This is not a membership card!

The BFC club renewals go on sale 2/9/2011 at 9AM PST. That's Noon next Wednesday here in New York. There are 7,500 slots open and according to Mattel, last year's club sold out.  For one week 2010 members will have priority to renew. Then on February 16, 2011 membership is open to any registered member of BarbieCollector.com.
To those who wonder, this is what you get:

• The opportunity to purchase BFMC® Ekaterina™ Barbie® doll (one per member, while supplies last*) and three other Club-exclusive dolls (limited quantities, while supplies last**)
• Up to $80 in BarbieCollector.com Online Shop rewards – $20 per calendar quarter***
• A snap-closure photo key ring, embossed with the new Barbie Fan Club logo
• Designer Chats, sneak peeks and surprises, downloadable goodies, Fun Facts, doll community "celebrity" features, and so much more!

 I'm wondering if we will be able to use our first $20. coupon towards Ekaterina. I have a feeling that the answer is no.


I will be getting this Twilight doll because of her outfit. There's really nothing else in the line-up that appeals to me besides the redhead Ekaterina and the ridiculously expensive Silkstone Darya. And that's OK.

The Twilight Saga Eclipse Jane $24.95. Available now.

Mattel sent out email to all members of Barbie Fan Club showing two sneaks of actual dolls and a drawing of another. The fourth is still a secret.
Redhead Silkstones are winners in my opinion. This one is BFMC Ekaterina. She is the first club exclusive and will be available in February with free shipping.

This is a screen shot of part of the email. The Platinum Label doll is the blonde in the white dress. She is called Pinch of Platinum and has the endlessly skinny, hands-on-hips model muse pose, a boring vapid smile and an un-articulated body and collectors will buy every last one the minute she goes on sale. The sketch of the witchy-styled doll is called "Fall Holiday Hostess." The outfit is cute - nothing new but cute.
 "The opportunity to purchase Ekaterina™ Barbie® begins 2/9/11 at 11:00am CT for $99.95, for 2011 BFC™ members only, in the online shop. No more than 3,000 of these dolls will be available for sale. Doll purchases are optional and available only to members of the 2011 Barbie Fan Club." 

Information on joining (or re-joining) the BFC is coming next week.

I bought the Barbie Louboutin shoe collection although I thought, even on sale, that it was ridiculously overpriced. The packaging was irresistible. When they arrived, I was not disappointed and because the presentation was so pretty, I decided to keep them boxed.
That lasted 2 weeks. But I couldn't stand it. They had to come out. I had to touch every pair of shoes with my grubby hands and play with them.
They are definitely not going to fit my FR dolls but there was a Silkie hanging around and she got to try a pair.
I was pleased to find that there is a box and a shoe bag for each of the nine included pairs of shoes. This is definitely a fun item.

So many dolls have arrived this year it's mind-boggling to look back.
I do keep an accurate database with images so I know exactly who arrived and when. I also know who was voted off or waiting for adoption.
The following are not all newly released dolls but they were new to my collection this year and deserve their honors. 

Favorite Dolls of 2010




This was a year in which I felt I had way too many dolls and I looked at fashions and accessories more than acquiring dressed dolls. 


The disappointments were:
This was, for me, the biggest disappointment of the year: 
—Tonner Convention 'Unforgettable' 13” Revlon

Unforgettable - pre-ordering sight unseen can be a disaster.

—'Virtually Stunning' Alex - Coarse and cartoony-looking features ruined this doll's appearance and made me appreciate the original Alex even more. Why was this gal turned into an Amazon?

Left: Original Alex Body   Right: New Alex Body

 Today I acetone-removed her lip paint and eyebrows and she looks much better already! I am going to attempt a partial repaint.

—Deneuve - I could not love her face no matter how hard I tried.  Her body was wonderful.
—'Tricks of the Trade' Eugenia Perrin Frost - The fashion was not fashionable.

I think several design possibilities were overlooked. ;-)

—Vaughn Workshop Doll - My straightforward one-word opinion of this doll started a shit storm. The word was ugly.

Image by Petra Elise used by Permission

—Kesenia - Ridiculous looking mouth was created when the vampire fangs weren't painted in.

—Jordan 'Fire Within' - A sad mess in her overly youthful fashion and under-developed facial
screening. I did a partial repaint and sold her so I wouldn't be reminded of how much I paid for her. Loved the earrings and shoes.
This year we saw Fashion Royalty dolls' prices slashed by Integrity for the first time ever. It began with the discontinued Gene Marshall line and once they crossed that barrier, which had to have been an ego blow, they went forward with everything else that couldn't sell at retail.

I will be way more careful next year with the 12" dolls. Some of the dolls were pre-ordered with a kind of magical thinking that I'd love them. It was painful to see the gorgeous exclusive Nadja go on sale for half price...it's still up there.

My list of wonderful acquisitions is by no means complete. Compared to the amount of items I collected, the list of disappointments is small—but if you collect dolls, you will agree that every disappointment hurts.

During the year I added to my Silkstone, Tiny Kitty and Cissette collections. I'm still hunting for Tiny Kitty's Dress Shoppe.  The Silkies are useful for displaying Fashion Royalty 1st generation articulated body (short) fashions. They fit the Silkies almost perfectly! The Silkie I really wanted was ridiculously expensive so I didn't get her. I do draw the line once in a while.
Cissette has an unexplainable attraction for me. How did they get all the pieces of this fashion onto this little doll? It's so over the top.
Look how cute she is next to Cissy.

