The Grandma Doll by Marilyn Bloodworth

The Grandma Doll by Marilyn Bloodworth

To support Marilyn (The Dollmaker) Bloodworth's, most recent dollmaking initiative, I preordered one of her 12-inch plush Grandma dolls, which arrived recently. (Including the hair, my doll measures 14 inches.)

This unique doll has fluffy gray hair, embroidered eyes, brown felt eyeglasses with an attached pearl eyeglass chain, and wears a multicolored full-length sleeveless dress, a removable yellow velour jacket, and stitched-on black shoes. To add authenticity, Grandma has stitched forehead wrinkles.

Grandma stands (with support) in this photo.

Grandma sits in this photo.

Grandma appears stylish with or without the yellow jacket.

The Grandma doll is available in two complexions. Visit the website for more details and ordering information. 

 

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

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

__________

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I Am Honored

I am an associate member of the Motor City Doll Club of Detroit (MCDC). MCDC is a United Federation of Doll Clubs, Inc. (UFDC) affiliated member. Each year a selection of UFDC members are nominated by fellow members for their service to UFDC and/or to the doll community.

I have received two or three UFDC Award nominations from MCDC and several years ago from the late Lillian Bartok for my service to the doll community (my black-doll reference books, article contributions to UFDC's Doll News, and other periodicals), and most recently for my work on the Virtual Black Doll Museum. My past nominations did not result in awards. (I discussed this with my sister last week. She called me the Susan Lucci of UFDC award nominations.) Through persistence, however, Sharon nominated me again this year.

On the evening of 07/23/2024, Sharon called me from Kansas City, Missouri at the 75th Annual UFDC Convention Opening Ceremonies. She asked me to "listen to something." There was a lot of background noise, but I heard the speaker reading the mission statement of DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum and I realized I was being awarded!

Sharon asked if I heard what was said and confirmed that I received a UFDC Award of Excellence. Shocked, overjoyed, and truly grateful were the mixture of emotions I felt as my eyes welled up, and through tears, the audience heard me express my gratitude through the speaker of Sharon's cell phone. Sharon accepted the award in my absence. UFDC Region 15 Director Jeri Robinson took the following photos and emailed them to me minutes after the award was accepted. (Thank you, again, Jeri!)

Sharon Harbin, president of the Motor City Doll Club, accepted my UFDC, Inc. Educational Endeavors Through Dolls Award. (Photo courtesy of Jeri Robinson)

This is Jeri Robinson's photograph of the award.

Sharon Harbin holds the award while Barbara Stone (past President of UFDC) looks on.

Sharon mailed the award to me which arrived exactly one week later enclosed in a black gift box.

I photographed the award after it arrived.

As a recipient of such a highly regarded award, I am grateful and honored. (I know Lillian Bartok would be just as grateful because she too believed in the importance of preserving black dolls as illustrations of how African American identity has evolved with time.)

Special thanks to Sharon Harbin and my fellow Motor City Doll Club members who always stood in agreement with Sharon's nominations. I give further thanks to Barbara Stone and everyone who played a role in blessing me with this honor. 

To learn more about UFDC, Inc.'s Awards of Excellence, visit the following link where the nomination form is posted as a PDF and explains each award category.

UFDC, Inc. Awards of Excellence

Related Link

Notecard Memory Leads to Discovery

©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!

Down Syndrome Barbie Unboxed

Down Syndrome Barbie's box before unboxing

Recently, I became aware of two other collectors whose Down Syndrome Barbies arrived damaged from Amazon. My doll was purchased from Target, but I wanted to know if it was defective.

The following unboxing video reveals my doll's condition.

Before the unboxing, this doll was photographed for an installation in DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum. View the installation here.

©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!