1980s and 1990s Barbie Collecting in Bulgaria

This transcript was generated from the episode captions and lightly edited for readability. Names and product terms may occasionally be imperfect. Quoted dollar amounts retain the wording of the interview; the currency is not always specified.

0:00Hello dolls and accessories. I'm your host Kelly and this is Barbie Talk. Barbie Talk with Kelly in Pink. Today I'm joined by the creator behind Barbie binge. Someone who has a love for Barbie nostalgia, especially 80s, '9s, and early 2000s. From rediscovering childhood favorites to showcasing stunning colorful displays, her content really captures that feeling of what Barbie meant to us growing up. Please welcome Nasalie. Hi, Nasalie. [laughter] Hi. Welcome to Barbie Talk. Thanks for having me. It's really great to be here. I'm so excited to have you on. Oh my goodness, that collection. I can't wait to talk about it. Look at that. Oh, yeah. Same. [laughter] Look at that beautiful view. So, before we start, I always like to ask my guests, tell us a little bit about yourself, where you're from, and how your relationship with Barbie started.

0:56Uh, so I am from Bulgaria. I live in Sophia. Um, Bulgaria is in Eastern Europe for those of you who might not know because it's a very small country. Um, and okay, so how how I started collecting Barbie is well basically that was 3 years ago. So I think in August this year, it's going to be 3 years since I started collecting. So you might think maybe that's like too short of a time to have such a big collections depending [laughter] on the kind of person you are. But like, yeah, I've accumulated quite a lot of those. Basically, I started 3 years ago in August 2023. I've always been a collector at heart. Since I was very little, in fact, I think since I was like 10 or 11, I really would go down the toy aisle with my parents and I would look at dolls and I would see dolls and I would think, I really want to own this doll, but I couldn't explain why because I didn't want to play with it. At the time, I didn't know the concept of of collecting, right? It didn't make sense to me, and I I didn't even know what it meant, but I was like, "Yeah, I just want to have this doll. I just kind of want to look at it and just own it. I just want to touch want to touch it and feel it." Yeah, exactly. I want to touch her hair and feel it and maybe like dress her up, but not necessarily play with her. Why I started collecting three years ago? Well, actually,

2:20it was the Barbie movie. maybe like a lot of collectors maybe got um excited about the Barbie movie. I actually at first I didn't even go to see it like for a month or so. So I just went and when I saw it I I loved the movie and then I went home. I remember going home and just lying in bed. It was like on a random day like a Tuesday or a Wednesday or something like this like weekday. Next day I was going to work in the morning and I was like, "Yeah, it was like really late, but I was like, okay, let me check what's on eBay, right?" And I knew, I already knew my aesthetic. Even then, I knew that I liked the 80s and the '9s, the Superstar era. So, I was like, "Let me go and check what's on eBay." And I just bought the first random doll [laughter] that I got. I was like, "Oh, she's cute. I'm going to buy her." I knew nothing about Barbie. I don't know who she was. I researched it later. I was like, I just want to own one.

3:21And then one thing led to the other. It all started accumulating and you know, but at the time I don't even know who she was. Uh later I realized that I overpaid quite quite a bit for that though because I remember she was Beach Blast Barbie. And um yeah, like I paid like $70 or something for her, which is like this is so insane. like she was not wearing even her original bathing suit. So, it's just like such a stupid decision. But when you don't know anything and you're super excited, you just like go ahead and just pull the trigger on it. You know, you live and you learn. You've said so many things that I want to touch on. But before I do, that first Barbie you mentioned that you bought, do you have her there to show us? I I sold her.

4:07I love I hope you got your money or more back cuz you won't paid. Not really. [laughter] This is a sad story. It's not a It's not a happy ending story specifically with this doll. I did not Yeah. Like because I decided that I'm not a person who wants doubles. I don't collect doubles. I really need one doll and that's it. Like I don't have space. And I I mean I do have space, but I don't have space for doubles basically. And with this doll, I really love Beach Blast Barbie and I want to get her. I still don't have her, but I want to get her with her original bathing suit and everything accessories. and it didn't make sense to me to hold on to this though. And she was not in that great of a condition anyway. So like I'm just going to let her go. That's okay. You know what? Put that out there in the universe and manifest and it will come to you.

4:55There's a lot of firsts here. It's a very special episode because number one, this is episode 10. So thank you for being the 10th guest on Barbie Talk. Second, it is the first guest who is in Europe. And third, your story of how you started collecting with Barbie is very different than the rest of my guests. First of all, I know you're fairly new. Your collection obviously says otherwise, but your love for her in such a short period of time really shows through your content. I wanted to ask being in Bulgaria, tell me a little bit about what's it like shopping for Barbie in Bulgaria? What's her availability like? Are you mostly going online? Tell me a little bit about that. So, uh, it's difficult. Definitely. It's nothing like in the US. Nothing. Nothing like that. Like a lot of these dolls, even the most simple and common dolls here are very difficult to find and you would get kind of lucky to even find them on uh Bulgarian.

5:53Uh we do have secondhand uh like what do you call them? Yeah. Basically like online like uh platforms, shops like uh eBay and thrifted stuff and but it's very rare. So I was born in '94. So my parents for example and me as a kid, we didn't really, especially with my parents, they didn't grow up with Barbie because we were a communist state. So Barbie was not a thing for them. They had different dolls. I don't know actually what they had, but it was not Barbie. And then Barbie only became a thing in Bulgaria uh around like the early '9s and only would become popular, actually popular in the mid '90s. So that would mean like anything before that. Very difficult to find.

