Hi! My name is Maria and I LOVE dolls! I have such wonderful memories of playing with dolls in my childhood, that I created this website to share the memories, as well as photos from my collection.
Most of my childhood dolls were from the late 1960's and the early 1970's, but I also love dolls from the 1950's as well as those from the 1980's through today. I wish a had enough control to narrow my collection down to only one decade or only one doll. I really envy people who can keep their focus like that. Every once in awhile I think I found the doll that I'm going to stick with until the end. Then a couple of weeks later I'm off looking on eBay for a different one! Unfortunately, there are just so many great dolls out there that I don't think I could ever limit myself to just a few.
Almost all the dolls I collect are "play" dolls. I really see no point in keeping a doll in the box or on the shelf. To me, the best part of collecting dolls is having FUN with them. I LOVE making clothes for my dolls. In fact I usually make at least one new piece of clothing for every doll I buy. I'm fascinated by clothing patterns, particularly those from the 1950's and early 1960's. I always felt like I was somehow displaced in time and should have been around during that era. Since I was a little girl I was always drawn to illustrations of clothing from that time period. I loved reading the copies of Nancy Drew books with the older drawings of Nancy searching through haunted houses in her full skirt, high heels, and pearls. I wanted to be Nancy cruising around the town in her blue convertible. The next best thing would have been being Nancy's fashion designer! ;-)
I joined eBay back in March 1999 when I was looking for an old board game I played with as a child. I soon found out it was a great way to find dolls from my childhood that I no longer have and new dolls to add to my collection. I've gotten so addicted to eBay that I'm surprised my family hasn't held an eBay intervention to get me out of there! I'm always on the look out for new and interesting dolls so I can tell their story on my website.
Much of the enjoyment I receive from my collection is taking old worn out dolls and restoring them back to life. Although they may have been made decades ago and long since abandoned by the children who loved them, when I clean the up and make them a new set of clothing, I feel that I am giving them a second chance at a new life. My motto is to always leave things a little bit better than when you got there. I find it very fulfilling to add my own personal touch to the dolls in my collection.
Amazingly, I do find time to have a life outside of my doll collection. I work full time as a computer systems analyst, so my doll collection and this website was a great way for me to combine my creative and technical skills during my spare time. I also have a wonderful husband and two young daughters. It sometimes drives them crazy when I'm busy with my doll collection, but they know it is just a part of who I am and find a way to put up with me!
Thanks for visiting! I hope you enjoy all the photos on this site, and the wonderful memories I have to share.