Mother's Day Doll

One of my Mother's Day gifts arrived in a reusable cotton backpack.

I asked for and received Nines d'Onil's Pippa for Mother's Day from my daughter. Pippa arrived in a cotton backpack. Nines d'Onil's beautiful logo is on the front of the backpack. 

Pippa has green inset eyes.

She is an adorable 12-inch all-vinyl vanilla-scented doll with rooted brown curly-textured hair and green inset eyes. 

Pippa is a cutie patootie!

Her adorable Nines d'Onil original tagged dress features my favorite color (peach), and her lace-up light green shoes are real leather! 

Pippa has the usual 5 points of articulation. A version with articulated elbows and knees is available. 

No attention to detail was missed in Pippa's creation, but quality is a trademark for most dolls made in Spain. I love her so much that I purchased her brother, Pippo. 

Pippa's brother, Pippo, was shipped in a plastic bag (no box). My daughter said Pippa arrived this way, too. Thank goodness the mail handlers did not damage them.

Pippo was inside a bubble-wrapped clear plastic bag inside the blue plastic mailer.

He arrived less than a week after Mother's Day and is just as adorable as his sister. 

Pippo and his dog

Just look at that adorable face. Yes, I had to have him, too.

Pippo, also 12 inches tall, has twisted strands of reddish-brown yarn hair, brown inset eyes, a pug nose like his sister's, and an adorable smile. 

Pippo wears a tan and white striped knit shirt underneath a peach, white, and tan checkered shirt; blue jeans, and green leather lace-up shoes like his sister's.

He and his sister display well together, as illustrated next. 

Pippo, his dog, and his sister

Here is a close-up of the too-cute fraternal twins.

********

12-inch and 9-inch Mia arrived in December 2024 and in February 2025.

Nine d'Onil's Mia, in two sizes, preceded Pippa and Pippo's arrival. Between the two sculpts, Pippa and Pippo are my favorite.

Mia, Mia, Pippo, Pippo's Dog, and Pippa are seen in a group photo.

In a Muñecas, Poupees, and Dolls unboxing video, Allison Hernandez used the Spanish pronunciation, "nee-nez" for Nines and said her Spanish-speaking husband translates Nines d'Onil to Children of Onil.  Pippa and Pippo are not included in Allison's video, which might have been recorded before they were released. 

 

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All photos and text are copyrighted and cannot be used elsewhere unless permission is granted by the author.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

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

__________

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Mia by Nines d'Onil

Mia by Nines d'Onil

Mia by Nines d'Onil is a 12-inch all-soft-vinyl doll made in Spain. This slightly vanilla-scented doll is so funny-looking to me that she's cute. 

A full-view photograph of Mia was taken after she arrived.

Mia arrived wearing only panties to which a mini brochure of Nines d'Onil's doll collection was attached.

This is the front of the mini brochure.

This is the back of the Nines d'Onil brochure.

Before Mia arrived, I knew I would dress her for Christmas, and I had a Christmas sweater (wine bottle cover) in mind.

A selection of Christmas sweater wine bottle covers were considered as clothes for Mia.

My sweater ornaments have small neck hole openings that could have posed a dressing problem. Fortunately, Mia's soft vinyl head pops off easily. However, none of my wine bottle covers suited Mia or me, but a Santa jacket ornament that was a gift from a doll friend a few years ago worked. 

Mia wears a Santa jacket ornament.

With her head off and her arms lowered, I squeezed Mia's body into the Santa jacket ornament, which only has a head and hemline opening. Next, I was able to shift each arm into its respective armhole. I found lacy white socks and vintage black doll shoes that fit her wide feet. 

Mia holds a Christmas stocking.

A close-up of Mia's stocking better illustrates it.

Mia holds a knit Christmas stocking and looks quite adorable, in my opinion.

She even looks cute from a rear view.

Mia is now in a holiday display with two Matunda Ya Kwanzaa Father Santas.

Mia has now been incorporated into this year's Christmas decor. 

