Black Doll Collecting: November 2023

Thursday, November 30, 2023

June Bug's Repair and Return

June Bug is seen in a photo from 2010.

After removing June Bug from her display shelf this past summer, I noticed her limbs were floppy. She needed to be restrung. I took her to my husband for said repair. The following two videos cover the repair request.

June bug lies on the floor of my husband's studio along with the necessary stringing for the repair. She was later moved to a shelf before the repair commenced.

June Bug's shoes were deteriorating and her white tights were dingy. The following video explains the remedies.

The first restringing resulted in tautness in both legs. My husband decided to loosen those strings and fabricate new arm strings because the arms were still loose. It took a while for him to accomplish this because a more pertinent home improvement project required several weeks of his undivided attention.

Restringing Completed!

All good again, almost.

After her dad completed the restringing, he brought her to me along with the extra elasticized string. I was lying in bed at the time and took the above quick photo to document her return.

June Bug was almost ready to be redressed when I noticed a few very minor paint chips that needed repainting.

Using Folkart Shiny Maple Syrup acrylic paint, I painted over a paint-chipped area at the edge of the neck socket and another area in the joint of June Bug's inner left arm.

In this picture, June Bug is redressed, holding her Daisy Kingdom mini doll (Dolly's Doll), and ready to return to her display shelf.

Finally, she is back on display with an antique DEP doll, antique reproductions, and modern dolls.

Related Links

June Bug

June Bug's Virtual Black Doll Museum Installation

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here.
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Create Your Dream Doll Mila

Create Your Dream Doll Mila is an 11-inch all-vinyl doll by Ruby Red Toys.

Mila is an 11-inch all-vinyl doll from the Create Your Dream Doll series by Ruby Red Toys. This doll series allows children to sketch a doll design and write the doll's story.

Mila's close-up illustrates her hair texture, eye color, and possibly her freckles.

Mila's dark brown wig is long and curly with bangs. She has blue inset eyes with painted upper eyelashes, and a light brown complexion with a splattering of freckles across her nose and below the eyes.

Mila is dressed casually and comes with a bi-fold card that tells her story.

She wears a white long-sleeved T-shirt with "Doll Mom" printed on the upper left front and a centered image of a camera that corresponds with Mila's doll influencer/blogger story. Light blue pants and red flat shoes complete her outfit. An illustrated bi-fold card tells Mila's story and includes the sketch that inspired the doll's creation.

As illustrated next, an 8.25 x 11.5-inch sheet of paper with an outline of a blank doll was included in Mila's box for the new owner to create and submit a sketch of their dream doll with an additional sheet to write their own story.

A faintly visible sketch of a doll is included on the above sheet that accompanied Mila to encourage the doll's owner to "create a dream doll."

Ruby Red Toys also included a lined sheet of paper for the would-be doll designer to write their doll's story.

Other Create Your Dream Dolls are featured on both sides and on the back of Mila's box as illustrated below.

This side of Mila's box illustrates Summer, Clara, Erik, Marina, and Erin.

Tanya, Jeanette, Vicky, and Mila are on the opposite side panel.

All nine dolls in the Create Your Dream Doll series are on the back of the box with an invitation for other children to create their very own dream doll.

Mila's Story (from the story card)
Mila is a 13-year-old girl living in New York City. She is a doll collector and a doll influencer. She loves writing doll reviews on her blog and posting photos that she has taken of her doll around her inspiring city.

Mila wanted to share love of dolls in her blog. She is learning that what others think is weird about someone is what makes them unique. She is also learning that people should do what they love and not care about what others think because, at the end of the day, you should just be yourself!

Mila's story mimics mine, although I am an adult "doll mom" (doll enthusiast and doll historian) that some have labeled as an influencer. I am definitely a doll blogger, which is why I related to this doll and wanted to add Mila to my collection. Ruby Red Toys' recent free shipping offer also influenced the purchase. The current free shipping promotion ends on 12/03/23 (December 3, 2023).

According to the front of Mila's story card, the doll's design and story are by Mal from the United States. Young and old, we all have a right to be our authentic selves without considering what others think about us as long as what we do is legal and doesn't cause anyone harm. Additionally, while we are being ourselves, we should avoid judging others for doing the same thing as long as the aforementioned no-harm conditions exist.