6:39And if you find it, it's probably someone who is saying goodbye to their collection or something like this. So you kind of hope maybe that I will often browse these websites. But I have found a fair amount of dolls from there, but it's usually from other collectors. It's not from people who had this doll as a kid and are now selling it or something like this. So it's very difficult. It's mostly online. Yeah, for sure. Oh, we don't like we have flea markets, but they have nothing to do with the flea markets in Western Europe or in the US. Like it's usually like other stuff like antiques and clothes. But again, you wouldn't find Barbie anyway because she doesn't exist in Bulgaria. whenever I have a trip for example to the Netherlands where I have uh parents uh my parents are there or like my extended family also lives there or anywhere else in Western Europe because they have flea markets there like in Germany and Austria and the Netherlands that's when I'm super excited to actually go hunting like flea market hunting uh for dolls but here in Bulgaria it's very difficult it's mostly online if you want something super specific you cannot just hope to go somewhere on a Bulgarian site or out in the wild and you just find it doesn't happen that way unfortunately. But then again, it's something that you kind of like don't really think about. At least I don't think about it as a collector.

8:03For me, that's normal. It's fine. That's fair. And I think for anybody watching, like let this just be a reminder to everybody watching that we really shouldn't complain cuz there's definitely difficulties elsewhere. You have quite the collection behind you. So, I would love to know. Hard to hard to pick, but what would you say is your favorite doll? So, it's not really a doll, but it's a doll set. Nazali, this was my grail for years. I don't want to take your sunshine. Oh my god, that's so [laughter] exciting. I just got it for the first time in the winter. I just got it ever since I was whatever year that came out. 90 something. Box date 95. So 96 possibly or maybe even the winter of 95 but somewhere mid9 depends. It depends cuz sometimes the copyright the copyright was you know could be at the beginning of the year and they released it later or the following year. So that's something I've learned as well. So okay this is my favorite set. It's nothing sentimental. I don't have it as a kid. It's just the aesthetic. It's like everything. Like it's the box art and the photography. Like '90s photography is just out of this world for me. It's so nostalgic. The earliest of Barbie that I remember is obviously the '9s, the mid '90s because I was born in '94. So like I remember this. This is one of my

9:23earliest childhood memories. This type of art, this type of photography, the superstar dolls, this skipper face. And you know, it's sentimental in a way that I didn't want to buy it. It was one of my first things that I ever bought. I told my boyfriend I really wanted this. And he just bought it for me for Christmas. And I don't think I've [laughter] ever been more excited like for a Christmas present in my life. This was the most exciting thing for me. Shout out to your partner who supports because I'm always saying that like thank you to the people in our families or friends who support our collecting. And absolutely. I actually have found that on marketplace for a pretty affordable price. I think I drove pretty far for it. It wasn't like [laughter] it was I totally worth it. The one I found on Marketplace, the box was not good, but I'm like I don't want to take it out of the box because me I've always wanted to be a box and an out of- box collector, but I can't afford or have to do both. But then I actually ended up coming across one maybe at a show for a good price and the box was good. So, I decided I'm gonna take the one I bought off Marketplace in the bad box and I'm gonna open it. [gasps] I want to do the same thing. Oh my god, they're so beautiful. This is the first time. Okay, let me see. This is the first time I'm seeing them out of the box. These jumpers. Oh my god.

10:45I want I want exactly the clothes that they're wearing. This is another reason why I really want them because I would wear that jacket that is on Kelly. I would wear that like I would wear these clothes on in a heartbeat. This sweater like this sweater they just quality as well. That's right. The only thing I would say is for Skipper they should have given her boots. I don't like that they gave her a socks and boots. It's winter. Like why is she wearing socks? Yeah. Barbie's wearing boots. And then of course we've got this little angel. Oh my god, she's so cute. [laughter] I know. Adorable. It's just so funny cuz that was a grail for me for so long. What does it feel like when you get your hands on like one of your grails or something that you've, you know, been searching for? Tell me a little bit about that. And is there something that you could show us that you really wanted and you finally got it? The feeling is it's obviously a pure euphoria, especially when it's something that is very difficult to find. So, I don't have that many rare dolls because the era that I collect is not that rare. The '9s and ' 80s dolls are not the rarest.

11:49I do collect plain line. I have barely any collector dolls. I do like the plain line aesthetic. This is my my jam. But still, when you find something for a really good price, you know, and when you score, it's just this feeling of pure joy and like taking one off the list. And it's not about the list, but it's like it's nice to know, okay, now I can focus on like other dolls. And it's also nice because I have different shelves with different dolls. So, for example, I have an 80s, like early 80s shelf or like a mid90s shelf, stuff like this, a neon shelf. So, it's always nice when you add one more doll to that shelf and it's kind of like becomes a little bit more complete. So, I'm not a completionist in any way. I do actually have very strict rules about my collection. I'm kind of glad actually that I like what I like because it stops me. I'm not interested in everything and anything. I'm not one of these people. Oh, this is a new release, you know. And no judgment against these collectors.

12:45This is just what they would like to do. That's awesome. But I just have a very particular era that I collect because this is what I like and I very rarely buy something else. So, for example, I have a few Barbie extra dolls because they fit that aesthetic. So, it's not as much about the era itself than it is about the aesthetic, right? And when a doll, if Mattel releases tomorrow a Barbie that is exactly that aesthetic, I will probably buy her. That makes sense because your content is bright and [snorts] just so warming and inviting. I almost feel like I went back in time and I can see behind you and it is it's the aesthetic, the themes. I see like the superstars. I see the rockers. I see that Ultravets, which is one of my grails. And I get it. It's not about checking off the list, but I know any list I make, a to-do list, it's that satisfaction of I got this. I worked hard to get this. I just want to add to that actually because I work in digital marketing and content creation. So, what I like is I I love the fact that I love my job.