Nines d'Onil makes 9-inch versions of Mia. If I find one with brown-textured hair, Mia will get a little sister. Until then, she will remain an only child of this brand.
__________

All photos and text are copyrighted and cannot be used elsewhere unless permission is granted by the author.

©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!

Zuri and Kadi by Marula

Zuri and Kadi by Marula Dolls

Meet 18-inch all-vinyl, lightly vanilla-scented Zuri and Kadi by Marula Dolls. These all-vinyl dolls made in Spain arrived in a high-quality green box with the company's name, MARULA, on the front. The vinyl is very sturdy, similar to vinyl artist dolls.

The dolls arrived in individual green heavyweight cardboard boxes inside another slide-out box.

Zuri has a light caramel complexion while Kadi's complexion is slightly deeper.

Zuri and Kadi have brown inset eyes with applied upper eyelashes. Zuri has black curly hair with a side-swept bang. Kadi has brown natural-textured, 4C hair with a side part. 

Zuri and Kadi are seen in an out-of-the-box full-length photo.

These moderately priced dolls ($59.99 each at the time of my purchase) are reduced to $47.99 for Amazon Prime Day--the buy links are below. They wear a nicely sewn blue peasant-style crop top with an elasticized waist and a two-tiered matching skirt, white panties, and white lace-up canvas sneakers.

The dolls' hang tag text describes the company's product strategy:

At Marula, we believe that every child is a precious gift, just like the superfruit of the Marula tree. Full of unlimited potential and natural beauty, every child deserves to be celebrated and empowered to become their best selves. 

That's why we've crafted our dolls thoughtfully, ensuring that they honor and reflect the wide range of skin tones, hair textures, and cultural backgrounds that make each child unique. Our dolls are more than just toys, they are companions that help children build positive self-image, empathy, and confidence. Playing with our dolls, your child can learn to appreciate and love themselves for who they are, dream big, and reach for the stars.

Zuri and Kadi arrived in April 2024 and remained in their huge shipping box until the second week of July. Why did I leave them in the unopened shipping box so long? I had planned to part with one of the dolls, and I had to find a place in the doll room to display the other. Later, I decided to keep both, which is when their boxes were finally opened. 

Because of their high quality, an installation in DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum is planned, but I wanted to share them here first. A third doll, Eden, with a lighter complexion is also available. 

Follow the links to the Amazon buy pages:

Kadi

Zuri

Eden

©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!

Carlota Collection by Vestida de Azul

These two are Sarabi and Omar by Vestida de Azul of Spain

In January of 2020, I ordered three dolls from the Carlota Collection by Vestida de Azul.  They were ordered from Diversal in Spain*.  The dolls are all 11 inches (28 cm) tall and made of soft vinyl. 

Sarabi

Sold as a special edition, Sarabi arrived in a plastic bag wearing only white undies.  At the time of purchase, I ordered the Sunflower set and a pair of white sandals that are shown in the above image with her.  With brown stationary inset eyes, applied upper eyelashes, and black rooted hair styled in one Afro puff, Sarabi is precious!

The Sunflower set includes a pair of white panties, which will serve as an extra pair for her.  She tried on the floral-print dress with the sandals before adding the yellow jacket.

Sarabi is fully dressed in the Sunflower set and separately-sold white sandals.

Next, Sarabi's ears were pierced with size 17 (1-1/16-inch) yellow quilting pins that she wears as stud earrings.

Omar

Omar was also sold as a special edition nude doll and optionally as a dressed doll with a box as shown above.  The clothes the dressed doll wears were sold separately, too, but I opted to buy the dressed doll which was more cost-effective than purchasing individual pieces.

It was very easy to remove Omar from the box.  He was attached to the liner at the neck with only a rubber band and fastener.

He is happy to be freed from the box.

Omar wears a mustard sports outfit that includes a sleeveless hooded jacket that has the number two on his lower right.  The pants are rolled up at the knees.  He wears a white short-sleeve shirt that has images of various trees on it.  His white faux leather shoes have strips of tan and red elastic across the vamp.  Omar has a Vestida de Azul hangtag.

