Doll Therapy, Content Creation and Family Memories

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. Cassie, known as Dolls on the Scene on Instagram, shares content such as doll hunts, dioramas, and twinning with her mini. Her content feels so welcoming, so let's welcome Cassie. Hi Cassie. Welcome to Barbie Talk. Kelly, thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here. Oh my goodness, it's such an honor to have you here. I'm so excited to see a little bit of your collection and get chatting. So, let's get right into it. Tell everyone a little bit about yourself, where you're from, and how your relationship with Barbie started. Absolutely. I am Cassie Jenkins, based here in Los Angeles, born and raised in San Diego, California.

0:51And Barbie has been such a passion of mine since the first time I held my first Barbie doll at the age of four. I'm a wife, I'm a mother, I'm moving into that tween and teen area, which has been interesting, but I love connecting with the community on Dollstagram and beyond, and I'm so grateful for our conversation today. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. Do you remember your first Barbie doll? Maybe you have her there with you? I sure wish I did. It is actually the roller skating Barbie. I have the pleasure of being a twin, so I have a twin brother, and we both received our dolls at the same time. I want to say maybe around our fourth birthday.

1:37There's a picture somewhere, I'll have to dig it out. I think my sister, she kind of keeps all the photos for the family. I am holding the Barbie with roller skates. I love roller skating. She's got the purple and the red and the dolphin shorts, and my brother is holding the Ken. And so, I loved that we were able to experience that for the first time. I held on to that doll and received many other dolls over the course of my life and was just hooked. That's such a great memory to have that with your brother. So, did your brother collect, too? He did not. Okay, but he was nice enough to play with you. He was nice enough to play with me and sometimes he did some different things with the dolls and his wrestling figures. Um but you know what? He still to this day is so supportive and glad that I still kept a fun hobby that means so much to me.

2:27That's wonderful. I mean, I'm assuming that doll probably falls on one of your top favorite list. Absolutely. Do you have any others that would fall on that list? I would say one of my other favorites is Peaches and Cream. I have the dress somewhere in the original doll. That was actually my first African American doll and she was so I was so excited to receive her. So, I don't have her in front of me, but can I show you a really close second? Oh, is that our friend Didi? It's It's our friend Didi and I have some other friends that I'm so excited to share other favorites. Oh my goodness. You got them all. them all and this was really sweet. A student of mine, I am a fashion professor and one of my students, probably about six or seven years ago, was at an estate sale. I still have my Diva. You know, she doesn't look the same anymore.

3:28She doesn't look like Exactly. Not like weird Barbie, but she went through some aging. And so, this doll, my student didn't even know that this was a favorite and she found her for me. And the fun thing, I'll have to show you, do you see close up, Didi still has like [gasps] how the rubber bands Oh my goodness, that's like the original rubber bands. Original rubber band and she was they were just my favorites. I loved to pose them, put them in little concerts. I have the stage, and I loved having the diverse line with all the different dolls, which was super fun to me. Uh so, I Yeah, near and dear. And let me show you Yes, you have her, too. I do. I got to thank Giovanni from The Doll House. We did a doll swap, and this was part of what he sent to me. Look at that, with the shoes still. With the shoes that never came Oh my goodness. I know. And look, of course, he kept her in pristine condition. I love that. I love that for you. And look who I had a crush on.

4:29Who did you have a crush on? Oh my good, Derek, of course. But his face was so different than Ken. It was just so different. I mean, just a whole vibe. I added, I don't know, maybe I wanted him to be part of a reunion tour a few years back, so I took like a Sharpie and added some silver. He would be the guy that still had the looks, but just natural aging, which we all appreciate, so. That's salt and pepper. That's salt and pepper look, right? And of course, we brought our our queen here. This is the re-pro. This is the 2000 This is the 50th anniversary, so this is not I do have one inbox, the original 1985, and then I do have out of box that I had like thrifted. Crazy. Oh, perfect. Yeah. Beautiful, such a beautiful line. Yay. Agree. When it comes to your content, I see that your Minnie plays a big role in a lot of your content. How did she come to be? And I'd love to see her if she's around. Oh my goodness. Minnie is This was special because I want to say when I was in college in the late '90s, she was a gift from my mom. I believe is it Our Generation doll, and my mom said she looks so much like you. And so, I loved that even though I had pulled back from Barbie a little bit, or I was a little bit more on the low-low with it. Like, I would still go to the toy aisle and check out the dolls, but I didn't necessarily buy a doll. So, she sent her

