Dear CandiChatters,
It has been a week since I began the daunting task of doll liquidation and consolidation of dolls I want to keep. I KNOW I'm a piker compared to some of the other folks on this List and am certain my amassed stuff is a fraction of what some of you others have. But I have to admit, I am utterly amazed at what I've managed to accumulate over the past 10 years (I'm pretty new to doll collecting, really). It seems mostly what I've been collecting are lots of scraps of paper related to Candi gossip, lots of emails I've printed out from this List, printed most of Anja's site on the Candi doll and put in a notebook, and lots of articles from magazines about antique dolls. I've found old plastic totes full of collected paper and giblets that I had the best of intentions of filing. So what that tells me is that while I was collecting paper I wasn't actually ever playing with my doll purchases.
Wow! To my current way of thinking, I was certainly making a fair number of purchases. At the time partly because I was writing my CandiColumn but also because I was of the belief that dolls kept in their original packaging could only go up in value. I know, silly, silly me. But I know I'm not alone. What were we thinking when any of us bought dolls with the notion we were going to make huge profits on their resale? And to be a knowledgeable collector about these "investments" I was reading and copying lots of stuff. No wonder I wasn't enjoying the dolls--they were becoming business--very little pleasure.
Oh, gosh. I found one of my plastic file totes with tons of Candi ads and original prices of older dolls--back in the days with MiKelman and Hamilton were the best of buds--by the way--are they friends again? I've got emails from last year indicating they were working on new Candis. The never-ending-saga of Candi...no wonder I can't give up the addiction, entirely.
Anyway, back to the tote with the Candi memorabilia. You know what? I looked at that stuff and I still found myself getting giddy on seeing the dolls' faces for tirst time. I still contend that the sculpts on the older Candis are the best. I've been redressing Barbie bargains from the Goodwill in my old, old Fashion Avenues. (And the Fashion Avenues today are definitely NOT the caliber of work the 1995-1998 fashions were). While I enjoy modern Barbies (the vintage bubble is my truest childhood friend)--the faces of the Candis are still more realistic as women that I actually see on the street today. They are beautiful. And that arm sculpt that Mikelman designed definitely made that doll a looker. Yeah, I can see why we were paying $60 for one doll, back in the early days. They had that way of making the purchase seem justifiable. And the conglomeration of creative talents between Mikelman and Hamilton was an exciting time in fashion doll history.
Okay, back I go to the Candi Trenches. I'm developing a system for storing my dolls. Nope, I haven't quite got the system for dispalying them refined. When I find the space after the dust has settled I will report on that. Take care, CandiChatters. Regards, Pat Brown ----- Original Message ----- From: "pat brown" nqsqurtz@mail.staffnet.com To: "Candi Chat List" candichat@dolls.de Sent: Saturday, October 04, 2003 3:04 PM Subject: Garage sale part II, a post from Pat Brown
----- Original Message ----- From: "pat brown" nqsqurtz@mail.staffnet.com To: candichat-owner@dolls.de Sent: Friday, October 03, 2003 7:34 PM Subject: Re: Garage sale part II, a post from Pat Brown
Dear CandiChatters,
Seeing that Kathy has been posting items for sale, as indicated by her Garage Sale Part 2 subject head, I thought I'd take the opportunity to
add
my list to the ongoing Garage Sale. I'm going to post it separately
from
this email, which is just chatty. So for those of you who don't want to read a letter from me, delete now.
By the way, this is Pat Brown, here. No, I haven't fallen off the face
of
the earth, but I've definitely pulled back on the doll hobbying. I've
been
saying that for probably the past 3 years, and I've meant it. It's that I've never quite gotten a system for moving the inventory other than by ebay. Which, to my way of thinking is painful. I find downloading
pictures
and writing descriptions quite time-consuming. Not to mention the
customer
service and mailing misery. This past weekend I attended my third
United
Way Yard Sale sponsored by the local county government. For $20 you get
4
parking spaces. Not a bad deal given that the county does all the advertising. Each yard sale (4 so far) has proven to be a sell-out with
the
vendors. Although honestly, good ole Hurricane Isabel really did
diminish
the enthusiasm for a a lot of potential sales. The were probably more vendors than buyers. A week after such a miserable storm and with all
the
damage it did around here, I'm lucky I sold enough to pay for the
parking
spaces. Unfortunately, folks weren't in a Christmas-shopping mood
either
and most of the dolls and toys I brought languished. Maybe after a
season
of winter will make folks sick with cabin fever and spring will prove
more
profitable. Anyway, I can tolerate loading up the 2 cars for 2 times a year. I've got more than dolls I'm trying to sell.
I have written to the List in the past about my issues with not having
space
in my partially finished basement. A couple of years ago, Pat Fieck
posted
an email about how long it took her to clean out her stuff. I printed
that
email and put on the side of my refrigerator so I don't lose faith that
I
can thin out the clutter. Isn't it funny how it becomes clutter when we don't want it anymore? Do we all remember how much money we were
willing
to
pay for Candis when she was new and we couldn't get enough of her? And let's not forget the numerous Pink Box dolls and collector Barbies that
have
been purchased at full price in the name of Neat Stuff.
Unfortunately, all that Neat Stuff has been sitting around too long in
my
hopes of being able to come up with a way of displaying so much of what
I
was into collecting at various times over the past 9 years. Geesh, it
took
me less than 9 years to fill up a downstairs and it's going to take me
twice
as long to liquidate--if I believe what Pat Fieck says in her email.
Kathy's little boy--he's gorgeous!
Regards, Pat Brown
----- Original Message ----- From: "mroczko" mroczko@verinet.com To: Candichat@dolls.deCandichat@dolls.de Candichat@dolls.de Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2003 8:49 AM Subject: Garage sale part II
Hi Guys, I thought I would pass this on here as well. Just trying to clean
out
the doll room a little, and I thought there might be some interest.
Feel
free to ask for the Vintage babs list as well. I have some nice
things
there. Trades possible for the right things.