Like Sarabi, Omar has brown stationary eyes but without applied eyelashes.  He has rooted black curly hair.

Omar wears the hood of his jacket in the final photo of him with his sister, Sarabi.

Don't they look adorable together?

Umi

A third doll was included in the order. Her name is Umi.  She was purchased as a several months' early August birthday gift for a friend who collects Asian dolls.

Umi is also by Vestida de Azul.  She wears a yellow shorts set.

Umi has black rooted hair styled in two side ponytails with bangs.  She has dark brown inset eyes and applied upper eyelashes.

I photographed Umi while she was still in the box, as illustrated above.  Her prototype photo can be viewed here.  I am sure she will be loved in her new home where there are several dolls that look like her as well as others that do not.

*The dolls, as indicated were ordered in January from Diversal's website.  Due to a language barrier, I had a tremendous amount of difficulty ordering and communicating with the company to resolve the ordering issue (an apparent website glitch).  Their site would not accept any of my credit cards, although credit card options were available.  While the site indicates they accept Paypal, a Paypal link was not available for me.  Frustrated yet determined, I placed the order and chose the option to wire the payment to them, which I had no plans to ever do. After they contacted me to request the wire transfer, I explained the ordering difficulty to them once again and requested a Paypal invoice.  Instead, I was given their Paypal email address to remit payment. (The things we do for dolls.)

The dolls arrived during the first week of February taking about three weeks to travel.  I delayed publishing this post from February until now because I did not want Umi's recipient (an avid reader of this blog) to see her and possibly venture off to purchase the doll for herself.  :-)

About Vestida de Azul
While their dolls might resemble dolls made by other companies (Paola Reina, specifically), Vestida Azul uses their own molds. Another site that carries their brand describes the dolls and their decision to make them in the 11-inch (28cm) size as follows:

The young doll brand Vestida de Azul was born in Castalla (Alicante) in 2012. The factory arose from the need of its owner Pedro Guirao to reinvent its business after some of the doll factories to which he manufactured shoes for, were forced to close due to the 2008 economic crisis.

The name "Vestida de Azul” (Dressed in Blue) is due to the popular song that bears the same name and that tells the story of a doll that caught a cold for going for a walk.

From the beginning they were very clear about the concept of dolls they wanted to make. They wanted mannequin dolls that represented girls, but also that were smaller in size compared to those that existed at the time on the market. This is how they became the first manufacturers to bet on 28 cm mannequin dolls, a size that doll users were not used to but that became a trend over time.

Vestida de Azul injected novelty into the market. Many say that the formula that has led them to success is a unique combination of enthusiasm, quality and courage. Its new and innovative designs began to rapidly gain ground outside of Spain, making the Carlota doll its star product among collectors and consumers for its marked uniqueness.

Nowadays their toys are characterized by a high level of quality and detail, not only on their dolls but also in their clothing and accessories. They have a wide variety of dolls and babies that will surely steal your heart and that you will always want to take with you. (Dolls and Dolls)

At the time I purchased these Carlota dolls, the Dolls and Dolls website referenced above did not carry the dolls I wanted to purchase. Purchasing from them is hopefully less problematic than what I experienced with Diversal.

dbg


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

Sharif is a 22-inch doll by Paola Reina, a Spain-based doll company.  I love almost most everything about her, especially her luscious lips.  I have often contemplated redressing Sharif to replace her fancy sage green dress with something more casual.  The last consideration about doing this ended with a plan to only replace her shoes with a larger pair because her feet appear too small for her body.  This is the one thing I dislike about Sharif's construct.