5:53to me and look who I happen to have with me today. And she's wearing the exact that you're wearing. Yes. ask. First of all, you're fantastic with getting your mini's outfit to match what you're wearing. For a piece like this, for example, I'm assuming this was made. How do you make these pieces? Oh, such a great question. Twinning was something so fun, I would say during the midst of the pandemic. It was a fun way to connect. I know Grandma Gets Real had started a really fun challenge too on Instagram. This particular piece, it's a sock from like the dollar store. And so, one night I had kind of been brainstorming about it. I call this like my Joseph coat of sweater of cardigan of many colors, and I wanted her to have one too. So, I found the sock and I just hand stitched it together. And then I want to say this is a Fashion Avenue pink dress. And then people have told me that I look good in pink. So, I thought, you know what? Let me start making sure that I can give Minnie some more pink as well. And even the jewelry I will do little hoops and things like that, necklaces. And it's just a labor of love to find pieces. People will ask me sometimes, do you have your pieces first or Barbie's pieces mini me's pieces? And honestly, I can go either way. I would say 50/50. She has something and then I find something in my closet or our thrift,

7:13right? We're about eco-friendly whenever possible that I find something that that coordinates. It just makes it so much better to know that you didn't break the bank to do that. It's a sock. It's a sock, you know? Like it's so it's easy to find these things. I think sometimes we over complicate things where sometimes it's right under our nose, right? I agree. I agree. And I feel like once I started thinking about it, I usually will find something. Yeah, nice and affordable. And I will have this probably forever ever, you know? And I love that you're really good with the details, the earrings, the jewelry. you go all out. Yes. Speaking of all out, I saw you and your mini were all out at the recent Barbie Addicted collab event out there in Los Angeles. So, tell us a little bit about that experience. I think you saw Paris Hilton? Yes, that was a total surprise. I did not know she was going to be there. She was so kind, warm, and gracious.

8:02And I ended up seeing one of my former students who now works for Addicted in marketing. So, it was like a really sweet full circle moment. Graduation at my college was on the same day. So, I was like on my, you know, all my robe and I was ready to to go to graduation, of course, and support my students. And my chair, my department chair, called me earlier that week and said, "Hey, we follow each other." He's following me at Dolls on the Scene and he said, "I know you love Barbie. I wanted to tell you about an event. It's happening on Friday, right? All the leadership will be at graduation. I know you wanted to go. Would you be open to going to this Barbie and Addicted?" Yeah, my eyes my eyes on the phone. He could probably imagine my eyes were like, uh yes. It was like a rhetorical question. "Would you like to attend and represent the university?"

8:52And so, that authentic connection, right, with me being an avid collector and enthusiast. So, I was so happy and I already started to think, "Okay, what are me and Mini going to wear? What are some of the talking points? What's the content that I want to grab?" And I also just wanted to be present as well. So, such a fun experience that I'm so glad I got to be a part of. Yeah, and that's just it. You want to absorb the fact that you're there. You want to take it all in, but you're also like, "Okay, I want to make the content, too." So, it's a fine balance and you do you do like you're When I saw When I saw how close you were to Paris Hilton, I'm like, "Wow, that must have been such an experience." So, you talked a little bit about what you do in your career. Do you bring Barbie or your hobby into your teachings in any way? Or do you kind of keep the two separate? I love that question. I absolutely do. I didn't at first. Right, I would say for the first few years, maybe people knew a little bit on the side when I maybe brought a hot topic in about Barbie. But, what I started to do a few years ago is I would bring uh Gen Yang. He does the Flushable Fashion Challenge. He is yeah, huge collector in Singapore. And so, I started to do a challenge. I taught a design thinking course. And the students on the first day of school, I would say, "You know what? They don't know me. I don't know them yet, you know, for the most part if they were never in one of my courses before. Let's make this the ice breaker." And the students

