©Ty

Let’s cut right to the chase. The first and only African American Ty Girlz © are named Sasha and Malia. Ty Inc. spokeswoman Tania Lundeen says the dolls aren’t based on the Obama daughters. She says Sasha and Malia were chosen because “they are beautiful names.” Really? Check out the Social Security Administration list of 100 top Baby names for the last 10 years? They are three to four hundred down. Nothing to do with the new girls in the White House? Hmmm.

Next we hear that Michelle Obama is pissed… she thinks it’s exploitation. Well she’s right, it is. But who is being exploited? Do you think that maybe there was a little political milage gained every time those two little ‘Daddy’s Girls’ were photographed living their “normal” little fishbowl lives for the last year? I mean after all, who didn’t know about the first daughters? Color me doubtful, but I think that there was a little exploitation of the girls during the campaign as well.

Dolls have been made in the likenesses of celebrities for forever. In fact one of our stores specializes in licensed dolls, everything from Sesame Street and Dr Seuss, to Fancy Nancy and Strawberry Shortcake. If I had to guess, I’d say Shirley Temple dolls were probably the longest running celebrity doll ever. Teddy Roosevelt wouldn’t shoot a tied up helpless bear at the end of an unsuccessful hunt and Teddy Bears have been the most popular toy in America ever since. There were Chelsea Clinton dolls, and Caroline Kennedy dolls (currently selling in the $300 range on Ebay). But of course we’re talking here about licensed dolls…. my guess is that if Michelle Obama and the US Attorney General want to make a case of it, Ty would have to buckle pretty quick.

So our take? We don’t believe that out of the 1000′s of African American girl’s names available that Ty randomly picked the same two names as the first daughters. Next? Michelle… chill. Be flattered and pleased that your daughters are such great role models. Life’s too short to be pissed at Ty. Make ‘em give you royalties!

Nude Barbie

It is so easy to offend… and yes I am talking dolls. For instance, two little words, nude, and Barbie. Ten little letters in the English language. Yet put them together — Nude Barbie — and whole treatises could be written about feminism, pornography, nudity, little girls self image…. it goes on and on. And has in fact, in blogs other than mine.

Here’s another Barbie causing waves… Tefillin Barbie by Doll Artist Jen Taylor Friedman. Why controversy? Well until very very recently, Jewish women didn’t wear tefillin, or for that matter study Torah (Yentl the Yeshiva Boy by Isaac Bashevis Singer is set in the late 19th century).

Tefillin Barbie by Doll Artist Jen Taylor Friedman

So is this a feminist statement? A religious one?

But if you gave either of these dolls – without any explanation – to any average four year old girl anywhere in the world, (well maybe not in the Middle East), what would happen? She would take the dolls, and play. End of story.

So I guess I should rephrase my opening line.

It is so easy to offend… adults. How about you? Offended?

Well the results are in! And The Cabbage Patch Doll auction went — Palin Beats Obama!
The Cabbage Patch Presidential and Vice-Presidential Doll Auction Results were:

Cabbage Patch Kids Vice President Candidate Sarah Palin Doll
Giving Works Item
100% of the proceeds go to Marine Toys for Tots
113 Bids Sold $19,000.00

Cabbage Patch Kids Presidential Candidate John McCain Doll
Giving Works Item
100% of the proceeds go to Marine Toys for Tots
68 Bids Sold $6,000.00

Cabbage Patch Kids Vice President Candidate Joe Biden Doll
Giving Works Item
100% of the proceeds go to Marine Toys for Tots
60 Bids Sold $3,550.01

Cabbage Patch Kids Presidential Candidate Barack Obama Doll
Giving Works Item
100% of the proceeds go to Marine Toys for Tots
96 Bids Sold $8,400.00

You know what? Everybody won with this one. God Bless America, Cabbage Patch Dolls and Ebay, and of course, the Doll bidders.

Starting Thursday, 10/30 at 9 am EST,. you can bid on a unique collection of one of the most beloved. toys in history – Cabbage Patch Kids®. 2008 marks the 25th anniversary of the Cabbage Patch Kids® and, to celebrate, you can bid to “adopt”. one of these amazing iconic ‘Kids™ with 100 percent of the proceeds going to charity..

Election Exclusive – One-of-a-Kind Cabbage Patch Kids®
In honor of the upcoming 2008 U.S. Presidential election, these ONE-OF-A-KIND Cabbage Patch Kids® based on Barack Obama, John McCain, Joe Biden, and Sarah Palin were custom delivered by JAKKS Pacific®. Each is fashioned in classic ‘Kid™ style to resemble the U.S. Democratic and Republican candidates for President and Vice President.. These are the only ones of their kind in existence and are available only on eBay.. Own a piece of history! 100 percent of the proceeds go to Marine Toys for Tots Foundation..

