See What Great Marketing Can Do . . .

William and Catherine Royal Wedding Dolls: Behind the Scenes

I didn't have a strong opinion either way about this set.  There are things I like and some other things that are so-so to me.  I do love the Catherine doll.  If I saw her loose on ebay I'd probably get her.  Well, after seeing this new Barbie Collector vid there is something in me saying buy this set, buy this set!  I love the closing scene the best but it's just too short.  Would love to see some still pics of that scene.  Let me know what you think.

Four Years Ago Today Barbie came to my house!

On April 16, 2008 a film crew came to my home to film a personal interview with my daughter Stephanie and me for inclusion in the Barbie in a Christmas Carol DVD! I found out about this opportunity through a friend who was also a member of the Barbie Fan Club board. She said there is a post requesting mother and daughter collectors for a special project. I responded to the post and sent a picture of us and about a month later we heard from Mattel and Universal about the project. We had a conference call and they let us know they wanted to come to our house and interview us and then later invite us to the Mattel Design Center in El Segundo, California. Wow, we were so amazed! We spent the next several weeks cleaning up the house and setting up all our favorite Barbie in Stephanie's room. To this day I have never forgotten this fabulous experience. We visited the Mattel Design center on April 18, 2008. I still pinch myself today. I miss Sharon a lot and am happy to have met her and spent the day with her! A few years ago I found out this DVD was on You Tube. I hope you enjoy it.

My Tarina Obsession

Tarina Tarantino in Kari Michell, a photo by The Doll Cafe on Flickr.

I hope you all had a fabulous Easter. Spring is finally here and warmer weather greets us. Actually it's raining here today but no matter. My Tarina is ready for spring fun in her Kari Michell dress. Please check my Flickr for my continuing month of Daily Tarina pics in the 2012 Dolly Daily. I took so many pics at the end of March that I decided to make a month dedicated to Tarina. As soon as I'm done posting this set of pics I have a new set ready for publication. Enjoy your dolly days ahead!

Mattel will Produce a Bald Barbie

Tarina Tarantino Bald, a photo by The Doll Cafe on Flickr.

Mattel will indeed be producing the "Bald Barbie!" This statement appeared on their Facebook page on Tuesday!

Play is vital for children, especially during difficult times. We are pleased to share with our community that next year we will be producing a fashion doll, that will be a friend of Barbie, which will include wigs, hats, scarves and other fashion accessories to provide girls with a traditional fashion play experience. For those girls who choose, the wigs and head coverings can be interchanged or completely removed. We will work with our longstanding partner, the Children’s Hospital Association, to donate and distribute the dolls exclusively to children’s hospitals directly reaching girls who are most affected by hair loss. A limited number of dolls and monetary donations will also be made to CureSearch for Children’s Cancer and the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.

Through a thoughtful approach, we made the decision not to sell these dolls at retail stores, but rather get the dolls directly into the hands of children who can most benefit from the unique play experience, demonstrating Mattel’s ongoing commitment to encourage play as a respite for children in the hospital and to bring joy to children who need it most. We appreciate the conversation around this issue, and are interested to hear what you think!

Mattel is definitely doing the right thing, but don't worry if you won't be able to buy one. You can create your own by removing a Barbie's hair and using Mattel wigs that have been produced for other dolls. I purchased this Tarina Tarantino Barbie bald from someone who was going to re-root her. I like her this way. She also has wigs for when she'd like to sport a new look. Spa Retreat Silkstone is bald and the Fashion Queen Barbie and repro are bald. Be creative and have fun, that's always been what Barbie is about and I'm glad to hear that little girls going through hair loss will have a Barbie that looks like them.

Read more news here.

My Silkstone Day

Silkstone in Yellow Dress, a photo by The Doll Cafe on Flickr.

Back in February I had the opportunity to visit Studio P.H. 8442 for an amazing time viewing the current collection of Silkstone Barbies in the display Portrait of a Hollywood Dressing Room. The display was set up and arranged by Robert Best. I took several pictures which you can see here. You can also click here to see other amazing Barbie pics and posts at Studio P.H. 8442's website.