10:12would just It would be like a breath of fresh air. They're adults, but they got to play and create. And then they would go around and talk about their designs and why they created it. And the students would start to say, "I wish we could do this every week." [laughter] And they always remember that. That would come back up on my evaluations or maybe in a thank you note at the end of the semester. And this year, after I've done it a few times, this year I decided to bring my clothing to class and let them kind of pick and choose. And I connected it to marketing personas. So, who's your target audience? What's the demographics and the psychographics? And it was a fun way for them to dress their dolls. And like, "Oh, this is you know, she works in a creative field and she's this age and this is what she does." But, to do that through the doll is such a connective way that I think all educators really could bring pieces of themselves to class. For me, my favorite is bringing Barbie to the lesson. I love that. And so, are you a marketing teacher? I am. Okay, so that was my field of study. That's actually what I do for work. And I could go I could tell, too. I could tell, Kelly. How could you tell? You know, you're very thoughtful and intentional about your content and I really love that. I love going to see how you're talking about what you found, whether it was a thrift trip or an unboxing or even what you just um Giovanni was so gracious

11:34to send to you. I love watching that and it's not markety. It's already a part of you because you're a wonderful storyteller. I really appreciate the kind words. I appreciate that. Thank you so much. Absolutely. You do a lot of dioramas and a lot of scenes. So, they're very detailed, kind of like your minis, so I'm not surprised. So, do you have anything there that you can show us? Maybe something recent or something that you're working on? Ooh, yeah, I would love to. Should I pick you up and take you over to my diorama section? Oh, wow. This is beautiful. Yes, so you know what? This is one that has been up for a while and I'll back up a little bit just to show you. I'm trying to optimize my space as much as possible, so I've got these little bins and then I got kind of this party table that's adjustable. So, I'm starting to leave this in the doll room, so I have a dedicated space for dioramas that I can kind of move and change as necessary. So, this one is kind of a park scene or even kind of a city square and my youngest daughter, she's 11, she helped me create this. So, we got this new doll. She wanted to have her with the dog, something inclusive to show some different types of dolls and then she was helping me set up this farmers market scene, so maybe even a little kid could roll up to this part. Oh. This is one of those fun playsets

13:00um from like Five Below Teeny Tinies. And then just all the little details with the little food. We even like to take unconventional items like earrings, for example. We remove the little hook and look at these. These are little jelly jars. So, earrings or jewelry and so we figured this could be a little farmers market where people could Maybe there's some canned preserves that people are buying along with little reusable totes that we have from Barbie. And so this is just a fun way for storytelling. We've got some artificial grass here, some little topiary type plants that we get from the bric-a-brac section at thrift stores. This is a bath mat, like a bamboo bath mat that really adds some nice dimension. Maybe that's a background and a fence.

13:49That's really fun to incorporate. We even have a little, you know, baby here. Maybe they're hanging out at the park. And then a little seesaw. And so there's just fun little elements that we like to add. I like to and hey, if the kids aren't down to play, mama will still be over here playing and adding the lovely details here. So this is one of the dioramas that I've started to build. And the cool thing about this is one week I can focus on a coffee shop. The other week maybe I'm just zooming in on this lovely model here and her dog, the baby, and then maybe even the grandma. So I'm trying to think how can I optimize the scenes where I'm not spending like all day setting up a scene. It's something that can be a struggle at times. And then I only have like one post for it.

