Black Doll Collecting

Thursday, April 15, 2021

Connecting People with Art

I am with Barbara Whiteman in this 2005 photograph taken at the Philadelphia International Black Doll Show.

In 2005 at the Philadelphia International Black Doll Show, Barbara Whiteman, the show host, introduced me to Mercer Redcross, III. Mr. Redcross co-founded the October Gallery in Philadelphia, PA. It was a chance meeting. Barbara and I were chatting when Mr. Redcross approached us.

After introducing us, Barbara mentioned my book, The Definitive Guide to Collecting Black Dolls. Mr. Redcross then told me about the book he and his wife, Evelyn Redcross, were writing and publishing, Connecting People with Art (Contemporary African American Art). During that chance meeting, Redcross asked, and I agreed to include my collector's profile in his publication. At the time, I could not connect dolls with art or why he wanted my collector's profile in his book, but I followed through.

As soon as I returned home from the doll show, I wrote the profile and submitted it to Mr. Redcross. The submission included photos of a selection of dolls from my collection and a photograph of me surrounded by several dolls.

Connecting People with Art, first edition, is a 502-page hardcover book.

Published in November 2006, Connecting People with Art "reveals [the authors'] stories and numerous art adventures, as well as it chronicles the experiences of many others whom they met along the way." (https://www.amazon.com/Connecting-People-Art-African-American/dp/0979065518)

On April 7, 2021, I received an email inquiry from a woman seeking assistance with research on the history of Black dolls. While searching online for articles for her to read, I was surprised to find in the search results a YouTube video uploaded on March 28, 2021, by October Gallery. The video is a narration of my collector's profile from the book, Connecting People with Art. October Gallery incorporated photos from the Internet into the video as well as photographs that I submitted with my profile.

View the video below or at this link:

Dolls are three-dimensional expressions of art that connect people.

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

15% Off at Pack Turtle

I received a personal thank you from Cheryl Overby at Packturtle.com for mentioning and linking to their business in my recent post about the Barbie Fashion Pens they had in stock. At the time of this writing, only the Caucasian pen remains in stock, but they are hopeful about replenishing the stock of the others.

As a gesture of her gratitude, Ms. Overby gave me a personal 15% off discount code, and for the readers of this blog, she offered the coupon code, BDCR15 for 15% of your first order with Packturtle; and on your first visit to the site, you can also put your email address into the welcome pop-up to get another 10% off to use later.

Thank you, Ms. Overby.

Here is a search link for "doll," but there might be other items on the site that interest you.

While browsing the site, I noticed a special 30% off on close-out items good through April 18, 2021. Link to those items here.

Happy browsing and shopping at Packturtle.com.

Black Doll Enthusiast

Friday, April 9, 2021

Barbie Fashion Doll Pen Maya (Barbie)

Barbie Fashion Doll Pen

Twice within the same week, I saw photos of the Maya (Barbie) Fashion Doll Pen. I was initially directed to a seller on Walmart's website, who offered three different Barbie pens, but I did not have the ability to choose the one I desired without taking extra steps to inform the seller which one I wanted.

I then searched Google and found the pens on the Pack Turtle website (find the link below).

After the pen arrived, I was surprised by the articulated head and arms. The legs are frozen. The medium-point black ink pen is functional, as expected, but it would be a little clumsy to write with, I think. The removable pink Barbie signature base serves as a stand when the pen is not in use.

I took several photos of the pen, which are shared below:

The doll pen is shown on the side panel of the box.

An illustration of how the pen writes is included on the back of the box along with smaller images of all three versions, which include a blonde and a tan brunette.

The other side panel illustrates several different Barbies.

The clothing and shoes are molded on. The dress and the necklace are reminiscent of those worn by Barbie Fashionista #80 Cheerful Check.

The head sculpt and hairstyle are also like Cheerful Check's.

The check design of the molded-on dress extends to the back.

In this photo, the pen has been removed from the Barbie signature base.

Here is a link to Pack Turtle's buy page for the Barbie Fashion Doll Pens made by Super Impulse Limited with the copyright year of 2018. After you cart the pen shown on the buy page (the tan brunette), use the drop-down menu to select the actual pen you desire to purchase. (This doll's name is shown as Maya in the menu.) Quantities were low at the time this post was scheduled to publish.

Black Doll Enthusiast

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