Long before I got into Asian ball jointed dolls, I was very much a Barbie nut. My collection grew, then shrunk, grew, shrunk again, and then ballooned into the current 60+ dolls of today. I've never been a MIB (mint in box) kind of collector-- I totally believed in deboxing and playing with my collection. I've even done some head and body swaps as the mood hit me, and my dolls have gotten dirty from the constant handling by both me AND my cat. Needless to say, my collection is worth nothing money-wise-- I've not been hanging onto these for a possible sale on some collectible antique toy forum in the future. I do not expect to make a mint when I retire by selling off these dolls. But when I consider the memories, the joys of playtime, the laughs (oh, the LAUGHS!), and the sheer insanity of Barbies, I know that my motley collection is truly priceless.
They've been living in cardboard boxes for about 7 years now because I simply don't have the space to play with them. Those who knows me can attest to the fact that when I'm playing with my dolls, almost every square inch of my apartment is affected. It no longer surprises me to find the odd Barbie shoe in the most inexplicable of places years after a play session. Lately, I've been cleaning out closets and going through boxes in preparation for yet another move when I came across these photos that I have taken with a 35mm camera (a gift from my dad, who is an awesome photographer) way back in the old days. I felt a pang of something like regret mixed with sweet nostalgia as I recalled entire afternoons spent lying on the floor setting up my Barbie scenes while my cat Bubba stared from the relative safety of his window perch. I used to spend hours posing just 4 or 5 Barbies, checking the perspectives and making sure these spacey and beatific dolls were actually LOOKING at something in the poses I set them in. Sometimes they'd fall over, and other times they'd just get unceremonioulsy yanked from the scenes, but most of the time I'd get the giggles because they were just too hilarious and the ideas would grow.
The pictures in this blog entry are those of my 2nd biggest scene ever. The biggest one (published in part 2) took approximately a month to put together, and covered an area about 5 feet by 7 feet in front of a fake fireplace. They stayed up for an amazing 3 months before Bubba, in a fit of destructive kitty pique, ran amok through the cafe scene and I had to put them all away. I feel sad about neglecting these vinyl people all these years and am currently in search of an apartment that will allow me to have a doll room once again, where all my dolls--from the Barbies and the Tonners through the cloth and the BJDs--can have a space outside of boxes and containers.
--Tinooseus
Rosie's Cafe, Part 1.
It started out innocently enough. I bought the Rosie O'Donnell fashion doll when she came out. I was thrilled with the idea of having a doll with different proportions to the impossible Barbie dolls. Around that same time, I found a Mattel Barbie Bakery set. Rosie's Cafe was born...
Rosie chats with her customers Alex and Nichelle.
In the kitchen behind her, Kevin makes himself a "little" snack.
See Jack.
See Jack flirt with bakery customer Becky.
See Becky's angry boyfriend Liam...
The musical entertainment on the temporary stage at Rosie's were singers Brandy and Leopard Girl.
Chelsie accompanies them on the guitar.
An anonymous friend videotapes the performance...
...and an exuberant fan in the cage screams.
Dylan attempts to pick up Christie...
...while outside Ken arrives with a friend.
Rosie's Cafe is becoming a popular gathering spot for Barbie and friends.
Cast of characters in order of appearance:
Rosie......Rosie O'Donnell fashion doll
Alex......"action figure" of baseball player Alex Rodriguez (New York Yankees)
Nichelle.....Mattel Generation Girl Nichelle
Kevin..."action figure" of Timberwolves player Kevin Garnett (no.21)
Jack......."action figure" of lengendary golfer Jack Nicklaus
Becky...... Mattel's Wheelchair Becky
Liam...."action figure" from Star Wars Episode 1
Brandy....fashion doll of singer Brandy
Leopard Girl......Mattel Nascar Barbie (with a haircut)
Chelsie........Mattel Generation Girl Chelsie
Anonymous Friend.... Mattel Uptown Chic Barbie, from the Fashion Savvy Collection
Exuberant Fan........Mattel Generation Girl Tori
Dylan....Dylan McKay doll from the tv show "90210"
Christie....Rock n' Roll Christie
Ken... Harley Davidson Ken (my favorite Ken!)
Friend.... Nichelle doll with microbraids, don't remember which one she was
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