Jaw Dropping Doll Display/Storage

Because sometimes people forget to check comments, I am pulling this link from the comments to a post. I did NOT discover the incredible works you will see. Creative collector Niel of 1:6Sense and Niel's Doll Room submitted this URL in a comment he made for yesterday's DAF Storage post.

The photos are on Flickr ...

Breathtaking Barbie dollhouse

Wow, wow, wow.

More Photos - This Time on Flickr

The Vinyl Lounge/Pink Parlor message board's photo challenge this week is

"Ohhhhh, I love PURPLE!"

Hey, I got lots of purple-wearing and even one purple-haired doll. (Hey Omar, you might want to look out for this Alysa to befriend, be related, etc. to your Rio.) So I uploaded some photos on my Flickr folder. You can see them at this web page:

Purple Reigns

Enjoy!

DAF Storage Ideas: Detolf Review

I think it is good that you took your dolls out of the Sterlite container. I would have been concerned about the gases from the plastics of the doll and plastic bins interacting and causing long term if not permanent damage.
Have you decided on the alternative storage place for your figurines that have been kept in the Sterlite?

I am concerned about price of wooden or decorative boxes and I keep my own collection in a moving box for glassware since the dividers keep the doll standing upright. I think this is also keeping the hair from being mussed.
Please give me any good ideas about storage

Tim


Tim sent this comment-query in response to my May 9, 2009 post "Collector Confession: Dolls Get Dirty in Boxes". I had confessed to keeping some loose dolls lumped together in a cardboard box. Those dolls were sitting on the Sterilite plastic chest; however, there are more DAFs in the plastic chest. So Tim has two questions:

1. What am I going to do with the dolls and action figures held in the plastic drawer?

and

2. What are good storage ideas?

The short answer to the first question is I am still thinking about where to put those dolls. They remain in the top two drawers. No permanent home for them yet. Likewise, the dolls sitting on top of the Sterilite drawer have been cleaned and set about the apartment; they, too, wait for permanent homes.

Moving on to the second question about good storage ideas ... let's start with IKEA display units.

Specifically, IKEA Detolf glass cabinets. You may have seen these glass cases in some collectors' rooms. They are inexpensive for glass cabinets - the current price is $59.00 per four-shelf cabinet in the United States.

Detolf at Philly IKEA

I have one Detolf cabinet myself. Would I recommend getting one? That's harder to answer.

Pros

It has clear glass sides. Dolls and action figures look GREAT in it.

Price is okay.

Figures somewhat protected from dust.


Cons

You have to put it together with another person. REALLY. It's made of glass, and you don't want to play Lone Ranger and see a glass panel slip away and break. Even with two people, it is a PAIN to put together. You have to line things up just so. You think this side is okay, but then the blippity-frippity thing in the other corner slips loose. You have four glass panels and four tall wire thingies and two plastic corner-connector things in the rear. Hold your breath, repress the four-letter words, and pray that this time it all takes. Eventually it did.

It's fragile. Our twelve pound cat brushes against it without harming it, but bring in a larger, more boisterous animal or children ... we're back to it is nearly all glass.

Storage limits. The base is about 16" by 14."

Here's additional information by IKEA.

Aside: any collectors interested in this topic, please add your comments.

To be continued ....

Doll Theme: Ancient Egypt Part 1

Five dolls in my collection have Ancient Egypt as the theme:

1 Hasbro The Prince of Egypt: Prince Moses (1998)

2 Mattel Dolls of the World: Princess Collection, Princess of the Nile Barbie (2001)

3 Integrity Ancient Legends: The Quest for the Magical Amulet, Queen Adora (2004)

4 R&D Legends Collection: Queen of the Nile Susie (2005)

5 Integrity Fashion Royalty IFDC Convention Exclusive Back to Black Natalia (2008)

I will start with one of the two Integrity dolls with the Ancient Egyptian theme, Queen Adora from the Janay (Playline) series.

The backstory to this series is that Princess Janay and Prince Tariq search for Queen Adora's lost amulet. Further developments to that story starter could be completed by the child/owner of the doll(s). A Princess Janay doll and a Prince Tariq doll were also produced for this series. The prototypes for those dolls can be seen at this Master Collector link under the header "African Legends."

I bought the Queen Adora doll because she had short, tightly curled hair and an "Egyptian" style wig. How cute - a doll with a wig. And her short, cropped style is attractive on its own. Maybe I could use the wig for another doll. I recall seeing the Janay and the Tariq dolls, but the only one I wanted at that time was the Adora one. Adora also has a cardboard throne in her box that needs to be assembled. (I haven't deboxed her yet so there are no photos of the throne now.)

Other accessories with Queen Adora are a cardboard crown, cardboard ankh, gold "leather" sandals, a long sheer white gown, a white lacy stole with gold trim, a gold necklace and bracelets. Here are two photos of the Queen:

Roville Update as of May 23, 2009

Just noticed a Roville update as of May 23, 2009, please see here.

We see photos of Siobhan Ronan as an equestrian and of Clu Jungian as a Roville psychiatrist.

Re-use Plastic Boxes for DAF Collector Organizing

As I was deboxing my dolls for Project Emigration aka Refining the Collection, I noticed that the clear plastic boxes used for My Scene and other Barbie dolls and the clear plastic tubes used for the pre-Hobbit bodied Fashion Fever dolls could be re-used to hold items. I like the tubes for holding heads and accessories - separate, of course - and the boxes for holding bodies.

Aside: why do I have head tubes and body boxes? Sigh. I don't always like the head-body union that manufacturers provide. So I find a more suitable body and set aside the original body. Oops, got an extra head there. Or I want the doll to have more pose-ability so I body-swap. A discard body there. Solution: head tubes and body boxes.

These plastic boxes and tubes allow me to see what I have better than if I put the parts in an everything drawer or box. Plus, I can tuck them aside so that they aren't in my way when I don't need them. I don't have to buy organizing stuff and waste doll/action figure/accessory funds. I re-use stuff that would otherwise fill landslides.

Here's a photograph showing my new organizing aids:



I'm a happier collector ... and I didn't have to buy a thing.

Memorial Day Photo - Nadja, Lukas, Mai

I may retake this photo again ... but I like it for now so I'll leave it.



Nadja is balancing on a log while Lukas and Mai watch.

Maybe next time, I'll take them outside. Hmmm ....