13:48And what I also really love is just when I get a doll, I can't wait to film content with it. Be it a video or just take a few pictures of her and just edit it. You know, I use different programs to edit. Like I would use Canva. I use all kinds of different tools. So, it brings me such a joy because my dolls, they don't just stand on the shelves. They just they're constantly filmed in some way. I actually use them a lot. Like they they very rarely gather just dust behind me. So, I would just like think, "Oh, I should film this dough with this dough, and I should have like a a pastel post or or whatever." and and I like, you know, creating these backdrops and like overlay stuff and like all of these kinds of things, very creative stuff, you know, visually visual creation. I really enjoy it. So, this is another thing that makes me really really happy and that even boosts even more my excitement about owning a new doll because it's like, oh my god, all the possibilities. What how am I going to film her? What am I going to like do with her? you know, clearly she's a big inspiration for you and to be able to do what you love for work and then bring it home and do it in your hobby, that's like a dream come true. What do you think makes that era so special for people? What do you think it is about those two eras? I think for a lot of people,

15:10if I have to generalize, I think most people, even if that's not their favorite era, I think that it's one of the most nostalgic eras. And it's weird because I feel like it's nostalgic even for people that didn't grow up with it necessarily. Maybe because it was such a like the superstar face reigned for very long. It's like the longest running. So the chances are you are familiar with the superstar in some way and you do recognize quite a lot of things from that era. So, I think that's why a lot of people uh feel fond of it. Even if they think it's a little bit garish or if it's like a little bit too much, it's still kind of like it gives you this warm feeling. And for me, it's obviously because of the aesthetic and because uh I I love the '9s. I love '90s m ' 80s '90s music. I love everything uh film, you know, cinema. Anything like ' 80s '90s related, I really love. And I think this is also when Barbie was the most Barbie-esque, let's say. When did she start looking like what we associate her with today? And I think it's the superstar era. And it literally starts with superstar Barbie, which is like super pink and over the top and glam. So, uh, for me, it's that it's that it's just that like it's almost like comical in a way. I like that. It's almost like

16:33not realistic in any way. And I don't necessarily want to dress my dolls in a very realistic colors or realistic designs. I enjoy that whimsy. I enjoy that like fantasy, all the like the possibilities that you have. And I like that sometimes she looks like straightforward like ridiculous. For example, the holiday Barbie from 1990, you know, the the massive the big one with the pink dress. I call her my pink monstrosity [laughter] because she is a pink monstrosity, but I love her. She truly she's truly the definition of Barbie core. So, I know those eras were very Barbie core. I get it. Yes, [laughter] exactly. For sure. And I think a lot of people maybe do like the more realistic looking dolls, so they're going to pick up things like the basics and things that are like really popular now. But I do understand because as a child, Barbie was imagination. Barbie was going to wear this big ball gown that we were never going to wear that. We were never going to go to Exactly. [laughter] You know, we're never going to go to this party where we needed a ball gown and whatnot. And and I think also like looking back at any of my 80s 90s stuff that I have from my childhood, the quality just doesn't compare to to what we have now, right? So I think that's why a lot of people probably are sought out by that. Let's talk about the '8s. Do you have a favorite '8s doll there that you could share? So it's very difficult. Let me just give a little bit of context. So the '8s was a very versatile time. Like you had the early 80s when Barbie

17:55was still very glam but much more elegant and simple. And then you have like the more you move to the late mid to late 80s it starts getting really really colorful and really like the best in my opinion. Like that's like early '9s late '8s is like the peak Barbie peak. But so yeah, my favorite doll uh she's like towards the end of the 80s. I think she's like 89, maybe even release date 90, but it's her. It's It's All Stars Barbie because she's just so 80s. She's just everything about her. She's almost like a caricature. Like a lot of these dolls, it's it's not just her, it's also cool times and dance club. They're almost like caricatures of the 80s.

18:44You've just But I really love them. Uh oh. Oops. Well, her bag fell. But no problem. She can live without it for now. I was going to say you're naming some grails like the cool times and the dance club and even that like I actually thrifted her. I found her thrifting. Yeah. Oh, so awesome. So, but she was missing stuff. I don't have the socks. I don't have the accessories. So, this is part of issue with thrifting, especially in North America, is like you'll find you're like, "Okay, I got this doll for $4, $5." But then you have to go on the hunt for all the little things to come, right? So, I know how that feels. I completely understand that because I have a few dolls like uh Dance Magic uh who else like Secret Hearts. Some of these dolls I had to reunite with their outfits later on because I was like, "Yeah, let me buy the doll." But it's so much difficult when you separate things and it's it takes so much longer. So, at this point, I'm the kind of collector that is like better spend maybe a little bit more money but get the complete thing rather than buy things here and there. But yeah, that's obviously just what works for me. But for her actually, she's also one of my favorites because I found her for very cheap. It was on eBay, but she was like in auction and no one like bid on her. She was listed for very cheap and I was like, "Yeah, I won. I won the auction." So like in the end, I I might like maybe I don't know how much I paid like

20:06Well, another thing is that for me, what's cheap for me because you know delivery and stuff it adds up. So, I think what Americans or Canadians might think of cheap might not be what I here in Bulgaria think of cheap, but for Bulgarian standards, she was very famous. [laughter] I'm so happy with her. Yeah, I didn't do anything to her. Absolutely anything. Like, she came with like the crimped hair. I mean, my favorite. Absolutely. She has dual toned hair as you can see as well. So, like she has this uh I think this is Saran and this is Kicolon. Yeah. A lot of a lot of dolls like from the late 80s, early 90s would do that. Um she's in mint condition. Like she was out of the box, but she has she came with all of her accessories because with like her earrings, right? So God. Yeah. It's just she's beautiful. She's she's gorgeous. And the set, even the Christy and the Mitch, like they're just all so adorable. Yes.