Of note, the Create Your Dream Dolls can wear Ruby Red Siblies' clothes and shoes.

Below, Mila poses with Kelsey (a Siblie) and the rest of the Ruby Red dolls that live here, but first...

...Mila wanted to share my discovery that her feet are sculpted to accommodate sandals.

Mila poses with Kelsey from the Ruby Red Siblies collection. Even though Mila is shorter, she can wear Kelsey's clothes. Kelsey can wear sandals, too.

The entire Ruby Red dolls in my collection are from L-R James, Mila, Kelsey, and By the Sea Maya and her cloth doll.

James and Maya are from the higher-end Ruby Red Fashion Friends collection. Maya, whose wig and shoes have been changed, was introduced at the 73rd UFDC Convention in 2021. James and Maya are 14 inches tall with nine points of articulation. Mila has the usual five points of articulation only. Kelsey is 12 inches tall and also has nine points of articulation.

The Ruby Red gang posed for this final photo.

Related Links

Create Your Dream Doll Mila's Buy Page

Create Your Dream Dolls (All)

By the Sea Maya

Kelsey's Introduction

James's Introduction

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Sunday, November 26, 2023

Black Dolls Segment on CBS Saturday Morning

Video screen capture of HBCYoU and Naturalistas dolls from a CBC Mornings video

From the CBS Morning Facebook page, "Along with being fun, science shows dolls aid a child's social and emotional development, which is a reason there's a push to manufacture more diverse dolls. Michelle Miller has more on the efforts to make sure there are dolls available to reflect different backgrounds."

View the video of the segment on black dolls that aired on CBS Saturday Morning this past Saturday, November 25, 2023.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Thursday, November 23, 2023

Thanksgiving

Many Americans celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday on the last Thursday in November. If you are among this group. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. Some Native Americans, view the "holiday" differently, particularly members of the Wampanoag tribe, and other indigenous Americans, who observe the Day of Mourning instead.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Doll Purchases in Review Part 6

The above dolls and a doll-related item were purchased on eBay between July 27, 2021, and August 5, 2021.

Silkstone 45th Anniversary Barbie's Costume

Because secondary prices of the Silkstone 45th Anniversary Barbie are through the roof, I opted to buy the doll's outfit and redress one of my dolls for a fraction of the cost. Read about the chosen doll and see photos of her redressed in the costume here.

A pair of brown flat eyes were purchased on July 29, 2021.

I don't remember which one of my dolls needed eyes, but if I recall correctly, these eyes were not the right size for the doll. I relisted the eyes on eBay and broke even.

Our Generation Read and Play Keisha

I collect dolls with books and wanted to add Our Generation Read and Play Keisha to my collection for that reason. I have also shared my dolls with books in exhibitions throughout my city. Several years have passed since my last such exhibit and it is quite doubtful that I'll ever do that again, but I'll never say never. I included Keisha in an October 2021 post about new and new-to-me dolls. Use the next five links to view posts that cover my last Dolls With Books exhibit.

Dolls with Books Exhibit Entry 1

Dolls with Books Exhibit Entry 2

Dolls with Books Exhibit Entry 3

Dolls with Books Exhibit Entry 4

Dolls with Books Exhibit Entry 5

Links to Previous Posts in This Series About Past Doll Purchases

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Part 5

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Friday, November 17, 2023

Mariah Carey Barbie - Update 1/3/24

Stock photo of the Mariah Carey Barbie

Update

The Mariah Carey Barbie is currently available on Amazon.

#ad

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Thursday, November 16, 2023

Pamela Be My BFF XL Family

XL Family dolls by Simba in a photo taken without the flash to eliminate flash glare resulted in a dark photo.

This is a follow-up to my post about the Steffi Love XL Family dolls. As it turns out, the doll set my brother purchased for me from Ollie's, that I thought was Steffi Love XL Family, is actually Pamela Be My BFF XL Family. Simba Toys obviously made different versions of the XL Family and named one set Steffi Love and the other Pamela Be my BFF.

The top layer of a portion of the box top is missing from my dolls' box.