14:39So that's something that I like to think about, like a shot list. Yeah, that's wonderful. And I I love seeing what people do with their dioramas because I've always been so intimidated by the fact that I don't have space. And now seeing what you're doing here with the table um and a couple of my other guests like Make a Mark with Dolls with these dioramas that fold. When I see your dioramas, Cassie, I would think you have a massive room. And it's just something so simple. It really is. That's a really great point. To me it's really been about optimizing the space. And even if that means kind of changing it around, you know, from time to time, that's what I'll do. But this table and my mom even helped me. She's such a great supporter. She said, "Yeah, why don't you add a little table? And then you can house" I've got some, you know, dolls and things here. Add some little supplies here and really think strategically about your space so you don't feel too overwhelmed. And I love that it's a family affair. You talked about your daughter helping you, your mother supportive. Shout out to the family who supports the cause. Yes. Yes, it's such a blessing and a gift to have them support and uh yeah, it it means so much to me.

15:48Beautiful. Something that I really enjoy about your content is some of the funny reels. You just mentioned earlier that you grabbed some stuff for your diorama from Five Below and I saw [laughter] your really funny Five Below reel, which I laughed and you do like reality checks and like the POV with like trending audio, which I find so funny and you apply it to Barbie. What inspires you to kind of bring that humor into your content? Yeah, you know, similar to the classroom, I realized over time I grew up and I when I grew up I was kind of a shy, quiet person, but that made me really observant and I feel like I still am. People watching, studying people and a way that would kind of bring down my shell as a kid, I'd have this unassuming humor and I would make people laugh, young and old. And so that's something that I like to bring and just bring joy, brighten people's day with kind of tongue-in-cheek humor or kind of poking fun at myself. And we like relatable and I notice that that's a a common thread and throughline. People will say, "Oh, this is so relatable. This is funny." And so I like to bring that to the table, bring that to my content.

16:53Definitely relatable and I think it's funny cuz we're all thinking it, but no one says it and then you have a really funny and unique way of actually saying what we're all thinking. [laughter] Which is nice. Do you have a doll there that has a funny story attached to it? You know what? She is right here. Let's see, I've got her styled up. Something I also love to do is just style the dolls up. But do you remember her? She has the locks like similar to my hair, and she's the anniversary Barbie doll in that black and white striped gown. Yeah. And there's a really funny video I did with her where she's still in her box, and it's another doll, her hair is kind of looking a little bit more disheveled. I've I've got like a paper towel wrapped around her, and she's holding on, almost like window shopping. She's holding on to the box, the other doll. And it's basically they on-screen caption talks about body swapping, and it's called woman to woman, and it's like, "Hello."

17:50And so she's talking to her basically saying like, "Give me one more chance before I have to donate, you know, my body to you." And so it was a lot of fun. And And one of the content creators, she had almost a thousand likes on her comment, and the song is called woman to woman, but she wrote in her comment Barbie to Barbie, and it was so cute, kind of Barbie to Barbie talking like, "Hey, wait, I'm not ready yet." But yeah, I ended up switching bodies anyway, so. That's really funny and very creative. Kudos to you. And what a beautiful Brooklyn. I mean, that is the 65th. Like look at even the hair, the locks, it's just So gorgeous. Chef's kiss. Agree. I like that blue shadow. I was like, "Ooh, maybe I should get inspired and try that." [laughter] Do you have a doll there that has a memorable story attached to it? Ooh, you know what? Going back to thrifting, and I'll kind of cover her up. Some of the fun finds that I have found, I mean, original hair, braid, rubber band, whoever styled her. And then even the kind of discoloration. But found her at the thrift store. Someone just dropped her off, and I was able I like to say rescue her and add her to my collection. This was really special, and so I do I need to dress her. She did have that original striped bathing suit as well. It had just some natural holes and discoloration,

19:15which also was part of the original story, too. But, yeah, one of my special finds. Do we know what this one is? Do we need help identifying it? Yeah, I think we might need help identifying. Yeah. Should we do some research? Yeah. Maybe we should. If anybody on here can identify her, does she have any green in her ears? She just a little bit maybe where the earrings were, but it seems really subtle. Actually not bad. It's not bad at all. Let me see. Look, I'm going to put my readers on see if I If not, I like I can definitely follow up on the number and see what is here. Ooh. holes in her feet? She does not. So, that was something I checked. She does not have holes in her feet. like the first thing. So, maybe maybe if we hold up her face to the camera, somebody can identify. Yes, made in Japan is on her foot. Oh, wow. She looks great for how old she is. Well, if anybody recognizes or thinks they can know what number she may be, leave a comment below. That would be wonderful. Good. We got some detectives in the comments, I'm sure. We do. And it's a blonde ponytail. Maybe we could do a side profile, too. Yeah. Just to see.