21:06Absolutely. I I would love to collect the whole line for sure. But she's the only one I have for now. Yeah, that's okay. That's okay. It's on the list, right? like this is because another thing is that it's also I mostly had blonde Barbies because um African-American ones like Christies and stuff and also uh the midgetes especially with the u the Stephy face you know Whitney with delivery you know they get way too expensive and again I I have no choice no chance to find them you know in flea market so you know sometimes I have to buy the bullet and you know and I've done that like sometimes I'm like, okay, whatever. Uh, I'm just going to pull a trigger and buy it and whenever I feel like it and have a little bit of spare cash, you know, which is a quite expensive option.

21:55So, you mentioned that you're not really like a completionist. So, when you are collecting, do you have a goal in mind? Like, usually most people are like, "Oh, I've got this Barbie. I got to get all the other ones." It doesn't sound like that's kind of your style. So, what is your collecting style? Do you have a goal or is it just more emotional and spontaneous? It's definitely more emotional and spontaneous and I usually would browse online for dolls and it kind of depends on my mood. Sometimes I have I have a list of dolls that I would really like to acquire, but I don't search for them at any cost, you know, like if I stumble upon them, I will get them. If I don't, I'm sure I will. I'm a very patient person as well. I'm not someone who really collects like I have to have this like right now. It's very rarely that I feel that way. It's usually whatever comes my way. I kind of collect, you know, like I browse and then I see something that I like and I'm like, "Yeah, this is definitely I'm going to what I'm going to get." It's very rare that I go online with a specific doll in mind and just sometimes I do that, but most of the times my luckiest finds were things that I just stumbled upon, not things that I looked for intentionally. So definitely yeah, I'm more spontaneous in in how I acquire my dose, but as I said, I'm very specific

23:17about my taste. So, I don't really go overboard in terms of the different aesthetics that I buy and and stuff like that. So, yeah. Is there any other eras aside from '8s and '90s you collect? And if you do, do you have any there that you would like to share? As I said, I do collect the Barbie extras. So, for example, her. She's like I I don't know their names. I don't think they have names. I don't even know which wave she's from. I know that there are a few Barbie Extra waves. I'm very like if you ask me for 80s, '90s, I know everything. And then like don't ask me for others cuz I'm not that knowledgeable, but she's one of my favorite Barbie extra dolls because she's like again so over the top and her shoes are amazing. I was just going to point that out. I don't think these extras have names. I also couldn't tell you. I don't know. If you look at her sweater, she's got like the stickers and stuff on and that skirt and then those shoes look like Spice Girls.

24:14Like it's very '9s like Exactly. Yeah. Yeah, it's both very modern and very ' 90s like it's early '9s in terms of colors, but like late night ' 90s in terms of fashions and it's it's such an amalgamation of all kinds of things. I love it. I absolutely love it. But yeah, she's definitely one. I also have um the prom girl. She's Barbie rewind and I have the slumber the slumber party like with the Christy face mold. So, Barbie Rewind is definitely another wave, which I obviously like. That's cheating cuz they came out in the 2000s, but they're from the8s. [laughter] Yeah, like their 80s aesthetic, so I still count them towards the they represent the superstar era.

25:00I do have a few generation uh girls, like early 2000s, but they're definitely not. So the funny thing is actually I grew up also with Generation Girl uh because yeah like I would have been like in 2000 I would have been six. So obviously still very much my era but there aren't many dolls that I want except for So there's one specific mermaid. It's the Fairy Topia Magical Mermaid. I think it's called She's from 2003. Yeah, I think she's Fairy Topia Magical Mermaid. She also came with like there was a blue one, there was a purple one, and there was a yellow one. Do you know what the ones I'm talking about? I think so. I remember the Fertopia ones. And did they have the real fins or like the fake plastic fins? The the plastic ones. That's what I thought. The plastic ones.

25:50This is a doll that I absolutely love because she's one from my childhood. I didn't own her. the 90s we had like the jewel hair and she's a very sought-aout doll and she came with like the real fabric fin the fin could come off was wearing a long and these are hard plastic they're from 2003 aside from jewel hair mermaid I wasn't really into the mermaid dolls again I was in that era where I wasn't collecting because I was like 12 10 I don't know how how old I was but I was like oh I would really like to have this doll but I was a little bit ashamed to tell my parents about it because I thought I was too old for Barbie. Yeah. And I was like, maybe I don't know how they will react. Maybe they would think, well, if you're not going to play with her, then why do you want her? Because they wouldn't understand. I think a lot of us have felt as we were growing up, we have always loved Barbie. And then you get to an adult and people start looking at you like, "Aren't you a little too old for that?" So, we've talked a lot about like judgment in other episodes. Um, so I won't get too much into that, but do you have your like your most recent purchase that you bought? So, my most recent purchase was her [laughter] Oh, super tall part. He is super tall. And actually someone was selling her from Bulgaria.

