It occurred to me that every so often, this List gets new subscribers that may not be altogether familiar with how far the Candi doll has come to her current affiliation with Integrity and Jason Wu. As you may guess, Candi's saga certainly holds a fascination for me because I've seen the lasting commitment the doll receives from collectors. The business of doll collecting probably gives me more jollies than actually buying and collecting dolls. The Candi business is a story in itself--I only wish I could've been a fly on the boardroom walls...

I was wondering if there are any of you on this LIst who have stories you can recall in the early days when you began collecting Candi and if you'd share these reflections? There are many ways CandiCollectors remember Candi--why we started collecting the doll, how we came to this List, the personalities that have been involved with Candi's development (colorful, controversial and always creative) even what keeps this List still going after so many years. There might even be a few CandiChatters who can tell what this List was like before Anja took it under her supervision--how many years has this List been around, to be precise?

Just who is the longest (I didn't say oldest) subscribing member(s) to this List and what do you remember about the early days of CandiCollecting? Of you newer members, what had you heard of Candi before subscribing to the List?

Me, I've been with the List since 1996 and have enjoyed the people from this List most of all during my collecting days. Candi has been an excellent experience for me in many ways that go beyond simply collecting a doll. Regards, pat Brown