20:20Her ears aren't bad at all, Cassie. Oh, wow. Wow. Well, I can't wait to see what you do with her and hopefully someone can identify her and let us know in the comments below. Yes, absolutely. And I did find it was a repro, but still, how fun to find out in the wild, you know? Yeah. So, fun. Even the repros are really, really well done. Yeah, they really have done a great job with them. Agreed. In agreement. Pull your blow back. And just and thrifting them, it's just like, oh my goodness. What is that hunt like for you? Like what does like the thrift hunt feel like for you? The thrift hunt feels so good because it's that anticipation. It's waiting to see and being okay if I didn't find anything in that particular day, but I have another one I I to show you that I found. And I was with my mom, so this made it even special because she saved all my dolls for me.

21:12And [clears throat] gave them to me, yeah, what, about 10 years ago. We found her just wrapped in plastic, just waiting for us. I think $3.99. And I was like, this doll is almost what, 30 years old or over 30 years old? I think '94. this repro? This repro. So, she was in this dress? She was in this dress. She was already in the dress, already had the gloves on. And dare I say, I don't know if these shoes I don't know if I changed the shoes, but this was her. She still had these details. I just had to brush her hair a little bit. Even the the necklace, was this the original, I wonder? Oh my goodness. Yeah, this is Solo in the Spotlight. And it's even again, the repros are beautiful. It's like a treasure hunt going thrifting, right? You just don't know what you're going to find.

22:02know what you're going to find. And the things that just make you smile. I remember when I found My kids were little, so they were kind of playing nearby at the thrift store, and I found and I had the same set, but maybe I gave it away, you know, when I was going to college or whatever. It was the Barbie and the Rockers instruments and the whole band, the stage. I found it. I almost thought, wait a minute, I better hurry up and grab this in case It was like $8. I was like, somebody might have made a mistake. Let me hurry up and grab this box before someone else gets it. And the sweetest thing about that is I had that set back in the late '80s. Single mom, three kids, and she The beauty of our relationship with her is each of us She was able that we have a younger sister. She was able to nurture all of our hobbies and what we liked. And my siblings found it, the Barbie and the Rockers set, the original one I had. They found it behind her bed and told me 2 months ahead of time. I was like, I don't like surprises. Like, or I like surprises, you know, I didn't want to know. And so I had to, you know, pretend I don't want to tell my mom we found out, but I remember her putting that on layaway and just working hard to get us, you know, something special each holiday, even my Barbie Dreamhouse. I remember, too, getting that. So, when I found that set again, it kind of brought like a twinkle and tear in my eye because I felt like it was taking me back to my childhood in such a beautiful way. Definitely. Like, what a sweet

23:27memory. What a great story. I've got a few from Barbie and the Rockers, too. I actually have um that Barbie and the Rockers stage, the Hot Rockin' Stage. Yes. It uh was actually my sister's, but it's nice to hear other stories cuz I remember when my sister would go out, she was 7 years older than me. I would say, "Mom, can we get down the Hot Rockin' Stage?" And she'd be like, "Shh, don't tell your sister." She would take it down. I'd play with it, and then we'd be like, "Oh, she's home." And we'd like quickly go put it back. I love [snorts] it. want me touching her stuff. I bought a new one, nonetheless, but it's just such a fun playset that when I hear other people talk about it, it just brings back so many memories. And it's funny how we all can share and relate to those things. Exactly. Yes, that's what I love about this community and how we can relate and brings back memories or recreate new memories, which is also beautiful as well.