The box is undated. So, it is difficult to determine the year the Pamela set was manufactured by the German toy manufacturer, Simba Toys. Based on the condition of the box, which includes shelfwear, the Pamela set might be older than the Steffi Love version. A portion of the top layer of the box top is missing, and there is a dent in the plastic covering— which my brother pointed out, "It was like that at the store." (In other words, he didn't do it.) None of this matters to me because all I wanted was an XL Family of four dolls—father, mother, son, and daughter. The different name and minor box imperfections are irrelevant.

This photo was taken with the Pamela Be My Best Friend XL Family box placed next to my 35-inch Patti Playpal to illustrate the height of the box.

The package size is rather unique. The box almost comes to my waist and measures about 39 inches tall. I don't know why I was somewhat shocked about the box's height when my brother handed the box to me. It has to be at least this tall to accommodate a family of two 11-1/2-inch dolls and two approximately 4-1/2-inch dolls that are positioned one above the other.

The following individual photos provide a closer look at each family member.

Pamela (mom) wears a pink, blue, and white floral-print dress with dark pink high-heel strappy shoes. She has brown straight hair and brown-painted eyes. Pamela wears nude lip color.

The daughter has straight brown hair and brown-painted eyes. She wears a cherry-print white dress and dark pink sandals.

The son has dark brown molded hair and brown painted eyes. He is dressed in a blue and white striped top with attached dark blue and white pants and white vinyl sneakers.

Dad wears a white T-shirt, khaki pants, and brown shoes. Like his son, he has dark brown molded hair and brown painted eyes.

Ollie's price tag includes the retail price.

The Ollie's price was $15.99. The sticker price indicates a retail cost of $19.99. Incidentally, Stacy Bailey-Ndiaye (who shared photos of her dolls for the previous post) paid $19.99 for her Steffi Love XL Family at a Love's Travel Stop (a gas station).

I am happy to now have Pamela Be My BFF XL Family and even happier that this doll set is no longer on my wish list.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Steffi Love XL Family

Steffi Love XL Family is a family of four dolls—Photograph courtesy of Stacy Bailey-Ndiaye of articulated pov on Instagram.

Until last week, I was still looking for the Steffi Love XL family that is sold at Ollie's, possibly at Roses, and other stores that carry dolls by Simba. Ollie's is not within my driving range and there isn't a Roses here.

Stacy Bailey-Ndiaye deboxed her dolls and granted permission for me to share this photograph.

Too few dolls that represent the nuclear Black family are manufactured. When they are made, fewer quantities often exist than the readily available white counterparts. Another factor that contributes to the scarcity is that black versions are not stocked in all stores that sell the white version, or the black dolls sell out first because of demand or low quantities. <Sigh>

A fellow collector offered to check her North Carolina Roses store where the XL family was not available, but the following two Steffi Love dolls were. She purchased these for me. Thank you, again, RJ.

This basic Steffi Love boxed doll has a brown curly Afro, painted-brown eyes, and a closed mouth with pale pink lip color. She wears a sleeveless purple and white striped dress and purple crossbody bag.

A close-up of the basic doll's face better illustrates her curly-textured hair, light-brown complexion, and facial features.

Steffi Love Sunshine Twins includes the 11-1/2-inch Steffi Love doll, two twins dressed in dark or light pink rompers, and a pink baby carriage. Also included are feeding accessories for the twins.

The Steffi Love doll in the twins' set has the same hair color and hairstyle as the basic and XL Family dolls. The twins are bald.

On Ollie's website, their store locator revealed two stores near my brother's residence. He lives in the next major city away from me. After agreeing to go to either store for me, he asked me to first call to see if either store had the black XL family in stock.

A cell phone photo taken at Ollie's shows one black Steffi Love XL Family and two white versions.

After calling the stores, I shared with my brother that the store closer to him only had the white family in stock. The other store had both versions but only one black XL family. Because they would not hold it at the counter for me at my request*, my brother literally stopped what he was doing and rushed to the store. While there, he texted me the above cell phone photo to make sure this was the one I wanted. The Steffi in this set has straight brown hair. I wanted the one with a curly Afro, but because I now have two other Steffi Loves with an Afro hairstyle, the straight-haired doll fulfills my desire for the black XL Family. (The daughter in the set I'll receive also has straight hair. The daughter's hair is loosely curled in the other black XL Family set.)