Because she arrived during the time I was writing The Doll Blogs:  When Dolls Speak, I Listen, I included her commentary in that publication.  It reads as follows:

Saturday, March 21, 2009   Yesterday, the mail carrier left a notice on the mailbox of an attempt to deliver a package that required Debbie’s signature.  She thought it was the Obama body that she purchased to use with the extra head included with the Obama action figure purchased in February.  She was pleasantly surprised to see the huge shipping carton when she picked me up today because she knew I was in the box.  She could hardly wait to get home to tear open the box and almost went home before finishing some of her Saturday morning errands.  She decided to complete the errands first.  After removing me from my box, Debbie was a little disappointed because one of my eyelashes was about to fall off.  After she glued it back in place and combed my thick, brown, rooted hair, which became tousled during my trip, she admired my very broad facial features. 

My nose reminds her of hers, except mine is wider.  My lips, which are a little pouty are distinctly Africanoid and lusciously beautiful to Debbie.  She mistakenly was told that I am all vinyl, when in reality my body is brown cloth.  My arms are all vinyl and the vinyl in my legs extends to just above my knees.  I will probably need a saddle stand for support.  Debbie likes my dress, but thinks my feet look a little small for my 22-inch (55.88cm) height.  She loves me, nonetheless, including my vanilla-flavored scent. 

Having traveled from Spain, where I was made by Paola Reina (a doll company), to England, where I was sold by NubiDollz.com, I am happy to be in America now. 

Love, Sharif

In addition to thoughts of redressing Sharif, I have also wanted to share her provenance with the readers of this blog.  Each time I have read a comment to my posts from Thammie the Dollmaker, who owns at least one doll like Sharif, I have been reminded of the need to do this.  Consider it done!  Now I must find larger shoes for this lovely girl.

 dbg

♥Jazlin and James♥

Jazlin and James, photo courtesy of fellow collector, Dawn

Fellow doll collector, Dawn, shared the photo on the left of Jazlin and James, 14-inch anatomically correct, all-vinyl dolls made in Spain.  Jazlin and James are two of the 34 dolls purchased by Harpo Studios from Pattycake Doll Company that were used on several recent episodes of  Iyanla Fix My Life.  Even though I no longer collect baby dolls, I am so impressed with their actual appearance that I am quite tempted to order a pair for myself.  Prior to purchasing James (before discovering Jazlin), Dawn wrote, I believe this doll is going to be talked about years from now like the black doll used in the [Doll Test] color experiment.

I too believe the dolls will become historically significant, but more than that, I think they are precious!  I find their ethnically correct facial features quite impressive.  It is apparent the doll maker took extra measures to ensure the dolls look authentically black.

When browsing the Pattycake Doll Company's website, after publishing a previous post about this pair, I saw another doll that interests me because she looks like a real little girl.  Her name is Kayla.  See her here. 

Kudos to the makers of these dolls and to Pattycake Doll Company for offering them and so many other multicultural dolls from which parents can choose for their children, ages newborn and up.  Their store is proof that dolls for all children are available if you know where to look.


Thanks again Dawn!

(Jazlin and James are $34.99 each.) 

dbg

Dolls Featured on Recent Episodes of Iyanla Fix My Life

If you have watched this season of Iyanla Fix My Life (IFML), which airs on Saturday evenings on OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network), you have probably seen the 34 dolls used to represent a man's 34 children fathered by 17 different women (shown in the above Youtube video.)

Someone asked if I knew the source of the dolls.  I knew they were dolls made in Spain and thought of a United Kingdom doll source I have used in the past that carries similar dolls, Nubidollz.com.   Then I recalled the various multicultural dolls offered through the Patty Cake Doll Company and there they were complete with a proud acknowledgement by the company that they supplied the dolls to OWN.

So if you too wondered about the source of the 34 dolls with ethnically correct facial features seen on IFML, wonder no more. 

Four of  the dolls can be seen at the following links:

James
Jazlyn
Little Sanjay
Little Shanti

To view all categories of dolls offered by The Patty Cake Doll Company, visit their home page.


dbg

Nitey-Nite Baby Finds New US Home...

... without even trying.

Nitey-Nite Baby was made in Spain by Famosa during the  late 1980s.  I added this 21-inch vinyl doll that has a soft cloth body to my collection during the mid 1990s after responding to an advertisement in Collectors United (CU), a monthly periodical of doll ads. 