24:12Which is really nice that you have your daughters. Some people who have children, sometimes they're into it, sometimes they're not. Like, how was your relationship with your daughter with Barbie? Is she into it? Is she enjoying it? Yeah, you know, they both were, and I would say what brought us so much closer together and it, you know, different seasons now, but my 11-year-old, she still really likes to play, and it'll be, I can tell after she's had maybe a busy day, she just has kind of that quiet time where she's creating and she's styling and she's playing in the different houses. And if she needs help, you know, she might say, "Mom, you know, I need some help picking out a new family. What do you think?" And then I can be kind of her little consultant, but she loves to style the hair. And then my 13-year-old, she definitely used to like to. I would say she was more the builder. And so she'll create some of the sets with me on the side, but I I say now she kind of moved from Barbie to beauty. Um but they both have an appreciation for the times that we were able to share. I would say especially when I created this account in 2020, I would share Barbie stuff on my personal account. But it was finally 2020 when I had more time.

25:20I said, "You know what? I'm going to create like a Barbie world in our family room and just play to our hearts' content. That That's what felt steady and normal in a sense. So they'll always have that to carry with them. It's really nice that your daughters you can share that with them and you know, pass it on to them one day when you're not around. I mean, it's a topic that we've talked about on the show as well as what happens to all these dolls when we're we're not here. We don't want them ending up in a thrift store, right? So it's really nice that you can kind of pass on that onto your daughters. Yeah. You mentioned a little bit about the doll community. So what has the doll community meant to you since I guess starting up on Instagram? Yeah, you know, it's been such a a great way to bond over a shared hobby. I would say maybe it took me more time to even think about having kind of a doll exclusive Instagram account because I was like, you know, will people think this is kind of like weird [laughter] that I'm like an adult and I'm still playing. And then finally when I let that go, I just would see more people popping up and connecting or people who already maybe had been creating and sharing and it was that solidarity and camaraderie that I really appreciate. And even you and I when we were first able to connect kind of over DM and like sharing thoughts or you know, things that we liked or saw out in the wild or gave each other tips.

26:45I really appreciate that about every single person. You know what I really like too is that we all collect differently. Like maybe there's some similarities in our collection, but maybe some of us have more, you know, inbox dolls or out or whatever our different setups are. I think that's what makes our community so vibrant is that there's so many different takes and that should all be celebrated. Yes, I agree 100%. I was actually going to ask you, do you have like a recent purchase there that you'd like to share with us? Ooh, yeah, let me go grab. A recent doll that I'm so excited about is Debbie Allen. Grew up with her, you know, watching Fame as a little kid or reruns or even all of her participation with shows like A Different World and I just knew I had to have her. The quintessential my favorite colors from back in the day.

27:39So really wanted to celebrate her. Love all her details and there were some really sweet videos that she did with the doll and with her dance company little ballerinas and dancers embracing the doll. So not to say I won't open her, but just for now I've been enjoying kind of almost like window shopping, but she's mine on the shelf on the doll shelf. Do you tend to be a out of box collector or like how do you decide whether you're going to open or not? Yeah, you know what? Lately I would say maybe even in the past couple of years and some of it might be space and I would say I I've even slowed down a bit on purchasing and I only open I think when I really am like, okay, I want to play or I'm envisioning a specific scene like the Joanna Gaines doll.

28:28I opened her pretty immediately and I created like a diorama. My whole goal was kind of a and I'm not quite there, but I will be this year is to have this like episodes of dioramas kind of just as we were, you know, talking and walking through the process and helping just each other think outside the box or share ideas. So, with that said, if I have an idea of a story or a scene in mind, I will open up the box. I would like to say, maybe my collection is about 30/70, so maybe 30% still in the box, and then I have some drawers in my doll way in the hallway, where I've got dolls kind of by era or maybe by collection that are um stored and housed that way. I don't know if someone would come in the comments about that. But no, they are protected. They're away from the sun.

29:19I think maybe just more of a space thing right now that I kind of pull some to the side. Yeah. What kind of impact do you hope that your content has on people when they come across your Instagram page? You know, I hope people feel just a little lighter. There's a lot going on in the world right now, and just a sense of peace and joy. I come back to that word, joy, of something that just feels like. I love when people comment, like I needed this today. I needed a laugh, or this makes me smile. This makes my heart happy. And so, I just love to spread that really joy, peace, and love through doll play is really kind of the mark that I want to want to leave. And I think you do a great job at that, for sure. Definitely. So, that's why I wanted to have you on the show because I just love your content, and you do that. Your content is so welcoming, and the humor, and it's just bright, and I love seeing you when you do stuff with your daughters.