I told my brother not to make a special trip to bring me the doll. ("I'm not," he said.) He'll bring it the next time he comes to my city, and I will update this post with better pictures.

*The Ollie's associate I spoke with said they could not hold items at the register because they are a deep discount store where items are sold on a first-come, first-served basis, which I understood. Thank goodness for brothers/family who understand your passion and will help you on your doll searches when asked.

Related Posts

Steffi Love Dentist

Vintage Thrift Store Steffi Love

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Black Dolls in Ebony Magazine's 40th Anniversary Issue

Ebony magazine November 1985, 40th-anniversary edition

In November 1985, Ebony magazine published its 40th-anniversary magazine that features highlights from the 1945 through 1984 publications. The covers of these editions appear on the front cover and on the inside of the front cover.

Known for featuring dolls and toys in their November issues, "Black Toys: They've come a long way since 1945," is one of the last articles in this November 1985 issue. The article on black dolls is the reason I purchased this issue several years ago.

Scans from Google of the three-page article and two separate ads are included below. (If necessary, click to enlarge or stretch the images to enlarge.)

This full-page ad for Olmec's original super hero action figure, Sun-Man, precedes the first page of the "Black Toys" article.

1st Page of the Article

The opening paragraph of the article reads:

In 1945, the only little girls who had Black dolls were those lucky enough to have mothers, grandmothers or aunts who could sew and make rag dolls. It was almost impossible to go into a store in the U.S. and buy a Black doll. The result was that Black girls had to content themselves with hugging and cuddling blonde dolls.

The captions for the photos on the first page of the article read:

1) Today's Black girls can cuddle up to dolls that resemble them like the Sugar-n-Spice doll (above, l.), Huggy Bean (middle), Potpurri (foreground) and Little Tina (lying down).

2) "Sun-Man" series by Olmec Corp. (right) includes flexible heroic action figures designed specifically for the Black child.

2nd Page

The caption for the dolls on the second page of the article reads as follows:

Twins Keith and Keisha (left) are among the 30 Black dolls produced by the Keisha Doll Co. Keisha (foreground) sports a corn row hairstyle. Keith (rear) has an Afro.*

*The doll described as Keith in the caption above is actually a fashion doll by Tanline.

3rd Page

An embedded ad for Golden Ribbon Plaything's Huggy Bean and her pal Oni-Bean is on the final page of the article.

Shown below is an ad for boy and girl Kotton Kandy Kid dolls. This ad appears several pages before the "Black Toys" article in this issue of Ebony.

In 1985, Kotton Kandy Kid dolls could be ordered for $15 each plus shipping.

In addition to Black dolls, the "Black Toys" article discusses ride-on toys, board games, action figures, and other dolls and toys new to the market in 1985. Toys designed specifically for Black children and those who desired to purchase diverse playthings for their children were the focus of this article, which ends with the following statement.

Unlike Black children of 40 years ago, today's Black children needn't settle for dolls and games that ignore their heritage.

Related Reading

Ashanti Keisha Joins Cleopatra Keisha

Huggy Bean Doll Company

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Thursday, November 2, 2023

A Child's Doll, Gifted Twice

The former childhood doll of Ellen Gordon was a c. 1965 Christmas gift from Ellen's sister.

Meet Elle. She is a 14-inch handmade cloth doll that was the former childhood doll of Ellen Gordon. Ellen sent me the following message through Facebook Messenger, which outlines the doll's history and how "Elle" (the doll's new name) became part of my personal collection. With Ellen's permission, I am allowed to share the pertinent parts of our messages.

Hi, Debbie! Been enjoying your posts for a couple of years now. Quick question - would you have any interest in a handmade doll made c. 1965? My sister sewed it for me when I was little. She's not a sophisticated and detailed beauty, like many of the beautiful dolls you post, but I think she has her own charm.

And she's reflective of an exciting and (sadly) unjustifiably optimistic time in history when we thought things were changing rapidly and irreversibly. Black dolls were really not available then, and one Christmas my sister decided to address that shortage with her gift to me.

