Bios Page 3 (N to S)
Talis~~ I'm 35 and live with my husband Tony, our Sheltie Kirby, our 3 black & white cats Indy, Rolli and Dink in Oakdale, CT (Closer to those durned casinos than I care to admit). ~~ I've had Barbie's for as long as I can remember. Being a kid in the 70's we had Dawn, the Captain & Tenelle (SP?) dolls and BARBIE. MY most vivid memory is of a red haired Stacey (with the short hair) in Lemon Kick. I just never stopped playing with Barbies. I'd have houses spread all the basement floor - it drove my dad MAD! I remember being a senior in high school, coming home, doing my Trig homework and playing Barbie. I got married at 18 to the MOST understanding guy in the world. He not only accepted the growing collection, he enjoyed the dolls as well. I always ripped those beauties right out of their boxes til I got Billy Boy's Feelin Groovy. Oh, she got HAULED out, but I regretted it later. My first TRUE NRFB Barbie was Amercian Beauties Mardi Gras. Though I bought another years later (THANK-YOU eBay!) to take out. Now I flip back and forth between NRFB & de-boxing. I had a HUGE Barbie Room at one point, but that was in another house - no room here =( ~~ While I still collect Barbie and love her like no other, I've branched out into Tyler. To me, she is the ULTIMATE Barbie. That's what I said when I held my first Tyler, and I still believe it. I'll never stop collecting Barbie, but now she shares my limited space with Tyler.~~Someday, I'll have a Barbie room again and be able to show off my collection. But at about 2000 dolls, all the clothes, cars, houses, animals, books, magazines, signs, store displays and what have you that I own, it'll be one HUGE Barbie room!~~My goal is not to have the biggest or most expensive collection, my goal is to be happy. That's what Barbie does. She moves me. One look at that face and I remember the fun we've had. I can't imagine my life without her. She's everywhere I am - I've even brought dolls to work! To the people that know and love me, I am inseparable from my dolls. Like many of you with your friends, I am the one they think of at yard sales, flea markets or what have you when they a Barbie. Many don't understand the appeal, to them she's just a doll - a childs toy. My father was that was. He chided me all the time about wasting my money on them. Til I had my very first Barbie room. It was in a tiny bedroom. The walls were covered with shelves, the floor with the "HOUSE"! Upon seeing it, he realized that Barbie wasn't just a toy to me. She had meaning, value. My mother told me later, after he died, that after seeing the room, he began to brag to his customers about his daughter and her Barbie collection. ~~Well, I think I've rambled enough. Thanks for reading my story. I can't wait to read YOURs and have the chance to get to know you better! BTW - Anyone have Lemon Kick for sale? I have that Stacy, but hafta have the outfit now too!!! 9/18/02
teatra~~I shudder to think what my childhood would have been like without Barbie. I am a 35 y/o African-American woman that was introduced to Barbie by her favorite aunt 30 years ago. From the first moment my aunt showed me her collection of vintage Barbies that she has to this very day, I was hooked. I whiled away hours playing with her ponytail barbies, bubblecuts, Midge, Ken, and Allan dolls. I cherish those memories as well as my aunt for introducing me to Barbie, even though those dolls were caucasian, I was still able to dream and enjoy endless hours of fun. Little did we know then that it would be the start of a passionate hobby for me. Imagine my aunts surprise a few years ago when she learned that I have a modern Barbie collection of over 300 dolls that I managed to amass in 3 short years. Barbie will always be my passion and one of the most fondest memories I have of my childhood and recent years.~~My collection has gone from buying any and everything in a pink box to the highscale designer barbies. I learned due to space and financial limitations to narrow my collection focus down to collecting the fashion avenues for barbie only, wedding theme dolls, designer dolls with elaborate costumes, and silkstones. I also have a Julia, Brad, TNT flip, bubblecut, Stacy modeling some vintage and fashion avenue clothing. ~~Thanks for allowing me to share my thoughts on my collection and how much I enjoy playing with Barbie. 9/18/02
Terri in IN~~I used to have Barbies/a Skipper & a Midge in my younger days. What I ever did with them, I don't know:( Mom said I told her to toss them out when I was about 10 yrs. old. I say she trashed them;( We still argue over this!!! ~~Well, I started my BAD Habit of collecting in 1990 with the HH doll & have been going ever since:) To quote Jim Carrey; "Will somebody stop me"???? LOL> I am having more of a pull toward the Celebration line now that I keep looking at the new one. I FINALLY have the whole series of the first HH line, thanks to Sharon in OR & letting me do payments;)I got the 1988 from her a month ago> My new thing is buying Barbie ornaments CHEAP from you all & make Barbie wreaths for our Club's raffle at year end. I loaded down my first one with 20 ornaments which also had the pink house hanging off the bottom;)I got Michael A. to come to a few of our meetings before he packed up & moved to CA. He was delighted to be a part of our club;)Signed our books too;) ~~I've gotten to share my dolls & shopping trips with Corena & made a Great Friend in her;)Thanks