30:14It just It feels very Again, you were using the word relatable. It's like the the word of the hour, but it really It really is. If Mattel were to ask you, if someone from Mattel in marketing walked into your room and said, "We're going to repro one of your dolls. Which one would you tell them to do?" You know what I would say, and it's not Barbie, but it is Mattel, is the Happy Family Grandparents. I just feel like they are so super special. I like the idea of having generational dolls and I find that I get creative by using maybe movie dolls or other dolls from the town that may not have been intended as like a grandparent or aunt or uncle, but I love kind of that storytelling of the different generations. So I would say if there was an opportunity to create, you know, a seasoned, a young at heart doll or doll collection, that would definitely bring a big smile to my face. And it's funny cuz that happy family, I mean, like is that not essentially Midge and Allan? That's essentially who it is, right? Yeah.

31:17And I see that you do have a grandma that you use in your content. I do have a grandma and I got a grandpa that was a girl. It was my mom and my husband got together and surprised me with that. I didn't ask for anything in particular. I just said one day if it ever worked out. And so there's a video of me, I think, like, "Oh my goodness!" opening up, you know, the box on Christmas. So and it's the African-American one and I do have the Caucasian grandma as well, but just to have different reflections and different iterations of dolls throughout their journey. I agree, 100%. So if Mattel is listening, you heard it here. We need more generational dolls, maybe some more grandmas, more grandpas because we also have to ensure that the aging population is represented as well. [laughter] And we're all going to get there, too, right?

32:08Do you have anything there that's fashions or play sets or anything else that you would want to share? Yes, yes, yes. This is, I would say, one of my favorites. And I got it, it was, yeah, new in box. Is that, what is it, the electric piano? This was so fun. I I I think I kept the box because I like the artwork as well and the little music notes and my daughters are, you know, learning piano. They've taken lessons for many years. So, this is just been a nice scene. Maybe I'll do a recital diorama. They have a recital coming up in June. So, I like sometimes to create little scenes that mimic, you know, some of the real-life situations that we're going through. So, this one is super fun.

32:55Does it work? It does. Let me see if it's on. And we can play a little ditty. Let's see. Too cute, right? Oh my goodness, the kids love this. They'll come in and play every from time to time with this and the memories. And then it has a cute little bench that opens. You got the bench, too. Got the bench. So, look, it's got some music notes in there. There are some music sheets, some music in there, too. So, the realism and the detail, I believe this was early '80s. I just feel like unmatched. And so, I like little special pieces like this. And I got this a few years ago. So, I didn't have it as a kid, but that's a nice part about being an adult collector. If something resonates, right? The different resources now. And I have something on my list. I might say, "Hey, I want to I want to get this one." It was a great price, too.

33:47And keeping things out of landfills, I got this, I think, on eBay. I've been eyeing that on eBay, too. I also always wanted as a kid. It was in one of those booklets. You know the booklets you get with the dolls? Yeah. I need this piano. Yes. And I actually was at the thrift store the other day, and I found like a little statue of a And you This was me in the store like, "Is this I had to go to the Barbie section. I'm like, "Is this Barbie scale? Will this And I've been eyeing that item for a long time." And just it is such a cute piece. And the fact that it still works is amazing. It's amazing, right? Well, I will keep an eye out, too, for you. Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. How many dolls would you say you have in your collection? Ooh, you know, I've never counted. But if I had to guess, I would say somewhere between maybe 600 750.

