Post by Collector's Connection on Apr 24, 2006 22:11:03 GMT -5
All Dolled Up: Barbie designers and personal collectors come together
at Dear Dollies
By Marleen Shepherd, the southern
What: Dear Dollies
When: 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday April 23
Where: John A. Logan College, Carterville
How much: $10 adults and $5 for children under 12. Tickets available
at the door.
For more information: visit www.w4hw.com or call (618) 985-9210.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS -Before Laura Kidd's fashion students could start
their assignment designing for Barbie, they had to take a moment to
play.
"When we opened up the boxes, it was like Christmas in here," said
Kidd of her SIUC experimental design class, an exhibitor in Dear
Dollies. Dozens of grown-ups will publicly play with their own dolls
at the fundraiser from 1 to 4 p.m., today at John A. Logan College in
Carterville.
"For a few hours our lives will return to those precious days of
childhood when our dear dollies were our best friends," said
organizer Fran Becque, executive director of Women for Health and
Wellness, Inc., which the event supports.
Everything from paper dolls to action figures will vie for prizes
such as Best of Show and People's Choice, and dolls and their
accessories will be swapped and sold. Serious collectors will sidle
up to average folks anxious to bring out their childhood friends for
a play date.
"It sounds hokey but there's a little bit of a child in everyone that
never goes away. I think it's probably the same with me," said Sue
Newell of Carbondale who will share a handful of dolls from her
childhood. They include My Friend Mandy, My Friend Jenny, and a Vogue
Brikette Lesney Products Doll, all from 1978, and a 1979 Gerber Baby
Doll.
"I'm just glad I did hang on to them so I can share them," said
Newell, who never worried about keeping them in pristine condition.
Her dolls were her friends, not collectibles. "Some original outfits
I don't have anymore because they're so worn out."
Newell, who will exhibit one doll she created, suggests the doll-
making classes at "We're Makin' Dolls, Inc." in Murphysboro for those
who want to learn to make their own dolls.
Anybody can start designing clothes for their dolls, and dressing the
grand dame of dolls is where many of Kidd's designers got their first
love of fashion.
"Barbie is a fashion icon and, for many of the designers, was the
first 'person' for whom they created a design," Kidd said.
While the class agreed the assignment was a lot of fun, it was also a
rigorous test of their skills. The biggest challenge for designers
was working on a miniature scale.
"Your eyes get out of focus," said Ashley Webb, a junior from Kansas,
Ill. "It helped my hand stitching a lot."
Coming up with an original idea was also daunting for Webb.
"Mattel has done everything. Trying to come up with something new was
a challenge," said Webb, who created Bond Girl Barbie. The spy doll
features a compact that doubles as an x-ray and a perfume that melts
metal, with a little imagination that is.
"It was fun thinking up all the gizmos and gadgets that go along with
it," she said.
Other creative concepts include the big-haired, puffy-sleeved '80s
Barbie, a NASCAR Barbie dressed in a checkered jumpsuit, and Outdoors
Barbie, complete with matching camouflage shorts and T-shirt, an
orange vest and a fishing pole.
Creator Amanda Lazzell, a junior from Danville, explained Outdoor
Barbie was ready for a Southern Illinois weekend of hunting, camping,
hiking and fishing.
"It's more for the girls who aren't so girly," said the self-
professed tomboy. "She can hang with the boys."
Barbie still maintained her whimsical femininity in the class
project, illustrated expertly in Rainy Day Barbie.
Creator Shannon Woodlock, a senior from Roodhouse, used nail glue to
attach the 50 rhinestone raindrops over Rainy Day Barbie's hair,
umbrella and clothing.
"I tried to appeal to what I would have liked when I was a little
girl," said Woodlock, who covered a purple raincoat and matching
umbrella in plastic and dressed it to the nines with knee-high pink
boots.
"Every girl loves purple and pink, and something shiny sticks out."
marleen.shepherd@thesouthern.com
(618) 351-5074
at Dear Dollies
By Marleen Shepherd, the southern
What: Dear Dollies
When: 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday April 23
Where: John A. Logan College, Carterville
How much: $10 adults and $5 for children under 12. Tickets available
at the door.
For more information: visit www.w4hw.com or call (618) 985-9210.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS -Before Laura Kidd's fashion students could start
their assignment designing for Barbie, they had to take a moment to
play.
"When we opened up the boxes, it was like Christmas in here," said
Kidd of her SIUC experimental design class, an exhibitor in Dear
Dollies. Dozens of grown-ups will publicly play with their own dolls
at the fundraiser from 1 to 4 p.m., today at John A. Logan College in
Carterville.
"For a few hours our lives will return to those precious days of
childhood when our dear dollies were our best friends," said
organizer Fran Becque, executive director of Women for Health and
Wellness, Inc., which the event supports.
Everything from paper dolls to action figures will vie for prizes
such as Best of Show and People's Choice, and dolls and their
accessories will be swapped and sold. Serious collectors will sidle
up to average folks anxious to bring out their childhood friends for
a play date.
"It sounds hokey but there's a little bit of a child in everyone that
never goes away. I think it's probably the same with me," said Sue
Newell of Carbondale who will share a handful of dolls from her
childhood. They include My Friend Mandy, My Friend Jenny, and a Vogue
Brikette Lesney Products Doll, all from 1978, and a 1979 Gerber Baby
Doll.
"I'm just glad I did hang on to them so I can share them," said
Newell, who never worried about keeping them in pristine condition.
Her dolls were her friends, not collectibles. "Some original outfits
I don't have anymore because they're so worn out."
Newell, who will exhibit one doll she created, suggests the doll-
making classes at "We're Makin' Dolls, Inc." in Murphysboro for those
who want to learn to make their own dolls.
Anybody can start designing clothes for their dolls, and dressing the
grand dame of dolls is where many of Kidd's designers got their first
love of fashion.
"Barbie is a fashion icon and, for many of the designers, was the
first 'person' for whom they created a design," Kidd said.
While the class agreed the assignment was a lot of fun, it was also a
rigorous test of their skills. The biggest challenge for designers
was working on a miniature scale.
"Your eyes get out of focus," said Ashley Webb, a junior from Kansas,
Ill. "It helped my hand stitching a lot."
Coming up with an original idea was also daunting for Webb.
"Mattel has done everything. Trying to come up with something new was
a challenge," said Webb, who created Bond Girl Barbie. The spy doll
features a compact that doubles as an x-ray and a perfume that melts
metal, with a little imagination that is.
"It was fun thinking up all the gizmos and gadgets that go along with
it," she said.
Other creative concepts include the big-haired, puffy-sleeved '80s
Barbie, a NASCAR Barbie dressed in a checkered jumpsuit, and Outdoors
Barbie, complete with matching camouflage shorts and T-shirt, an
orange vest and a fishing pole.
Creator Amanda Lazzell, a junior from Danville, explained Outdoor
Barbie was ready for a Southern Illinois weekend of hunting, camping,
hiking and fishing.
"It's more for the girls who aren't so girly," said the self-
professed tomboy. "She can hang with the boys."
Barbie still maintained her whimsical femininity in the class
project, illustrated expertly in Rainy Day Barbie.
Creator Shannon Woodlock, a senior from Roodhouse, used nail glue to
attach the 50 rhinestone raindrops over Rainy Day Barbie's hair,
umbrella and clothing.
"I tried to appeal to what I would have liked when I was a little
girl," said Woodlock, who covered a purple raincoat and matching
umbrella in plastic and dressed it to the nines with knee-high pink
boots.
"Every girl loves purple and pink, and something shiny sticks out."
marleen.shepherd@thesouthern.com
(618) 351-5074