27:03Uh like a Bulgarian collector because we do have this there is this Facebook group. I'm not very active but sometimes I get like active when someone decides to sell stuff from their collection. [clears throat] So I immediately I'm like oh what is that? Like what are you selling? So she was selling and because it's a collector they always price things much more reasonably because you know we're collectors. We want to help each other. It's not about making money necessarily, although that's nice, but it's also like helping fellow collectors get what they might need. So, yeah, it's super talk. And unfortunately, she doesn't work cuz she has like a little, you know, button. Oh, the batteries just might be dead. Yeah, but I did buy some batteries. So, she's waiting. I will probably film a video with her opening her, putting on the batteries, see if she works. She's definitely a really cool one. Like there aren't many Barbies with like denim and gold like with gold. I feel like Barbie didn't utilize gold a lot. I think she should have feel like it's such a Barbie color. [laughter] I think there's a Fashion Avenue set that might be denim and and gold, but not like this. I I know the one that you're talking about. Yeah, I know the one. Yeah, it's pretty cool. So, I did do an episode episode 6 with '90s Barbie World, and her and I had our our Teen Talk Barbies that we were going back and forth, but this one she says over a 100,000 things. That's a lot. Yeah. So she she was built in a different way from the teen talk Barbie. So Tin talk she would be programmed with just four sentences, right? And this one she

28:29basically talks in building blocks. So you would have like I like to play music or let's go to the cinema or something like this. She would be programmed with different phrases and then when you build them together, she always says a different thing. So like every time you press her, she would never repeat the thing unless you press her like you know 100,000 [laughter] times or something, but like every time she would say something different. So yeah, like this is pretty cool about her and I I can't wait to test this her. Look at that outfit and that hair. That crimp hair was so stylish. So by the time this airs, Nasalie would have already opened this and we're going to include it right here for you to see. [laughter] Awesome. So you seem to also not just have a lot of Barbies, you've got other Barbie related items. So, one thing about me is that I love my dolls, but sometimes I probably love more the Barbie merch and the other Barbie stuff that I own because they're just so exciting. So, I have a lot, but like I can just show different examples of what I have. For example, I collect all kinds of stuff. Like, I don't I don't just collect like uh journals, let's say, or you know, cars or something like this, but stuff that I own. Okay. So I have for example this Barbie radio which actually also works

29:50still I can play it. So you open it and you can put like a little cassettes and so you have these. So you open it like that. It comes with And there is Yeah. Yeah. And you put one inside. So there is one already here. So you put one inside. And you can also put the discs here. It was actually complete. This is also from one that I found in Bulgaria actually. So you just kind of click play in it CD. [laughter] So you just play it, right? Uh it's really cool. Um So this is the radio. So yeah, it plays. So depending on [laughter] depending on the cassette that you put. So you have different uh music styles. So you have rock and roll, you have country. So there's different pre-recorded stuff. Uh and they're very short, like 30 seconds long, let's say. But it's so cute and yeah, I think if I had this as a kid, I would

31:10have loved it. Absolutely loved it. So, this is like an example of something that I would collect. It's got like some Barbie shoes on cart. [laughter] They're so cute. So, here's the question. Are you wear them? [laughter] I wish I wish they fit me, but I I'm a I'm a very tall woman with like large feet. So, these are like I never [laughter and clears throat] fit into these will never fit me. And like you can see get like different other styles. Being a little girl that would be so exciting. You're just so like, you know, you walk around with them like you just feel like a princess. Like it's just such great stuff. Exactly. Exactly. um other stuff like for example I have Barbie books and these are actually Bulgarian like so it's obviously different language here but you get I've never seen they're probably specific what's the company it's a Bulgarian publishing company so wow yeah they probably outsource it actually oh my god I love that the art again like they're so beautiful because like even inside you get like really really beautiful like drawings, you know, the art is just so cute. Something to die for. Yes. So pretty.

32:28I do collect a lot of like brochures, journals, all kinds of stuff. So, for example, something like that, you know, these different journals and they're pretty cool as well to to kind of like look look at, you know, the dolls inside. And again, the photography. I'm a big fan of Barbie photography. It's just like so so beautiful to me. So you have like here's Hollywood hair. Oh my god. It's so cute. Like oh hair that photography. I've been recently going through a bit of a phase where I found my Barbie magazines when you were a part of the Barbie club back in the '9s. They would send you four magazines a year. I don't have them all. Either I lost them or I don't remember when I became a member. like it was like the early '9s and I'm on the hunt to complete this. I'm starting to post videos showing these magazines because honestly it was the internet of our time.

33:27There was no there was no searching online on Google. These are the images what you're showing there. This is what we saw. This is how we saw Barbie, learned about Barbie, maybe even could order Barbie. Like this is how it was. So the imagery just doesn't compare. Now everything's all over the internet and you've got AI and it's just getting a magazine or something like that in the mail or even just getting it at the store. You would look at that for hours. Exactly. Exactly. This this is the I think this is the thing that I also remember from my childhood that we would look at things like things will really make an impression on you. It's not like today where you see something and it's kind of like so easy to just forget it like you don't even remember it in a couple of minutes because we're just consuming content so quickly. But back in the day you would have this and you would really look at it, you would read it, you would like inspect it, you would like mark which dolls you would want and like the f like everything about it is like so so beautiful. like yeah that's that's I'm not a Mar Doll fan but she's one of them that I actually do like aside from jewel hair obviously I would keep Sears cataloges because they had Barbie stuff in it like I would just keep it that was my literature my Barbie literature [laughter] I guess like I'm a big uh collector of Barbie cars I don't have too many but I would like

34:47to have more so like I can show you this one in particular which is the silver it. So, this car is one that I would like to have my own C4 Corvette one day. And this is what it will look like. [laughter] The Barbie sticker. You're going to have the Barbie sticker. I'm not sure about the Barbie logo, but the sticker, the overall like design I might have and the like the what what do you call these? Like the the rims. Yeah. Okay. The rims. [laughter] have to have this. Like I really want to have like it's such a beautiful like the sparkly color like silvery and the the hot pink like almost purplish salon. I mean such a classic beautiful car like one of the most beautiful in my opinion Barbie cars. I mean it's beautiful.