Time to wrap up this way-too-long post. I'd love to hear what your favorites and disappointments were in 2010.

These are Mattel's images of some of next year's Barbie Fashion Model Collection of Silkstone dolls.  Pictures of the rest have not yet been released. Prices may vary according to dealer. Shop around.

BFMC  Darya Barbie $129.

BFMC  Russia Mila Barbie $89.

BFMC  Russia Ken $85.

BFMC  Verushka Barbie $149.

Again, the prices of Silkstone dolls are higher than they should be. It's about time they did something with the articulation because the dolls are adorable and collectible but they just stand there.

Our featured photographer is Denise Jefferson aka DeeinNJ. Dee is well known and admired for her creative dioramas and uncanny ability to use items commonly discarded to create settings for 1/6 scale dolls. This week's photo shows The Soiree Silkstone Barbie doll in a OOAK gown whose creator is unknown. The fur is from Silver Society Veronique and the jewelry is Joe Tai. The tiara is original to the doll.

Dee Jefferson

In this shot Soiree Barbie is making her red carpet entrance. The set was created using Barbie's red carpet runway, red posterboard, red felt, a potted plant and a cityscape backdrop. The steps are packaging inserts from the FR Loft Collection.
Dee used a Nikon Coolpix 880 camera. Lighting is natural daylight. Her suggestion to other doll photographers is to pose the doll the way a person might pose. Use props for realism.
Dee has a feature piece in the quarterly publication Fashion Doll Quarterly (FDQ) magazine. You can also see more of her beautiful work in this album.

Congratulations, Dee, on the Picture of the Week Award. I always look forward to your photos.

There are quite a few adorable or unique-looking Barbie dolls for 2010 that I enjoy looking at. Just for fun, I am going to post their pictures here.

Mattel announced that there will be four dolls released that represent characters from the AMC series called "Mad Men." They are part of the 2010 Barbie Fashion Model Collection otherwise known as Silkstones.
For more information click on this link to the NY Times article.

Emails were sent out by Barbie Collector to all 2009 members reminding them to renew their memberships beginning today. Previous members get one week before membership opens to the public. The cost for one year is $24.95 plus any applicable tax.
The first Club doll is a Silkstone BFMC called "Palm Beach Honey." She would have looked so cute with Palm Beach Sugar Daddy. Don't you think?
Her price is $65.00. I was able to use a code to get $10 off. That code is A28844. I have previously mentioned that I don't collect Barbie dolls but I find it hard to pass up a pretty Silkstone doll.
If you've never joined the club, you will be happy to learn that during the year you get 4 discount coupons. This year it will be a $20., a $30., a $20. and a $20. There's always a Silkstone to pick up here and there and this is the best deal around! Additionally you can't buy the Club dolls if you're not a member unless you don't mind paying a premium on eBay. There's a chat board, a place for you to archive your collection and it's interesting to look around to find pictures of older dolls.

I do recommend membership - even for non-Barbie collectors like me!

From the Barbie Collector website comes this announcement:

Barbie Collector has been looking into reports of Parisienne Pretty™ Barbie® dolls developing green ear. What follows is a press release with suggested next steps, should your doll develop green ear...

Dear Collector,

We have learned of a production issue affecting the Barbie® Fashion Model Collection N6594 Parisienne Pretty™ Barbie® doll released via dealers in fall 2009.

There have been reports of Parisienne Pretty™ Barbie® dolls developing green ear, caused by oxidation of the coating on the doll’s earrings. As we continue to undergo testing, we encourage owners of a Parisienne Pretty™ Barbie® doll to contact customer service for a replacement doll or replacement earrings. At this time it is undetermined how many dolls have the potential to develop green ear over time, but all purchasers are eligible for a replacement doll whether their doll is currently affected or not. Please note this is an aesthetics issue only and not a health hazard.

If you are a U.S. collector who purchased this doll through a Barbie dealer, you now have the opportunity to exchange your original doll for a replacement doll.

To obtain a replacement doll, follow the steps below.

1. Call customer service at 1-800-524-8697 by January 31, 2010, to initiate your return. A shipping label will be sent to you.
   
   Please note: If your doll is not affected and you do not wish to part with your doll, you can request replacement earrings be sent to you instead.


2. Pack your doll(s) in original clothing, and ship using the provided shipping label. It is not necessary to send original packaging or accessory pieces. Dolls must be received by February 28, 2010. Any dolls received after this date will not be eligible for replacement.


3. Look for your replacement doll to arrive within 30 days after sending to customer service. Replacement dolls will be shipped based on the date when original doll was returned.

We appreciate your continued support as we correct this production issue.

Sincerely,
Barbie Collector

My darling son delivered a glass door Ikea cabinet. I put it together and somehow it was immediately full. How does this happen?
My Silkstones, once all on one shelf, can now be enjoyed without climbing on a ladder. The Tiny Kitty dolls, the oldest of my fashion doll collections, are now visible to the naked eye. They're in holiday red from last December. I couldn't see them anyway so what difference did it make? Poor neglected Cissette still stands on a bottom shelf. To see their faces you must get on your knees. It's a spiritual experience.
Monster sized Cissy dolls had their own shelf until some of the Silkies moved in. It was actually the Cissy's fault that I had to get this cabinet in the first place. Too big to fit anywhere else, they kept whispering, "If not now, when?" Hopeless.
Of course now that there are a few inches of space here and there, I'm making lists of what dolls to add. It never ends.