Most doll collectors will already know that their hobby is viewed with, at best, bemusement, and at worst downright incredulity by anyone who doesn’t share their interest. One of the women in my doll group recently said that she keeps her doll room off-limits to anyone who doesn’t know about her collection. She explained that in the past some folks have thought her a bit odd. At which point one of the men in the group gave a heartfelt, “Yes, but try being a guy who collects dolls!”.
I think a lot of the misconceptions come from people who really have no interest in any kind of collecting at all. There are some who are mystified by the need to have more than one of anything. If you have a perfectly good watch, for instance, why would you want another more unless it’s a replacement?
But I do take comfort from the fact that we have much in common with hobbyists of many hues. I recently met a collector of model dragons, whose passion for their collection matched that of any doll enthusiast I know.
In many ways, I am more interested in the fashions than the dolls themselves, and I often think I should pare my collection down to the very minimum of my favorite models, and concentrate more on the clothing. The skill that goes into tiny tailoring and mini-shoemaking is endlessly fascinating to me. Such a major cull would also have the benefit of freeing up tons of space. But as anyone who has undertaken this know, it takes a huge amount of time to curate and even more to off-load anything that’s surplus. Anyway, a project for the to-do list.
Partly in the interest of research, but also to seek comfort from the knowledge that others are afflicted with the collecting bug, I decided to find out what other things people like to amass.
First off, I headed to England where I discovered Liz, a Women’s Institute (WI) member, who has collected royal family memorabilia for 35 years. She even made a Queen cardboard cut-out for a celebratory WI meeting.
Liz explains, “I think the Queen is wonderful. It runs in my family: my nan cooked for the Queen Mother – who tapped me on the head once, and my mum didn’t wash my hair for ages.” She has a collection of china royalty, a miniature porcelain Madame Tussauds. Liz’s collection shows the royal family at its most camp. Collecting royal memorabilia means collecting the high points, the glitter, the baubles, the sashes, the medals. Which is why it’s nice that Liz has the life-size Queen cut-out, too. This makes HRH seem real – scarily real, if you only glance at it and see her looming over her subject like a well-millinered mugger.
Nilsa collects miniature tea sets. Some are glass, ceramic, plastic, and others are metallic. She has over 20 sets and each set has at least 4 cups with plates. As she says, “My collection is modest and not worth millions of dollars. They are displayed in my curio cabinet and from time to time I use them for my dioramas.”
“I love this collection because of how easy it is to find them, the variety, and of course the size. I can find them at doll shows, department stores, thrift stores, gift and souvenir shops, craft stores, internet shops, eBay, and flea markets. There is no need to hunt for OOAK or platinum ones.”
“I enjoy the size of the items in my collection. It is like waiting for fairies to visit me for a cup of tea. My inner child approves of this collection!”
Mary and Amara are taken to happy memories, characters, movies, and attractions that are a part of their lives. They both enjoy looking at their Disney pins regularly and wear them occasionally. “The pins are beautiful pieces of art, they are small so don’t take up a lot of space.”
Disney pins are made of cloisonné enamel with tie-tack backs. They are usually pinned onto a lanyard, but can be used as individual pieces of jewelry. Each piece is a “Disneyana” collectible and represents a Disney character, movie or a Disney park attraction. Mary and Amara started their collection of these pins following a visit to Disneyland. Each pin represents some aspect of the Disney world – be it a character, or several characters, an attraction from any of the parks or a Disney movie. It is a great collection for “Disneyphiles” like Amara and Mary.
Eric is a soloist with the Royal Ballet in London. He has a collection of mismatched leg-warmers, that are all handmade. It’s like Ellsworth Kelly joined a knitting circle. The legwarmers are flamboyant and strike an unconventional note in the otherwise strictly regimented discipline of classical ballet. They are performance art in themselves – even though they are strictly reserved for warm-up and will never see the main stage of the Royal Opera House.
Nicholas collects books. His interest is in white-spined Picadors and orange Penguin paperbacks. His books are arranged by color, which mean that his bookshelves create large color blocks in his house. He eschews the traditional method of arranging books in purely alphabetical order. This, he explains, can drive some purists nuts.
We collectors all have much in common: whether collecting Star Wars figures, vinyl records, vintage sneakers, or even dolls, the instinct comes from the same place. Collectors use their hobby to engage with the world, bring its wonders back home and, once there, put the world in order.
This feature was first published in Fashion Doll Quarterly magazine.
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