in the late 70's. Our usual playtime involved creating rooms or apartments for the dolls. Barbies lived in bookcases, on tabletops, in cardboard boxes and even in the Mattel A-frame; and Barbie's world was crafted from any available objects which seemed to fit into that 1:6 scale. The doll rooms provided the staging for many played-out dramas involving my daughters doll collection, where every single doll had a very defined personality. It was the SIMs game of her generation :-)~~As my eldest daughter started to outgrow her Barbies, my youngest was just becoming interested; so there was a vinyl continuum in our household. And the accumulating began in earnest with my second daughter! ~~ Somewhere in the course of collecting new members for our Barbie families, it became necessary to create our own variations... Probably wanted to lose a blond and add a brunette ... Well, the heads just keep on rolling! LOL... I have no qualms about switching body parts, especially if the result is a beautiful new face for a poseable body. The only dolls I haven't wanted to disassemble are the silkies... but even that may change if a poseable body comes on the scene for Silkstones :-) ~~Presently, I'm having fun posing the dolls for digital photos and creating custom props for their little worlds. The latest passion around here is making mini-cocktails for the Barbie lushes to enjoy at their own little Martini Bar. I've already overdone it and am now selling many of those little drinks on eBay :-o ~~
I'm guessing that there's not TOO much of my story that's unique from many of yours...~~Bottom Line: It's ALL for FUN and should be FUN for ALL! ~~Now, GO PLAY DOLLS!~~ :-D LOL ...barb johnson(ChicagoBarb)9/18/02
Barbara I in NY~~Hello. I usually read this board, but don't usually post. However, I like the idea of getting to know a little bit about each other, so here is my story.~~First of all, let me say, I am an Accountant (CPA) and a doll collector, which is an unusual combination, to say the least! I am married, and have one son, and my son and husband continually tease me about my doll collecting, but have learned to accept it as a part of who I am. ~~Anyway, I remember getting my first Barbie doll when I was 3-4. It is one of my earliest memories, as my sister, who is 7 years older than me, got a lovely ponytail, and my dad decided to buy me a brunette bubblecut, so I wouldn't be jealous. Though I wanted a ponytail too, he thought (wisely) that I might pull the hair out, so the bubblecut seemed smarter. Mom pulled the earrings out, so I wouldn't eat them - hence, my bubblecut has no green ear (way to go, mom!) I still have that bubblecut with HUGE brunette hair, from around 1964.~~I played Barbie until I was around 11, and then put them away for years. Only after my sister started collecting Barbies and other dolls did I decide it was "acceptable" for me to collect as an adult also. This was around 12 years ago, and it started innocently enough, when my husband got me the Kool-Aid Barbie (he worked in sales then, and sold Kool-Aid, as well as other products). After that, I learned about "collector" Barbies, made especially for adult collectors, and that was it! I was hooked, and the rest is history, as they say!~~I do collect other dolls (the larger fashion dolls, some vintage hard plastic dolls, etc), but will always have a special place in my heart for Barbie, as she was the first doll I remember getting and actually playing with!~~ And, I must say, I am glad I found this board a few years ago. It has really opened my eyes up to collecting Barbie. Thanks to everyone here, I feel I've gotten a great Barbie education, and I no longer feel like an isolated collector! 9/18/02
Barbara NJ~~Barbie was my second play doll but my favorite. I had dolls,outfits,cases,houses,cars... all I wanted to do was play with my Barbies. I have 2 older cousins who gave me their dolls when they out grew them. My younger sister loved dolls also but mostly baby dolls. When she was about 4 I helped her write her letter to Santa it started like this Dear Santa I like dolls but please don't bring me Barbie cause we have too many in the house. I had a big trunk I used to carry my dolls in when we went out. I tried to run away when I was 6 bringing only my trunk(lots of clothes for Barbie none for me LOL).I gave my dolls away when I was 12(aarrgg). When I was 26 I saw Doll Reader on a newstand so I bought it. I enjoyed reading it and ordered a doll here and there I had 4 or 5. My then fiance and I were going for a ride in Pa. so I decided to check out a doll store I found listed. I walked in and there she was collector Barbie's!! I thought I could look and not buy (haha) but found 1 I just had to have poreclain repro Solo in the Spotlight. Joe offered to buy her for me saying we're getting married soon you won't be buying many.(haha). Well 11 years and 100+ Barbie's later I'm still addicted and loving every minute of it. I collect all types Mackies,play line,vintage,OOAK. I love them all!! 9/18/02