…I am downsizing to move, and feel it's time to let go of my dolls - LOL! She was much loved, and I'd be thrilled if she could find a home with someone who would enjoy having her.

(Of course, I accepted the offer, but I informed Ellen that I would need to redress the doll before installing it in DeeBeeGee’s Virtual Black Doll Museum.) In hindsight, redressing the doll was not really necessary because of the sentiment the doll holds, but that has been done, and I enjoyed every second of thought that went into completing the redressing task.

My Reply:

Hi Ellen. Thank you for letting me know you've enjoyed my posts. I love the background story about the doll your sister so lovingly made for you. I would love to accept her, even though I am also in the process of downsizing. If I accept her for the museum, I'd have to dress her. If you don't mind my doing that, let me know. Did you name her?

Ellen’s reply:

OH, I'm so glad! It means a lot to me that she will have a good home, and others can enjoy her.

Good luck with your downsizing - it's a TON of work…

As to this doll's back story… when I was a child I thought (I suppose like all children) that most families were like mine. Later I realized how wrong I was.

I have to laugh a little at how stereotypical we were in some ways of mid-century liberal progressive Jewish families, but I am very grateful to my parents for ensuring we were raised with an awareness of a larger world.

My parents were both products of the radical Eastern European Jewish of the '20s and '30s. They were extremely vested in the anti-war movement, the civil rights movement, the protest against atomic testing (and the resulting Strontium 90 in cow's milk), etc. I attended my first march against the Viet Nam war in my stroller. I remember helping my mother make protest signs for other actions when I was about 4 or 5…

Anyway, I guess my fondness for this doll relates to her connection with an optimistic and energizing time, when it seemed that tremendous progress was being made (and indeed it was), and radical social transformation was just around the corner (sadly, it wasn't).

Plus she's very sweet - I think my sister (about 13 or 14 at the time) did a really good job embroidering her face!

I'd be thrilled to have you dress her properly - I have no idea where her clothes vanished to. She will arrive in the panties (I think also handmade by my sister for her) and vintage doll sweater and socks (not original to her) that she has lived in for the past 55 years.

And, sadly, as I sit here and look at the line up of my beloved childhood toys - about a dozen dolls and bears I've kept all these years - it disturbs me that I cannot remember ANY of their names. That seems odd to me, but maybe not. Each of them had an imagined personality, a soul, to me, and I remember those, which I suppose are more important than their names.

Am I a crazy old lady? Perhaps! But I'm delighted for this doll to have a new home!

Just let me know where to send her, and I'll ship early next week. Thank you SO much! And thank you for the important (and fun!) work you have done in assembling such a wealth of historic dolls and information on them.

Elle's Redressing

After Elle arrived, redressing ensued, was completed, and photographs were taken for this blog post and for DeeBeeGee’s Virtual Black Doll Museum.

Elle was redressed in a floral-print pink dress and white lacey ankle socks. I added two pink ribbons to her hair. She insisted on keeping on her handmade red silk panties, which I gladly permitted.

This close-up of Elle's lovely embroidered face illustrates her continued happy disposition.

There was no question that Elle would continue wearing the vintage pink sweater. The charming sweater is the reason the pink dress was chosen for her.

Elle's redressing was completed with the addition of white patent leather shoes.

I am thrilled to have Elle in my collection and as a permanent installation in DeeBeeGee’s Virtual Black Doll Museum even though as Ellen wrote, “She's not a sophisticated and detailed beauty, like many of the beautiful dolls you post, but I think she has her own charm.” I concur wholeheartedly.

Thank you again, Ellen, for your willingness to part with Elle and for choosing me as her new human. She is truly a special gift that represents the important roles childhood dolls play as comforters, companions, confidantes, and secret keepers for the humans (young and old) who own them.

After 6 a.m. CST on 11/3/23, view/read Elle’s museum installation here.

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Pages

Thursday, November 30, 2023

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Sunday, November 26, 2023

Thursday, November 23, 2023

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Friday, November 17, 2023

Thursday, November 16, 2023

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Thursday, November 2, 2023