I don’t know about you, but I love learning about fellow collectors! In the past few years, I’ve heard from a lot of you regarding your collections and your interests. Recently, I put out the call for collectors to answer questions and send me photo’s for a chance to be featured in their own Collector Spotlight post. The previous posts can be found here and here.
I am very happy to introduce you to Courtney, doll collector and blogger. I gave Courtney a few (well, more than a few) questions to answer regarding herself and her collection. Here are her responses!
Meet Courtney!
Question: Tell us a bit about yourself…
Answer: My name is Courtney. I’m 32 and from Colorado. I just love collecting dolls. All kinds of dolls. I love making clothes for my dolls and just sewing in general. I suppose I also have a particular love for blue haired dolls.
Look at all that blue!
Question: How long have you collected? How did you catch the collecting bug?
Answer: I have collected dolls since I was a little girl. I always loved Barbie, and of course like many people, that’s where my collecting started.
Little Courtney with Strawberry Shortcake and Pumuckl
Question: What do you collect?
Answer: Mostly these days I’m only getting Monster High and Ever After High, but that’s only a small portion of the whole hoard. I have at least 1 of every character of the Monster High dolls, well except the pink haired gorgon. I haven’t found her yet! I have 4 American Girl dolls – Samantha is my favorite doll, always has been, and always will be. I got a Felicity but all her hair was removed, so I bought a Blythe wig and renamed her Temperance! I love making clothes for my AG dolls – it’s very easy!
BJD’s Mina and Juste
I also have 2 1/4th size Asian BJDs – an Angel Region(his name is Juste) and an Angel of Dream (her name is Wilhelmina, or just Mina). I absolutely adore them. I even learned to make wigs just for Mina!
Littlest Pet Shop and Blythe
I have several mini Blythe dolls that came with my Littlest Pet Shop pets (I’ve got over 1000 pets!), I have the full collection of Little Apple Dolls. Mentis is the only one who ever escaped her box, but as much trouble as she is, that’s probably a good thing!
My Scene Bins
I collected every single My Scene barbie until I couldn’t find them in the country anymore. I have 5 tubs full of them – even got extra bodies for the ones with interchangeable heads! I have a whole tub of Halloween barbies and another tub full of fairies and mermaids. Dolls have taken over my house!!
Question: Do you share this hobby with anyone? Did anyone inspire you to to collect?
Answer: I share this hobby with my mom for sure. My mom and I just love dolls. It’s fun to know someone else doesn’t think you’re to old to play with dolls.
American Girl Samantha in a homemade Hanfu
Question: What are your ‘grail’ items? Have you found any of them yet? Why are they your ‘grail’ items?
Answer: Samantha was my ‘grail’ item. I got Samantha from my best friend for Christmas one year – she bought the best friends set, Samantha & Nellie. I had wanted Samantha since I was 7 years old, but we never could afford her when I was young. I waited 15 years to get that doll. I made my best friend a quilt that year for Christmas. I can easily say we have never been able to top that Christmas
Doll Shelf
Question: Spotlight a few of your favorite pieces in your collection. What are they? When did you find them? What makes them your favorites? Tell us their story.
Answer: Well there’s Samantha, but you already know that. There’s Laurel – Stardust Classic. She’s not made anymore and I scored her in her box, off of eBay for $40. It was a mega squee moment, I had never seen her go for under $100 ever. $100 was her price brand new!
Juste and Mina are favorites, how can my only 2 BJD’s not be? Juste was bought for me by my mom, and I wanted Juste’s sister(Angel Region Cosette) but she cost too much. Mina, however was a manageable price, and I just loved her face.
My Ellowyne Wilde(A Case of the Blues) is also one of my big favorites. She is probably the prettiest doll I’ve ever seen. She also never takes a bad picture.
Question: Do you collect in box or out of box? Why?
Answer: I’m don’t have a preference really. I keep a few in the box, like my Little Apple Dolls, I just love how they are in the box. Several of my monster high dolls are still in their boxes, but mostly they sit around on shelves in the open.
Mina in handmade outfit
I like to play with them :) I have kept the boxes for most of my more pricy dolls even though they aren’t in them.
Homemade doll, Violet (cloth with yarn hair)
Question: What is the most fun aspect of collecting?
Answer: I just love playing with them and making their clothes. I’m very touchy feely with my dolls.
Homemade (and a few purchased) doll outfits
Question: Do you have any personal stories you’d like to share that deal with your doll collecting?
Answer: This is about how I learned Little Apple Dolls weren’t what I thought. When my boyfriend bought me the first three Little Apple Dolls, I thought they were porcelain. Looking at them in the box, they looked porcelain. I didn’t take them out. I didn’t want to take them out really. I love the boxes, the whole look.
Little Apple Doll Mentis
When the second series came out, I ordered them online. I was so excited to open the box and see them and what did I see? Mentis, in her box, with her head in the bottom of it!!!! I freaked! So for the first time I took one of these dolls out of her box.
Turns out, Mentis was plastic. I forced that head right back on that doll. She never wanted back in her box either. (Also all the LADs come with a story book, an apple, and pins, but they were missing from her box.) I ended up buying another Mentis to stay in the box, but the first one has free reign. It’s honestly pretty funny to think about Mentis missing her head, as her story was a girl who heard voices.
Little Apple Dolls- Courtney owns 22!
Question: What advice would you give new collectors out there that feel they need to ‘hide’ their hobby?
Answer: No one should have to hide their doll collections! I’ve known several guys who collected also. You are you and this is what you do. There is certainly someone out there who can connect with you about your hobby.
My Child dolls
Question: Give me 3 tips (in general) on how to cultivate a great doll collection.
Answer: Tip #1 – Check yard sales. You can find some awesome things! -
Tip #2 – Don’t feel bad waiting for a clearance sale. I have got half my stuff that way!
Tip #3 – Be picky. You don’t want to be stuck with stuff you hate.
Question: What kind of future do you see for this hobby?
Answer: I don’t ever see dolls going away. I would have loved dolls like Monster High when I was a kid – awesome stuff is always coming out.
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I want to give a big THANK YOU to Courtney for sharing her collection with us! I hope you enjoyed learning a bit about Courtney in this Collector Spotlight. I know I’m completely jealous of her My Scene collection! That amazing homemade Hanfu totally brought me back to my Fushigi Yugi days! And these Little Apple Dolls, I need to look into them more!
Be sure to check out her blog, Jupiter’s Closet! If you would like to be featured, send me an e-mail with the answers to these questions. Photo’s, too! (Questions can be reworked or skipped– whatever is comfortable for you!)
I invite you to leave kudo’s to Courtney in the comment area! Of course, feel free to leave questions, too!