Barbara in VA~~For my ninth birthday (many moons ago!), I received a blonde bubblecut with a selection of outfits such as Tennis Anyone, Registered Nurse, and more. My dad had gone out and bought the doll and outfits for me. My mom actually did not approve of Barbie's adult figure and would never buy Barbie for my older sister or me. My sister has always been jealous that I got Barbies and she didn't since by that time I guess my folks thought she had outgrown dolls. I still have my original Barbies and outfits in my case with the Red Flare outfit on the front. ~~
A few years ago, my sister and I renewed our love for Barbie and my sister finally got her first Barbie! And, my mom now has her own Barbie collection, too! So, collecting Barbie is a real family affair! 9/18/02
Barbra~~Bremerton, WA. I have been lurking on the board daily for over 2 years, and feel like I know some of you from reading your posts and enjoying your pictures! ~~ My interest in dolls began in the mid 80's, while I was raising my daughter. We collected mermaid dolls together, and for myself, I collected Celebrity dolls and the fancy Fairy Tale dolls from The Franklin Mint. My spiral downward into Barbie Bedlam began on a trip to Paris with my daughter in 1994...we wanted to find an authentic French doll to bring home for our collection. After searching every store, we decided the most "authentic" doll was a French-speaking Teen Talk Barbie! Fast forward 8 years, and now I have over 1000 Barbies...and I see no end in sight with the glorious Silkstone line that has a whole new generation of Barbie collectors addicted!
Since I discovered eBay 3 years ago, my Celebrity doll collection has grown huge...and my interest in fashion dolls of ANY kind even HuGeR!! I am now surrounded by the following fashion dolls: Darci, Jem, Tiffany Taylor, Tuesday Taylor, Misty, Tammy, Candi (both vintage 70's by Mego and the current lines by Helena What's-her-name and Integrity), Charice,
Harmony, Magic Hair Crissy, Star Wars, Star Trek, Xena, Jakks Pacific dolls, Gene, Madra, Violet, Tyler, Esme, Sidney, Super Size Barbie, Leggy, advertising dolls, and just about every female action figure made...Whew! Of course there's no way I can display everything, so more than half of my collection is stored in boxes...filling an entire basement family room!~~I have a doll room lined floor-to-ceiling with my favorite boxed Barbies, Disney, Star Wars, Star Trek, Xena, and dozens of loose fashion dolls...but as we have been remodelling our house over the last few years, many of the doll displays I had throughout the house have had to be boxed up and delegated to the Doll Dungeon in the basement, SOB! I have promised my husband I would begin to unload on eBay soon...but I find "getting started" rather overwhelming! I'm hoping once I do, I'll become as addicted to selling as I am to buying...and will begin to reduce and define my collection to a manageable--and completely displayable-number! Wish me luck!!
Beancy~~Hello...My name is Mary(better known as Beancy), I live in NJ. I have been a barbie collector since 2/99. My favorites are (of course) Mackies and Silkstones... ~~I collect MANY others though. I am happy to have recently aquired a new curio (my first and only) to display my barbies in!!~~I am a computer tech who works out of my home, I am married with four cats(children). My husband works in computers also.~~I got started collecting simply by going to the barbie website to see what it was about..I basically wanted to see if they had any of the old ones I used to play with. When I saw the collectable area, I went nuts...~~
My dream doll would be either Billions of dreams or Pink Splendor.~~My funniest Barbie story would have to be when my husband and I were playing flag football together..... He was trying to encourage me and he said "Honey, if you get a touchdown, that hundred I made yesterday (on a side job), I will go up to Toys R Us and get Madame Du Barbie for you."~~Well, he OBVIOUSLY only made that statement thinking I couldnt get a touchdown... only, I DID IT! He had no idea what kind of fury he unleashed when he mentioned BARBIE!!!!!
~~woo woo, that was a great day! 9/18/02
Becky, Austin~~Can't remember the first Barbie I got as a kid. I know I had one of the non-bend leg girls with a black and white bathing suit and ponytail, and like millions of other little girls I traded her in for the first Twist'n'turn, a redhead who I LOVED.~~As a kid, I had mostly mod dolls and clothing. My favorites were Twiggy, the white haired Stacy, and of course, Nurse Julia. ~~I got back into collecting this past Christmas when my best friend bought just one Holiday SUrprise AA dolls from the grocery store sales bin. One thing led to another, and now I have a whole village of pretty plastic people plus I have made a good deal of friends on the board and at my local doll shop.~~
What dolls would I love to have? Okay, I am fessing up---I've been bitten by the 16 inch bug so the list has to be shared with Tonner dolls.~~