35:36It's one of the most beautiful but you've got a beautiful one. I could see it on your shelf. So, it's the ultra. [laughter] [gasps] Look at that. You've got the totally hair Barbie and Ken in it. Yes, there they are. The hottest couple of the '9s. [laughter] Oh, that metallic. That metallic is just so I have come across this car many times, but missing the windshields, missing the side mirrors, things and scratched. Now, the scratches are understandable. Some of the scratches were really bad and you It's not like a paint that you can easily find because of the metallic. Exactly. Yeah. So, you can't repaint it. It's you could Yeah. It's foiled. The thing is that it peels off. It's very fragile. So, if I like start digging with my nail, even if it's not hard enough, it would start coming off. So, it's also very prone to discoloration. I do have it in the open, but my room is quite dark. You know, I do take care of, you know, the temperature and how I display things. So, also, you know, the stuff off and stuff like this, but it's a car that is like I really want it. Obviously, I mean, if you like the 80s and '9s, you want that car.

36:48Let's not get ourselves. It's like it's everyone's dream. Yeah. I got it off of eBay for a very reasonable price. And I would also consider it one of my rarest Barbie possessions because I actually recently checked because I'm checking just just out of curiosity, you know. Oh, let me see if you know they sell this car. It's It's barely exists online. Like it's it's very difficult to find. It's um especially in mint condition. Mine was never removed from box. I did assemble it. Oh, this is another thing like the experience of assembling this is like you know putting on the stickers and putting on the wheels and the just everything. It's it's so fun. If tomorrow I had to sell everything, this is something that I would never sell because it's also very rare to find in such a good condition. So yeah, this is definitely the ultravet. Look at that. Look at the ultra. Look at Barbie's hair blowing in the wind there. That Yeah. [laughter] 11 and a half inches.

37:47Beautiful. Yeah. You know what? There's not a lot of cars I want. I wanted the Ferrari. I got that as a kid. But between that car and the 57 Chevy, those are the two. Oh, this one. This one for sure. Come on. Between the two, I want them both. But now I'm seeing that one and I'm like for me it's definitely the Chevy. But yeah, yeah, yeah. [laughter] Awesome. Which one of your dolls would you say was maybe underrated and deserved a little bit more attention than she got? I think Skipper as a character is very underrated. And this is just an example of skipper, but like I feel like even with collectors who are 80s90s collectors, I don't see enough Skipper Skipper, especially this Skipper face, like the late mid late 80s, early '9s skipper face, the team sweetheart. She is the cutest to me. The outfits, the aesthetic, as I said, for Barbie.

38:42My favorite era, if I had to pick from the whole superstar era, is the late 80s, early 90s. And this is the skipper that existed during that era. This space, this is teen cheerleader skipper, specifically the one that I'm showing right now. I think she is underrated. I'm holding my little skipper here cuz I had her close by. She is underrated. [clears throat] Um, they did a lot of cute sets with her and I think we haven't really seen I mean I don't personally think the skipper nowadays I don't think it's the same as it was before but no Barbie's little teen sister I think it was a really cute character and I I agree with you. I think she was definitely underrated. Yeah. Yeah. I don't think she was that unpopular maybe for kids back then because she obviously existed for a very long time and even still exists, you know, as a character in the Barbie universe. But uh I don't see that many people collect Skipper or get excited for Skippers.

39:36And I get super excited for Skipper dolls again from the8s. When we think about the 80s, we often think about dolls like Day to Night and Peaches and Cream and you know, Pink and Pretty. And I completely I love these dolls. Don't get me wrong. They're absolutely beautiful and they're one of my favorites in my collection. But I feel like when some late8s dolls are very underrated for me, you know, like the [snorts] ones that I mentioned like Dance Club and Cool Times and you know, like even All Stars, the All Stars line, they kind of get a little bit of a Oh, yeah. It's just like I don't know, they're just not that talked about. And then we get to like '90s dolls like Jewel Hair Mermaid and you know other ' 90s dolls that are very popular, you know, uh like um Totally Hair. Yeah, like Totally Hair, of course. Like, but then these late8s, very early like '90s dolls, those are the ones that kind of get a little bit forgotten. And I think they're some of the coolest dolls. I agree with you. If Mattel approached you and said, "Out of all your collection, we're going to do a reproduction of just one." Which one would you have them reproduce? I would love to see a modern reiteration of Lights and Lace because she's one of my favorite dolls. I know I say this too about all dolls, right? I think it's probably

41:02not the best word to use cuz everything's our favorite, but we may have one that's from each era or outfitwise. Oh, I love this doll because of her makeup. I love this doll because of her hair. That's a great choice. Look at all that lace. Look at that. That's Barbie. That's Barbie right there. It's It's so Barbie core. It's my smaller pink monstrosity. [laughter] No, the big one was the I like I got to use that for your quote. Pink monstrosity. [laughter] I mean, again, she has the dual toned hair. So cute. her makeup like she has one of the most [gasps] what I like about her and why I want a reproduction is that she has one of the wildest eye paint makeup, you know, like she has really wide eyes. Like she has almost like a very funny almost like crazy looking expression. Like she looks a little bit insane [laughter] and I kind of love it. I mean her dre like her outfit is pretty insane. So, you know, it's she she had a lot of caffeine before her show. That's exactly of hers. Like, look at those. Those are fantastic. Everything is like absolutely over the top. Like, it's crazy.