Oh how I used to wait with bated breath for each monthly Collectors United to arrive.  After it arrived, I would stop, drop, and read each ad in hopes of locating a coveted Black doll to add to my collection.  My monthly long-distance phone bill was enormous after calling several American households in response to their Black-doll ads.  As my fingers did the dialing, I hoped the doll I desired was still available.  Often it was.  Nitey-Nite Baby is one such doll.  I first saw her in Myla Perkins' book, Black Dolls:  An Identification and Value Guide 1820-1991.  Like so many of the others in Perkins' book, I wanted her.

My monthly activity of scouring doll periodicals took place prior to my Internet access.  At that time, there was no eBay, no doll web sites to browse, or other instantaneous doll-buying access.  For doll buying, I relied on periodicals like CU, Master Collector, doll magazine ads, doll dealers with whom I had established a buyer's relationship, the now defunct HSN doll shows, and QVC's doll shows.

After recently deciding to sell some of my early doll acquisitions, beginning with large baby dolls, Nitey-Nite Baby was on a mental list of possible dolls to sell.  I had not yet decided to list her on eBay or use any other source to immediately sell this doll until I received an email from an eBay doll forum member requesting doll ID assistance.  It is still a mystery how the forum member found me. 

She wrote:

Hi Debbie,

A young woman posted to the eBay Doll Board yesterday about her search for her beloved childhood doll. So far we have been unable to identify the doll for her. It is indeed presumptuous to contact you, but I would very much like to see this girl find her doll again. Perhaps you could take a peek at her photo. I have attached her picture, but if you are as afraid as attachments as I am, her link is on her post.

Thank you,

JL

This is the image JL shared .  I immediately knew the doll was Famosa's Nitey-Nite Baby and sent JL a reply with the doll's ID.  She agreed to post this information to the forum in hopes that the person seeking this doll would read the updated post.  I as well posted a followup with a link to a past blog that features my Nitey-Nitey Baby and other dolls from Spain.  

Within a few days, I received an email from the young woman, Alina, thanking me for providing the doll's name.  She asked me to let her know if I ever decided to sell my doll.  She reassured me she would provide a good home for her and would not trust anyone with her like she did when she was 10.  Alina did not go into specifics about what happened to her long lost doll, but I can only imagine.  I promised her I would offer my doll to her if I decided to sell it.

A few days after our email communication, I stumbled upon another forum that contained a post with Alina's plea for help identifying her doll.  This post was made one day prior to JL's email to me.  It included pictures of Alina with her doll, and a screen shot of the same doll featured in "The Getaway" episode of the Cosby Show.  The plea along with the additional pictures melted my heart.  It was then that I knew my Nitey-Nite Baby needed to be the one to replace Alina's childhood doll.  

Nitey-Nite Baby and Alina have been reunited for several days now.  After the doll arrived to her new home, Alina addressed the following email to me:

Hi,

I received Nitey-Nite Baby today. She is beautiful and exactly the way I remember her. Thank you so much for letting me purchase her. I am so excited to enjoy her for many years to come.

Wishing you all the best,

Alina T.

---

I have since watched this Cosby Show episode. The doll is only shown for a split second. I wondered how in the world Alina recognized it as the doll she owned as a child, but then I realized, a "mother" knows her "child."

Alina, who often watches syndicated episodes of The Cosby Show, didn't realize her doll was featured on the show until recently.  As she watched "The Getaway," she shared, "I looked up at the TV and there she was in the box Olivia was carrying. I think I about broke down in tears. I have been searching for my childhood doll for years so I was extremely excited to see her on one of my favorite shows. Thank God for DVR cause I quickly paused and recorded the episode to show my mom. That is the first time in 15 years that I had seen my doll."

If you would like to watch the episode of The Cosby Show that fueled Alina's doll search and find, it is available in two parts on Youtube.  Nitey-Nite Baby is in Part 1 at 0:55 seconds, but don't blink because you might miss her.  Amazingly, Alina didn't.