Joy Kruselings by Sonja Hartmann for Käthe Kruse

Joy Kruselings, designed by Sonja Hartmann exclusively for Käthe Kruse

The Kruselings are 9-inch tall vinyl articulated dolls with 13 flexible joints.  Designed by Sonja Hartmann for Käthe Kruse, they are sold individually dressed in everyday clothes or in a deluxe set, which includes a fairy-dressed doll and an extra everyday fashion and accessories.  Of the five girls, Joy has the deepest complexion.

Joy Kruselings Deluxe Set

The individual doll was priced $27.99 and the deluxe was $44.99.  In order for Joy to have an extra everyday fashion (which differs from the individually sold doll's fashion), I purchased the deluxe set, which includes a school girl fashion.

Joy has brown inset eyes and light brown curly hair that extends below her waist.

Joy's fairy dress is pink with graduated pink layered skirt embellished with crystals.  The skirt has a ribbon belt.  The bodice has a red heart-shaped gem sewn to the V-neck.   She wears white cotton undies.  The plastic wings are also pink which clamp onto her shoulders and are removable.  The top of the Kruselings booklet, which is attached to the back panel of the box, can be seen in the above picture on the lower left.

With her fairy dress, Joy wears dark pink vinyl boots that have white mock laces and white soles.

The extra school girl fashion includes a white short-sleeved T-shirt with Kruse on the front, a red letter jacket with a forward and a backward K on the front, a dark blue denim skirt, and a red cloth shoulder bag with the same double K logo on the front.

Also included with the extra fashion are a red headband, red earphones, red hairbrush, red socks, and white vinyl low-top sneakers.

The back of Joy's box shares the Kruselings' story in five different languages.

The Kruseling's story in five languages is better illustrated above.

In English, the story reads:

For a hundred years there had been peace in Dreamland, when suddenly monsters emerged from the Sea of Dreams and upset everything.  Summoned by a glowing red heart, the great Fire Opal, five brave girls were sent out to save the dreams of the world.  They are Luna, Vera, Chloe, Sofia, and Joy. 

Drawings of the Kruselings are also on the back of the box.  Shown above, they are Sofia, Vera, Luna, Joy, and Michael, the lone boy.

Joy's introduction text is on the back of the box in five languages.

In English, Joy's introduction reads:

Hi! I'm Joy from New York, U.S.A.  I love to sing and dance.  With my magic headphones, I can listen in on secrets and fill dreams with music.

As illustrated above, one side panel of Joy's box bears a drawing of her, her name, and Käthe Kruse below it.  The other side panel has the word Kruselings written sideways, Joy's name, and Käthe Kruse below that.

Joy's 13 points of articulation include the usual five (head, arms at shoulders, legs at hips).  Additionally, her elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles are articulated.

This nice quality, moderately price doll is my first Sonja Hartmann-designed doll which was purchased from TheToyShoppe.com after viewing her in their most recent catalog.  I tried, but I could not resist this purchase.

Note:  The Kruselings are also available on Amazon with free shipping if you are a Prime member.

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Once Upon A Time...

... when I had more patience, I'd do things like braid a doll's hair like I did for Joy.

Joy by Sylvia Natterer for Gotz, 1990s, originally had bone straight hair that hung loose.

Joy is an 18-inch, all-vinyl, string-jointed doll with painted eyes by Sylvia Natterer for Gotz from the 1990s.  Made in Germany, Joy arrived with bone straight, rooted hair with a side wisp of curls for bangs.  I visualized her with multiple microbraids and made that visualization a reality shortly after she arrived during the late 1990s, having been purchased from an out-of-state doll dealer, Lane's Collectibles, I believe.   I did not take before pictures of Joy's hair prior to braiding it several years ago.  In the following photos of a photo from page 390 of Myla Perkins' doll reference (Black Dolls an Identification and Value Guide Book II), the black and white image might offer an idea of how Joy's hair was styled originally.

Several years after Joy's arrival, I found another Natterer/for Gotz doll deeply discounted at Tuesday Morning. 

Cathy is another string-jointed, all-vinyl doll with painted eyes by Sylvia Natterer.  She is from 2003 and stands 17-1/2-inches tall.

Cathy and Joy have been display buddies since Cathy's arrival.  I recently reconnected with the two after adding another similar size doll to their display shelf.  It was then that I decided to free them from the shelf temporarily for photographing and sharing here.

Cathy and Joy pose for a photo together.

Both dolls wear their original fashions and shoes.  Prior to returning them to the shelf, I replaced a couple of Joy's beads, which fell to the floor when I retrieved her.   Both girls are now back on display. 



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