Corena;) & also with Pam in IN, a BIG thanks to you too;) ~~I am sad to say, trying to thin my collection down so I can look toward the new ones in future:)Still have some pink lines I like & hate to part. I'm getting into buying vintage clothes on ebay & antique malls;) I do own 4 vintage dolls & some cases. I'd wish Mattel would go back & give her the old vintage type look that we all grew up with. Maybe our moods would change:)~~Thanks for reading:) Any questions, email me:) I'd love to talk to you collectors;)9/18/02
Terri in Phoenix~~It started with a titian AG
that my grandmother gave me for Christmas in 1966. She also gave me Suzy Goose bedroom pieces and a few outfits. If I close my eyes, I can still remember the feeling I had when I opened them and the SMELL. Mmmmmm Unfortunately, I was only four years old and I lost most of the accessories... like the croquet pieces and the student teacher pointer, globe and book. The AG is perfect to this day because (I hate to admit this) I thought she was kind of ugly. For the next few years, the highlight of every Christmas morning was looking for the package that was shaped like a Barbie doll box. :-) Some of my favorites were tnt Stacie with the blonde flip (mine had hair that was longer than most and it was so beautiful!), a Buddy L kitchen set (it was a bit small for Barbie but she loved it anyway), the Country Camper (I was always packing it up and driving around the block) and spanish talking Barbie (she seemed so worldly! lol). I put my childhood dolls away when I was twelve and didn't look at them again until 1988. As I was going through them, I fell in love all over again and became a serious collector. The first "new" doll I bought was the 1988 Happy Holiday Barbie. I'm not sure how many dolls I have right now. I'm guessing about two hundred to two hundred fifty. My passion is the small vintage accessories, I can never get enough of them. :-)~~ I guess I should introduce myself lol. Better late than never. My name's Terri and I live in Phoenix AZ. I'm married and have two kids, a seventeen year old son and a thirteen year old daughter. My husband and I run our own business. We're originally from southeastern PA. 9/18/02
Todd~~aka Earl Raymond Todd Jr....Aaaaaack!!! I am a chemical operator at a commercial coatings plant, I also operate a forklift on off shifts as needed.I am 46 yrs old, was married 13 yrs, divorced(must add my ex, and myself are great friends,will always be there for each other)and have a 20 yr old daughter and a 1 1/2 year old grandson. I have only been collecting Barbies since late 90's.I never knew about collectible Barbies until I bought the first one for my sister..a porcelain Holiday Ball in 1997.I had seen the ad in a magazine when her beauty struck me. I started to receive catalogs from Barbie Colectibles and was very amazed at how many detailed collectible Barbies there were,found them very appealing to the strong artsy side in me. I continued to gift my sister with Barbies on special occasions and when the mood hit me,which was each time I laid eyes on a new release or discovery on eBay. In just a short time my sister amassed quite a collection,each Barbie seemed more wonderous then the next, enchanting me quite to my surprise, until I could no longer just hand them over to my sister and kept them for myself.I had never shown any interest in dolls before, other than the G.I.Joes my parents gave me each Christmas, so it is still a mystery as to what came over me. In January of 2000, just two weeks into the new millenium (January 15th), I hit the lottery for $25,000 by playing the numbers 3610, $5 straight on the Big Four, and it was with total Madness that I went on the wildest Barbie shopping spree you can imagine (made some of the most stupid purchases being a newbie). I even bought my sister's collection..LOL !!! Eventually, My hobby actually controlled me and I felt a little out of control so, a few years ago I took a deep breath, commited myself to selling my collection and just DID IT!! No hesitation at all. After selling all but my porcelain Lighter Then Air, I was still aware of a new Barbie that was coming out soon, that I already set my heart on having, that being The Goddess of the Arctic. I figured I could get just this one more.. had to at least have her in hand and admire her then that will be that. Need I say more ??? I am what I refered to once as the Robert Downy Jr of Barbie Collectors...try to shake the habit but it always gets the best of me. That's it, my bio in a nutshell. Have to go back and read all those great Bio's. 9/18/02
