2015's Last Doll Purchase is 2016's First Doll Arrival

Ava DuVernay Barbie, a Platinum Label doll, is limited to 999 dolls worldwide.

In the wee-wee hours (almost 4 a.m. CST to be exact) of December 29, 2015, I decided hesitantly to check personal email on my personal desktop computer before beginning my work day on the company's computer.  I was hesitant because the end of the month is always hectic and I only had one more working day in the year, having scheduled time off for the remaining days of 2015.  Well I threw caution to the wind and I am so-glad-I-did!

As I opened Outlook, an email filtered through from a fellow collector, whom I will refer to as TL. Her email informed that she had just ordered the Ava DuVernay Barbie from Amazon . com and just had to "let another black doll lover know." I am so grateful she chose me!  I could not navigate to Amazon . com fast enough to enter "Ava DuVernay Barbie" in the search box to see if quantities were still available.  There were and I hurriedly one-click shopped, which was followed by a huge sigh of relief.  I kept going back to the "status of your orders" page to double-check that the order had actually been placed.  An email confirmation from Amazon . com followed.  "Yes!"

I am sorry that I could not take the time to post the information about the doll in a blog post, but as indicated, I needed to begin my work day and I knew by the time I published the blog, the doll might be sold out resulting in unnecessary disappointment for those who desired it but again missed out.   I did share it with a few people in one of my Facebook groups who were as fortunate as I am, (thanks to TL), to successfully place an order.

Thank you, once again TL for the heads up.  By that afternoon, just as I assumed, all dolls had been sold.

I took several pictures of this difficult-to-own, super-limited Platinum Label doll which are shared below.

The first five photos were taken with the doll in the box.

The real Ava has dreadlocks.  The doll has double-strand twists, which extend almost to her waist.  She has beautiful brown eyes and lush, painted-on eyelashes.  Her hint of lip color is lined with a contrasting color.

Side view of the two-strand twists

Another in-the-box photo was taken at an angle to eliminate as much flash as possible.

Close-up in-box photo

Ava DuVernay Barbie comes with a personalized director's chair (lights, camera, sound!), an acrylic doll stand, and...

...a numbered certificate of authenticity, the front of which reads:  This certifies that your Ava DuVernay Barbie® was created through the collaborative efforts of designers and artists at Mattel.

In the next seven photos, the doll, still attached to the box liner, has been gingerly removed from the box to photograph.  The last of these were taken in natural light.

The graphics on the box liner create a perfect director's setting with cameras and lights that appear three-dimensional.

Ava wears a black long-sleeved turtleneck shirt...

...denim pants, and red and white sneakers for comfort.

Almost as stylish as the real Ava DuVernay, on one wrist, the doll wears a copper-tone chain bracelet with one disk-shaped charm.  On the other wrist...

...she wears a faux wood bangle.

Here's another look at the director's chair.

The back of the box has a beautiful portrait of Ava DuVernay and offers a brief bio, which I have copied below.

AVA

D            Nominated for two Academy Awards and four Golden

                Globes, writer/director Ava DuVernay’s most recent film

u             “Selma” chronicled the historic 1965 voting rights

                campaign led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  She won the

V            Best Director Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in

                2012 for her acclaimed feature “Middle of Nowhere.”

E             Her previous narrative and documentary work includes

                the feature film “I Will Follow” and the documentaries

R            “Venus vs.,” “My Mic Sounds Nice” and “This is the Life.”

                In 2010, she founded ARRAY, an independent film

N            distribution and resource organization for filmmakers of

                color and women filmmakers.  Prior to her directorial

A            career, DuVernay worked as a film marketer and

                publicist for more than 14 years through her company,

Y             the DuVernay Agency.  She was born, raised and loves

                life in Los Angeles, California.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Shortly after the first dolls sold out at TheBarbieCollector . com, this photo circulated on Facebook of the lovely actress Viola Davis (How to Get Away with Murder), posing with her daughter's Ava DuVernay doll.  I was happy Ms. Davis was able to get one for her daughter.

Marsai Martin and her Ava DuVernay doll

I was also excited to learn that my favorite child star, Marsai Martin, who plays Diane Johnson on Black-ish, snagged one of the first available Ava DuVernay dolls.  Go Diane... I mean Marsai! (I love her character on Black-ish).

Deb and her Ava DuVernay doll

Here I am, happy for myself, to now be the proud owner of an Ava DuVernay doll!


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