Okay, so you are interested in starting a Fashion Doll Club.
Where do you start?
1. Identify your purpose in forming a club.
Do you want to get together with other collectors to
share information or make field trips?
Are you interested in selling your doll products to
other people?
Do you want to do community service projects?
Do you want your club to become a national force and work towards hosting a convention or sponsoring
a doll show?
Defining your purpose will help you explain to members what the scope of the club is.
Some points to consider:
If you allow members to sell at your meetings, other members may get upset. Transactions
between members can turn bad, causing hurt feelings. You also must take care to make
sure that selling does not become the focus of the meetings.
Make sure members are on the same wavelength about the activities the club will be involved with.
In a club of any kind, a few members do all the work, while others sit, watch, and enjoy the benefits.
Do not undertake activities unless you have the cooperation of a reasonable number of people.
2. Decide where the club will meet.
Doll shops or toy stores
Members' homes
Community Centers or Library Meeting Rooms
Church or Synagogue activity room
Restaurants
Some points to consider:
If you meet at a doll store or toy store, your members may feel obligated to shop at the business.
This might make some members uncomfortable and hamper their discussion of doll shopping.
If you meet in members homes, be careful. Not everyone is honest. Consider that some people may
join a club to gain access to your collection or other valuables.
If you meet at a restaurant, they will probably require you to purchase a meal at their establishment.
This can work out fine, but be careful of your dolls if you bring them to a meeting. It's hard to remove
gravy stains from doll outfits.
Community Centers or Libraries may be free or may charge. Sometimes there are restrictions on making
reservations and the meeting time.
If you have to pay for a meeting space, you will have to charge enough dues to cover the fee.
3. If you want your club to function properly, you will probably need to elect officers and write by-laws.
Some points to consider:
If you collect dues, you will need a treasurer. Many banks no longer provide free accounts to non-
profit groups unless they keep a minimum balance. The treasurer should find the financial institution with the
best deal. You will also need to have more than one authorized signature on a club account.
An alternative is to have the treasurer keep the money in a personal account. This may cause
problems if your treasurer runs off with the loot!
A club will need a secretary to handle club correspondence, such as meeting notifications.
The club will need by-laws and rules for conducting meetings and club business.
Try Robert's Rules of Order for information on parliamentary procedure.
Do all voting in a secret ballot. Some members may hesitate to express an opinion for fear of being unliked
or laughed at.
4. Publicizing the club, or How do I Find Members?
Talk to doll store and/or toy store owners. Ask if you can put flyers up in their store.
Advertise in your local newspaper's want ads.
If your community has a weekly paper, such as an entertainment paper, send in a notice for
their club listings.
Send in your club news to Barbie Bazaar, or to websites such as
DeeDee's page or
Vicky's page. They might announce it for you.
Build a website. There are plenty of places on the web for free, like
Angelfire.
Buy a table at a doll show to publicize the club.
Put up flyers about the club in Grocery Stores, Drug Stores, or any where there is a community
bulletin board.
5. Club activities
Show and Tell about your favorite dolls, newest acquisition, etc.
Invite speakers, such as doll artists or doll historians.
How-to projects such as repainting makeup, making jewelry, making clothing, etc. or
doll related crafts.
Themed parties (which can include customizing) for Halloween, Valentine's Day, etc.
Trips to doll shows or stores.
Meet with other clubs in nearby towns.
Games, including trivia games. Information about Barbie trivia can be found at Barbie Collectibles.com.
These are some suggestions for club activities. For more information about Clubs, look at articles from
Barbie Bazaar.