Tracey~~I am 29 years old,married with two beautiful daughters.I have always loved Barbies. I didn't get to collect them when I was younger because everyone said I was too old for dolls. As soon as I got married and moved out,It was a different story;I buy them all the time now. I don't get out of the house much because of a panic disorder and Agoraphobia,which is a fear of unknown places and crowds of people.So sitting at home all the time with my kids is what got me started customizing dolls,which I really enjoy.I have been online for about five years but I am just now starting to post on forums. Everyone seems so nice here that I am starting to feel comfortable enough to post. 9/18/02
Trina~~Hi! I started collecting Barbie dolls when I saw 8 years old. My Mom had purchased a dark haired Skipper doll for me, but I still wanted the blonde sausage curls Skipper, so my Mom purchasad her about a week later. After that, I enjoyed playing with Barbies until I was nearly 16 years old! I started to get into the art of Barbie collecting when the Gone With the Wind dolls came out. That movie was a favorite of mine and it started me on the road to true Barbie collecting. I am currently trying to find replacements for some of my old Skipper dolls, because she is still my favorite! 9/18/02
trishfromnz ~~ Hi from the very deep south of New Zealand; Antarctica is not so very far from here! I have to say that the weather makes me realise this too - this is not the place to live if you like it warm. ~~I live in a small town of around 2000 about half an hour south of the city of Dunedin. What brought me here was my teaching - some thirteen years ago now, at the age of 28. The job forms an enormous part of my life and sometimes it's hard to find time for the dolls - but I do get there, albeit not as often as I would wish.~~I share my life with a school librarian, Greig - also a collector AND very understanding - and our old silver tabby, Barney. We've had to say good-bye to two of our old cats in the past year and that has been very hard, and I'm aware that many of you out there will know exactly what I mean by that. When 'someone' has lived with you for almost all of your adult life you really do miss that 'someone'. Barney is under strict instructions not to think about leaving us too soon!~~Dolls arrived in my adult life around 1997 when my partner bought me a repro Enchanted Evening. He often says - but with a smile - that he created a monster. I have always loved dolls though and in 1992 realised a dream of making my first porcelain doll. ~~ Making porcelains has now given way to fashion doll collecting and sewing. The latter has always been a major interest of mine and as some of you know I do indeed sew for the dolls! The time I put aside for doing this is truly precious. I just love doing it :-) ~~ Dream doll? I would love to own a titian short-haired mod Stacey. Something about her appeals hugely. I'm not sure it will ever happen as vintage is pretty scarce here...but you never know. Most of all I'd like to see her wearing Maxi 'n' Midi.
~~ Latest funniest story? Yet again I was declaring to a friend that I needed to be more circumspect in my doll spending but instead of writing, "I need to put the brakes on" I wrote "I need to put my SKATES on"...!!!~~ Since getting a computer a few years ago I have checked Vicky's most days. I don't always get the time to look at all posts and comment but I assure you I am there (just maybe not at the same time as many of you). ~~ I have made some wonderful on-line friends through this Board. Even though there is a range of playline dolls available here in New Zealand that range is quite a bit smaller than what you have available in the States. Collector dolls are not available any longer and nearby clubs are non-existent. Therefore, I count myself very fortunate to have met so many people so willing to find that particular doll or doll item for me. The friendships you can make across the miles never ceases to amaze me. In a sense this Board is my club. 9/18/02
Varinia, OH~~Okay here is the story of a confessed Barbie addict and how I came to be.~~
My name is Varinia and I am a 39 yr. old Barbie addict from Ohio. I loved Barbies as a child but my family didn't have much money so I always had to make do with cheapy clone dolls. ~~One Christmas I finally received my first "REAL" Barbie and a pink double doll trunk. That was in 1969. My Barbie was the Brunette TNT with the Marlo Flip. I made Barbie clothes for myself and on special occasssions like birthdays and Christmas I would get some new outfits for my dolls. I use to play Barbies with my best friends who seem to always have all the newest and coolest stuff. I enied them but I still loved my Barbie best.~~Well years went by, and my dolls and case was lost somewhere in between. Right after I got married I was into collecting dolls of various types but I still loved Barbie and her friends the most. I was having a hard time finding some of the older dolls at garage sales and I talked to a pen pal about that. She was from Australia. She had found me some Barbie dolls at a flea market. She sent me the dolls as a gift and I was so happy when I received them. I couldn't wait to find them clothes. ~~Well some more years past and my 2 sons grew up and then about 5 yrs ago I found a cool spot on the internet called eBay....LOL, imagine that!!! (I had only been using the computer for about a year at that point). I found a place to buy old dolls and they had a special section just for BARBIE. That was just so cool. Well I found some cute clothes and bid on them and won...Great!!!! That was easy enough...I decided that if I was going to get into collecting again then I had better get me some books so I would know what a good deal was. So I found some books on eBay and got them.~~Well 5 yrs. later I am about 400 dolls ahead of what I started out with. About 40 or so are vintage and mod era dolls. And several vintage outfits. I have about 15 books on Barbie, and now I also do customizing and restoring of my own dolls. ~~