Here’s where you can go for more info ebay auction for a cause

We carry the ethnic Cabbage Patch dolls, and this being their 25th anniversary we will have a post on Cabbage Patch as well… stay tuned… and please… VOTE

Well first, The NPD Group Inc, released a report on the Global Toy Industry this week, and the news was pretty good:

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, September 10, 2008 –Despite a slowdown in U.S. sales and rising competition from vertical segments such as video games, worldwide toy market sales topped $71.96 billion dollars in 2007, a 5 percent increase over the $68.5 billion generated in 2006, according to Global Toy Trends and Forecasts, the most recent report from leading market research company, The NPD Group. At the current pace, NPD expects worldwide toy sales to top $86.3 billion in 2010.

Global Toy Trends and Forecasts provides a detailed and granular look at the composition of the global toy market since 2004, including a country by country analysis by age and gender, as well as the opportunities that exist for the toy industry in other parts of the world and a trend forecast of what The NPD Group expects the industry to experience within the next few years.

According to the report, North America represents 33 percent of worldwide sales, followed by Europe at 30 percent and Asia at 24 percent.

Then, using the latest available US Dept of Commerce Industry Outlook, Dolls, as a category, represents approximately 13% of all US toys. So It looks to us as if the doll industry in the US is a pretty healthy $3.12 Billion Dollar Industry!
(US Sales 33% of 72 Billion worldwide = $24B; Doll sales 13% of US Toy Sales = $3.1 Billion)

So let’s say you spend $2000 dollars a year on dolls. That’s about a half of a thousandth of a percent! Pennies! And since I assume the only readers of The Doll Blog are doll lovers, I assume you love these numbers too!

“What doll magazines or books would you recommend to a collector who collects African American Dolls?”

“What a great question!”, I thought, and then realized, “I don’t have a good answer.”

IMHO there are really only four magazines that cover the industry well; they are: Contemporary Doll Collector, Dolls, The Doll Reader, and Art Doll Quarterly. And none of them do a particularly good job of addressing this market.

After all, it’s not like nobody makes these dolls… ‘Jamaica” above, is from Lee Middleton, who has a pretty good mix of Asian, Black and Hispanic Dolls. So does Berenguer and Precious Moments, Adora Doll and even Corolle. Marie Osmand does not, nor does Madame Alexander nor the OOAK and limited edition folks.

In fact the whole success of my two sites PattycakeDoll.com and SleepySoft.com has been built around supplying this market with ethnic baby dolls and ethnic collectible dolls.

But I expect that things will change, and pretty quickly I expect… After all more than 50% of the babies born in th US are ‘non-white.’ And of course about half of those are girls. The industry will wise up eventually, and then who knows? Maybe there will even be a Magazine called “Black Doll Collector!”

Here is another way….
The Pink Artist Project: is a group of artists coming together to create two by two inch art squares, mailed in from around the world that when stitched together have built ONE magical creation, our lady Love Squared. An art doll MADE WITH LOVE and uniquely devoted to the cause of finding a cure for breast cancer. If you are interested, here is the site. The funds raised will go to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

In all our years of being in the ‘Doll’ business, I’ve come across so many wonderful people with so many unique collections. I can’t even begin to define what a ‘doll collection’ should look like! Some people collect Barbies, some Jumeau’s. Some collect anything ’30′s”, some collect one of a kind Art Dolls.

I collect ‘examples.’ Let me explain…

Addie and I will be married thirty years come December, and in that time we’ve moved three times, and with our children just about all gone on to their own homes, we’re looking to move once again. I like to think that I’ve finally learned not to collect too much; I usually only have one or two ‘examples’ of a kind of doll.

So I only have one Kachina Doll in my doll collection
But for the purpose of this blog, he’s a perfect representation of his kind, and if you are trying to decide what kind of doll you’d like to collect, maybe you’d consider Kachinas.

Made of wood, turquoise, feathers, shells and stones, Kachina dolls are a style of native American Doll found mainly in the Southwestern United States. Of course with the advent of eBay they are readily collectible from anywhere in the world.

My Hoop Dancer was made by a Navajo Indian. He’s about 10 inches tall. In the Indian culture the Hoop Dancers have no religious significance…they represent the athletic dancers with their magical rings that represent the circle of life. A quick check on eBay finds Medicine Men Kachinas, Buffalo dancers, Hilili, Badger, Butterfly healers and many other Kachinas readily available.

Want to start a unique collection? Kachinas are available, relatively inexpensive and like any good collectible doll can offer you a life-long journey into beauty and knowledge!