Randall Craig Update

Randall Craig and me at the 2011 Barbie Convention 

I'm such a fan of Randall Craig Fashions!  Over the years his collections have dressed my dolls so stylishly!  I had the opportunity to finally meet Randall  in Summer of 2011 at the Barbie Convention.  He presented his Convention Collection of amazing light and airy fashions.  He also had two exclusive poodles available for sale.

I just received an email where Randall reports that their website will be undergoing an update soon so look out for that.  Also a new Randall Craig Ready to Wear collection will be out in the second quarter with four new fashions featuring "lovely fabric."  Finally, Randall Craig will be having a sample sale featuring house samples, pre-production samples and possibly some prototypes.  The sale will also take place in the second quarter.  I will post as soon as I find out more details!

You can take a look at some of my Randall Craig pictures here and here.

Yes, Virginia, There Will Be a Hunger Games Barbie!

Yes, the rumors are true!  Mattel confirmed that there will be  Katniss Barbie for sale soon!  Bill Greening also confirmed the news on his Facebook page Friday.  Hopefully that means that Bill G is the designer!  The Reuters news release does not really give many details but I suspect the price point will be 29.99 to 34.99.  Hopefully Katniss will come with her own face mold modeled after actress Jennifer Lawrence, but I am not getting my hopes up.  The Tango mold might be a great choice but the Goddess or Kayla/Lea mold could also work as well for Katniss.  Take a look at the various molds.  What do you think?  Either way, Katniss Barbie would be a good way to make use of a mold other than the Mackie or Generation Girl molds used for Bella from Twilight and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.  The Hunger Games franchise looks like it will be worth millions.  It's no wonder that Mattel decided that a Hunger Games Barbie would be part of the action.  I have not read the books or seen the movie but if this is a Barbie doll that I like I would consider buying her.  With the legions of Hunger Games fans this doll may be a big hit!

In other news, I ran across this article today and must admit I don't think I've ever heard about Charlotte Buettenback Johnson and her role in Barbie history.  Enjoy!

The Doll Cafe Blog is Back

Dear readers, I know it's been a while. I think about this blog every day and today is the day I finally return. You may be aware that The Doll Cafe Facebook page is very active, but if you don't like Facebook, I'll be posting here more regularly.  It just seems that with our Twitter page, and the various Facebook groups I moderate, I have not made the time to post longer commentaries or pictures here on Blogger.  Sometimes, links and those little bursts of news are just quicker to post. 

If you are a Flickr fan, I've been posting at least a dolly pic a day in the the 2012 Dolly Daily so hopefully you have been able to access some of our postings other than the blog.  I am considering posting the dolly daily here as well.  It might be overload if you already read the Facebook page, but maybe if I have no time for news or commentary that might be a possibility.  I've also been active in trying to keep up my collection at Barbie Collector.  That's always a work in progress.  LOL!  I'm not sure I want to know how many Collector dolls I really own but there is a count there now that seems to be growing quite a bit!  LOL!

I'm still as much of a Steffie addict as ever.  Ever since Tokidoki, it's been a little quiet on the Steffie front, but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty of Steffie to keep me busy and happy.  Please be sure to join our Steffie Facebook Group and check out the Steffie Wiki.  It's a work in progress but there are several dedicated members who are keeping up the Wiki in grand style.  It's in need of a little makeover but you can still check it out!

I will be attending the National Barbie Doll Convention again this year.  I'm so happy that the location is just a short 45 minute drive from home. I will be sitting at a table that sounds like it is going to be a blast.  My daughter Steffie is joining me for the first time this year as well as my dear friend Helen.  The theme this year will be the Grand Tour which is fitting because our tablemates are coming from all over and as far as Australia!  I think it will be amazing.

Before I go, I wanted to thank Ada from My Dolls for her help in adding some amazing graphics to our home page and our Facebook page.  She is an amazing graphic designer and she works tirelessly on her website to bring you daily dolly news and pics.  Please check out her page for the latest releases and dolly info.  Thank you all for your comments and support.  I hope The Doll Cafe brings new interesting news, pictures, info and more in 2012 and beyond.