Oh and YES I did replace the pink double doll trunk from 1969 along with several other Barbie cases and my Brunette Marlo flip Barbie well it is not my original one but I do have a nice spot on my shelves where her replacement sits. ~~I will always remember how much fun Barbie was as a kid and now I will have great memories of collecting Barbie as an adult. I hope to one day pass my collection onto my little 2 yr. old grandaughter...and yes nana has already got her some Barbies for her own. 9/18/02
Virginia B~~I live in Southern California, which is a wonderful location for a Barbie collector. I was introduced to Barbie when I was 56 years old, by my grandaughter, who wanted me to make her some doll clothes. So I bought a Barbie and Ken for myself, and many years later, I am still buying them. I think my favorites are the Barbie and Kelly sets (they are so cute!), although I have a special place in my heart for my Army Barbie, who has helped me with my sewing through the years. I used her because of her short hair, and she is always close by and dependable. I also like "Sweet Moments" Barbie, because of her brown eyes. I tell myself it is time to stop collecting, since I ran out of room years ago, but there is always one more that I just have to have! What fun!
9/18/02
Vivian~~I currently live in Florida. I have loved dolls all my life, and for birthdays and christmas always received dolls as presents. Once I entered high school I no longer asked for Barbie even though I never stopped visiting the pink aisle. After I started working I'd buy a doll here and there that caught my eye such as the first Rocker Barbie and Dream Glow. I started seriously collecting in 1989 and currently have close to 500 Barbie and friends.~~ I have been lucky enough to find some of my dream dolls at reasonable prices such as a brunette bubblecut for 3.00, a brunette mute talker for 3.00 and a Living Fluff for 1.00.~~ Dolls I would love to find would be a Japanese high color side-part flip and a straight hair tnt among others. My love for Barbie led me to create my first website devoted of course to the plastic princess, hence the name
'La Princesa Plastica' (the plastic princess) 9/18/02
Yke~~ Yke's Designs The first Barbie doll appeared in Holland in 1964. I saw some Swirls and Bubble cuts in a store window and I fell in love with them instantly. I really wanted to own one, but my mother didn't want to get me one because she thought they were too expensive. But I kept whining and whining and finally, for my 9th birthday, she gave in and I could get one. I went to the toystore with my older brother and picked up a Platinum Bubble, that I still have now. Later I got a Skipper, an AG redhead, an ashblonde BL Midge, Francie, Ricky and Chris. I also had quite a few outfits, but Solo in the Spotlight was my favorite.~~I kept playing with Barbie until I was 13, then I found that I was too "old" for them.~~For my 40th birthday my mother asked me what I wanted to have as a present. I really didn't know, but then I had to buy a birthday present for my niece. I bought her a Barbie doll + outfit and then I saw the Solo in the Spotlight repro standing on the shelf in the toystore. I fell in love with Barbie again and I bought her. Told my mom this would be my birthday present. I had never seen collectible Barbies before that day, but I started inquiring after I had read the back of the box. It said that it was #2 in a series, so I had to find #1 too. That is how my collecting started in June 1995. A month later I went to a Barbie specialty store in Holland and was flabbergasted by all the beauty I saw there. I saw Star Lily Bride and I had to have her. She was the first of my porcelain dolls, I have 18 now. ~~My favorites are the dolls with the vintage faces. The nostalgic porcelains, the Silkstones, the repro's and, of course, the real vintage dolls. But at this moment my heart goes out to the older DOTW. I bought 5 of the older ones on ebay lately. Love the hunt LOL! ~~My 17 year old daughter has a huge Kelly/Shelly collection. She collects the giftsets and the special items, that I of course, buy for her. I have collected the smaller boxed dolls, but recently I sold quite a few dolls from my collection on ebay. I have some of them up for auction right now, ending tomorrow. ~~I am a Kelly customizer since January 2001 and every now and then I customize a Barbie. 9/18/02