42:13But yeah, like she has also this thing that when you like Well, I can't do it now, but like it would light it will light up like just flash. But, uh it's very, you know, it's not that impressive actually. It's a little bit underwhelming. But what is not underwhelming is her outfit and her face. So I think that I would love to have a reproduction of her and also the other dolls of the line. You know, just kind of like a but not like a total reproduction, but more like a reimagination of these dolls. I would love to see a more modern version of something like that. Kind of like what they did with Day to Night. Andrew Mukamal. That was maybe a little bit too simple for my taste. I do again like the more over-the-top aesthetic, but uh but something Yeah, something like that. Like along those lines, you're into the fantasy fashions, not something that looks real. And maybe the new day to night, it's too modern. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. Definitely. Which doll do you currently have on your hunt list that you really want to find? Again, I'm going to repeat myself, but I really want that 2003 mermaid. I just really want her. I'm very like I said earlier, I'm not fixating on dolls. I'm definitely patient with this doll. I don't want to be patient. I want to have her. I'm going to [laughter] have her soon. [gasps] I I'll just buy her because I I just really want her. She like she's a such an

43:40itch from my childhood, you know? I remember her. She's one of the dolls that I remember the most from my childhood. So, I will definitely get her soon hopefully. something that is not a doll and that's like really a holy grail almost. I don't know if it will ever happen because it's just it's not even about money, it's about availability is uh never removed from box Barbie magical management. I think it's like the biggest Barbie dreamhouse. It's not even under the dreamhouse label necessarily, but it's I consider it the dreamest of dream houses because it's from 1990. Oh, that's a pretty one. Oh, yeah. That's a beautiful one. Well, when you have that, let me know and we can include that in our next episode. Oh my god. And maybe in 20 years I will acquire it because it's again it's not about like it's it's a super rare. I think everyone wants that. And I don't know if it's like maybe it exists somewhere like never removed from box, but it's super rare.

44:39Like I've searched for it for like 3 years pretty much since I started collecting and I've never even seen a listing about that even outside of the box. even like part of it like never. So maybe if you're in some kind of like collector communities like very niche, you know, stuff like but yeah, I've never seen that. I had to look it up cuz I didn't remember it. Once I saw it, I'm like, "Oh." And it's definitely not one like I've come across at like any doll shows or anything. Do you have any dolls there that you know are like a European exclusive that wouldn't be available in any other country? Yes. Yes, I have one here that I could show which is also probably my rarest possession because with the ultravet it's rare but it's pretty wellnown like it's it's it's difficult to find it in never remove from box it's quite expensive but uh it's it's doable you know you can find it but with this doll she's one that I really really love and she's a European exclusive she's on the go Barbie her shoes always pull so I'm just going to remove them for now because these are her original shoes, but they're very big for her feet. I don't know why they are, but she's on the go Barbie from 1990. There she is. This is her face. She has very beautiful eye paint because it's pink and green. So, I don't know if you can necessarily see that. Oh, wow.

46:02Yeah, it's hard to see the green, but you know what? I really like this shirt. It has a bee on it. It's very cute. Yeah, it's very cute. She came with these. Like I have her complete again with all her accessories. She's not wearing everything right now, but she came with these like really fun stickers like sticky things like that you can, you know, she has like this velcro type of material like on her vest or what is that like a jacket? Like a vest or something like that and you can like stick stuff to it. So like she has this as well like the skateboard one. She has like amazing colors. Like her colors are just so beautiful. Again, she has the duo the duo tone hair, which again, apparently all of my favorite dolls. I didn't realize that, but [laughter] many of them have that that hair. And uh actually the bee is also like a sticker like the sticky thing. So you can these as well. See, you can just like kind of remove these little stuff. She's very fun to play with. I can imagine like if you were a kid, she would be very fun to play with. And she would also actually come with other stuff that would make like a little frill. Like if you if you stick them to her skirt, it would get like kind of longer and more like I think there was like a green neon one.

47:26It's super over the top. Again, like another one like beautiful kind of long hair. Very soft. I love when dolls have that dual or even more than just like they have multiple use. it's the outfit changes or you can do this or you can change their hair, whatever. Like I love I love it as well. So yeah, she's a European exclusive and not only is she a European exclusive, but I don't think even in Europe she was that mass produced. I've seen her like once or twice. There are no listings for her. I think there's one maybe and it's super expensive. Like wow, she's adorable. I've never seen her before. I have her. I think she's a European exclusive and she is central paper. No, she's like one of those islands. So, we had like in Europe or in Western Europe, they had a lot of beach lines in the early '9s, like a lot of beach dolls that were like St. Trope Barbie and Ibiza Barbie and all kinds of like whatever island Barbies. She's one of those.

48:27She's very tent. That's definitely coming. She's extremely tanned. like she has a very bright pink lips. They're almost glowing. Her hair is almost glowing. Platinum almost because it's so she's so tanned. Yes, exactly. Like she's she's very pretty. She's one of my favorite beach dolls. Like I have a couple of more actually beach dolls that are also European exclusive, but they're not wearing their beach. They're not wearing their red dress, so I don't think I That's fair. I do have a US exclusive one if that counts. Actually, there's a lot of stuffive. Let's see some exclusives. Of course. Okay. Yeah. So, this is like actually my favorite mermaid. She's Se Mermaid. She's from 95. She's very, very pretty. I mean, I love it. Like that crinkly fabric is one of my faves. Look at the detail on the beads, the earrings, the drop pearl earrings, the headpiece.

49:24Oh, wow. And even like the glistening the glistening in the bathing suit and in the fin. Absolutely. She's so gorgeous. The crimped hair like the fins. I like I got to say I do prefer the fabric fins because they have much more movement. She even has like this which is you know like an extra layer which is so beautiful. She has the same matching thing on her. It's just beautiful. The attention to detail that crinkly fabric is so 90s. I feel like not just Barbie, but every doll has this. Like even knockoff Barbies and stuff like this would have this type of fabric like Cindy and stuff like this. So, I mean, it's it's very nostalgic and she's very beautiful, but she's actually US exclusive. Do you feel that you're helping people reconnect with a part of themselves through Barbie and through your content? I think I am because there are people who in my comments when I post something, many people that leave comments that say, "I had this doll. Oh my god, you brought up such memories for me." Or sometimes it was a holy grail for them and they were like, "I remember I wanting this doll so much and I never got her." Which is a little bit sad. people do do leave these type of comments. And actually a couple of weeks ago, a woman, she's not a collector. She messaged me, she DM'd me, she saw one of my stories. I don't

50:44know how she find found me, but like saw one of my stories. She was like, "Can you please tell me which doll that is because I hit her as a kid and I really really want to want to find her again and buy her again?" And I told her actually this was a maxi. It was not a Barbie. It was a maxi doll. I reshare the different uh creators post as a story. But I helped her. I was like, "Yeah, this is a Maxi from this year, whatever, whatever." And that was it. And then like a week later, she messages me again and she's like, "Because of you, I found this doll. Like I was looking for her for such a long time." and she sent me a picture of her with the doll like now and like it was a collage with like a the picture of her as a kid with the same doll and she was holding it.

51:32That is so sweet. And I was like, "Wow, that is so cool." And even if I didn't make the post, I think even when we reshared, this is why I think it's so important for us collectors to share other people's work because we never know who this will reach, who the content will reach. And it's not just supporting ourselves, but each other, but like it's also, you know, helping people get more knowledge and maybe stumble upon something and find it and finally reconnect with, you know, their inner child. And so that's the beauty of it. You said it so beautifully. Absolutely. Before we wrap up, I'd love to see something from your collection that just means something to you or uh has a sentimental value in your life. There is one particular set and it's this Barbie and Kelly strolling fun set [gasps] because this is the set that I got as a child. As I said, I don't have many Barbie dolls as a child. I actually only had two and this was one of them. And it was one of the first ones that I acquired and it was again a present. My mother, she bought it from me. It was such an emotional moment because I remember everything. It's in the box. I'm not going to remove that from the box. But I remember everything about this like so clearly. I remember like the vinyl belt. I remember how it felt. I remember like even

52:54like how it felt to the touch. This is how strong my memory of this set is. It's just something that is very emotional and again something that it's not rare. It's nothing like that you can't find, but it means a lot. And I feel like these type of purchases and especially when they're presents from the people you care about the most matter the most and are the most precious. So yeah, this is definitely one of them. That's so sweet. I had that set. I can understand what you're saying. Especially when the Kelly dolls came out, I was like, "Oh my god, there's a doll with my name." You know, the stroller Barbie's hands fit and you would push and the wheels would I think Kelly would wave as Kelly would wave. Yeah. [laughter] So sweet. Really great. So when you said the thing about the woman who sent you a picture of her as a kid holding Don't tell me you have a picture of that. So I have a similar picture now. It's I'm only showing you because you said that and then you brought up that it's not that set. Oh, still Kelly.

53:54So that's me holding the there's Barbie and Ken holding baby Kelly and there's her crib. That was the set that came with a baby Kelly and a crib. So I have a lot of memories of like the Kelly doll as well. So that's that's little me with babysitter skippers right there. Then we've got the McDonald. Oh yeah, I got her as well. I got babysitter Skipper as well. Wow. Oh my god. So cool. It's my Barbie and Ken. My camp Barbie and my Oh, I forgot the name of that Barbie. um holding baby Kelly and that's the crib that she came with. So when you showed me that stroller, it reminded me of like you had just finished talking about that picture that somebody sent you and then Kelly. So I just was like I'll share this picture just so you can Yeah, it's such a cute picture. I I unfortunately don't have any pictures with them. I only had two dolls and I don't have pictures with them. So taking them now while you've got your Instagram, right? It's all over your Instagram. And well, here's the thing. We don't think about this, but one day we will be hopefully we get to our 70s, our 80s and we'll look back. It's the same thing like we really can't forget that, right? Like the past will still be the past when you're 60, 70 years old, right?

54:58Exactly. Yeah. Children or grand, you know, that type of thing like you want to save those things for them too. So just because you don't have it doesn't mean like you're documenting it now and take some now, right? Because you'll look back. Yeah. My they're they're getting different ones though. These are mine. I will definitely be the kind of like aunt or like a parent that would buy uh my uh nieces and nephews and kids um like the old dolls because I do feel that they are superior to to [laughter] current dolls like in terms of quality but uh but those are mine like they they're not touching those they're touching different ones new ones. So thank you so much for being on the show today and reminding us just how powerful Barbie can be.

55:43Your passion and your attention to detail not only brings these dolls to life, but they also connect a whole generation back to their joy. Your content is definitely binge worthy. Thanks so much for having me. It was great being here and talking about my collection and I hope I can still keep, you know, [snorts] making people happy and discovering their inner child through my content. You definitely do. Now, let people know where they can find you. Uh, you can find me on Tik Tok and Instagram at Barbie Bench. It's Barbie B I N G E. So, thank you so much for joining. I was so happy to have you on the show. Till next time. Bye. It's amazing how one doll can spark a whole journey back to childhood and connect us to those little pieces of wonder we thought we lost. Make sure to like, subscribe, and hit that notification bell if you love all things Barbie. [music] And if you enjoyed this episode, click here to see one of my other episodes. Thanks for watching.