34:37That's a good number. That's a If my family were here, they might yell out a different higher number, but we're going to we're going to stay in that range. estimate. Yeah. It's it's it's a nice little medium. You know, maybe it's 600, maybe it's 1600, whatever. [laughter] Right. And do you have like a doll room? Are you in that room or is it kind of spread out all over your home? Yeah, a little bit of both, but I would say for this space, cuz sometimes I do teach virtual live courses. [snorts] So, you know, I might change the background. I have like books and things like that behind me. So, this is kind of my office space and I tried to make it like a little cubicle. So, I've got a shelf on the other side of my monitor and that shelf, again, optimizing space. That shelf has bins with doll clothes and things like that.

35:22And then I've got another shelf, my Barbie Dream House and then another house here. So, it's still I try to make it movable for especially my youngest when she still wants to come in and play and then still have my kind of office space. So, the average person, if I'm on a work meeting, they would never know I'm across from me I'm staring at a dolls. [laughter] That's wonderful. That's wonderful. Oh, and then in the dollway, I've got some more dolls in the hallway, too. But What you called the dollway? I called the dollway. it's a dollway. I like that. Is there a grail that you're still on the hunt for? Cuz I know we talked about we always mention the word grail. Is there's one that you're still trying to get? You know what? And I can't say that I've really tried to get it, but every now and then, especially at the top of our conversation, I think I need to get those roller skating dolls. I know they had a Fashionista version. I feel like because they're so special, my twin and I both had the Barbie and the Ken. I think I need like I need I need to get those dolls and then I'm thinking about another Peaches and Cream doll. Like I said, I had my doll, but then I think I swapped her head, and the dress is a little discolored. I think those would be on my list. I've got Peaches. I did purchase a Peaches out of box. She's in

36:43decent condition, missing a ring and all that, but I don't have the skating, and I've also did want them, but I did grab one of these. Oh, yes, see? And maybe I should even get that one. Yeah. is it the same? Of course not, but it's a nice like modern-day twist, right? It is, and a little nod. You see, we still see the purple wall. It is. I appreciate that. Yeah. Yeah. So, maybe that that could be a a backup, for sure. Yeah, thanks for sharing. No problem. And you did mention your daughters, and so when your daughters come in that room, which is also kind of works, you know, it's an office / playroom, do you let them play with any doll, or are you specific on what they can play with? I let them play with any doll because I know they're really appreciative, and I do feel like I've showed them [clears throat] how to be as careful as possible. Now, have I let their friends and maybe smaller relatives come in here, and maybe a couple things got damaged. So, maybe then I would be a little selective, or have a You know what? I thought about having like a Barbie bin, and maybe it's even a little basket where I put dolls that they can play with, and maybe it's even some of the dolls that I let my students use when they do their fun little icebreaker.

37:58I thought about doing that, and maybe even when friends and family come over, cuz I think it's so therapeutic, have a little container with the brushes. You know, we love those quintessential Barbie brushes. And I think just sit on the couch, chill, get you a beverage of choice, and just brush, and let the cares of the day fall away, and style up some hair. So, Yeah. Therapy. It's a little therapy session. It's all therapy. I'm I'm all about it. So, they've never turned any of your dolls into a weird Barbie. They have not. You know, there was a doll. I never got an honest answer. Their cousin was in town, and I don't think their cousin was really used to being around Barbie dolls. It was the Barbie style, one of the early ones with the pink suit. Do you remember that blonde, kind of crimped bob? Yeah, in a blue dress, a baby blue like smocked sundress.

38:50One of them took a Sharpie to the forehead. Kelly. Um I was like, "Who did this?" And no one wanted to say. Fortunately, I like Googled, you know, I think I used hand sanitizer, and it rubbed away, but I still don't really know to this day who did it, but it was crisis averted, and don't do that again. Oh [clears throat] my, I felt the heart palpitations in my temples were starting to like just hearing that. I exactly experienced a cousin like cutting off my doll's hair. Yeah. Or taking like, you know, a doll with crimped hair, and I like to keep my dolls like in original condition, combing the crap out of her hair, and I was like, "No! [laughter] Yeah. See, we relate. We understand. We understand. Yes, we do. We do. As I mentioned before, I really enjoy styling. And so, this was a really fun doll, whether it's hair styling or clothing styling, maybe putting unconventional, you know, looks together, and I like the pink, the animal color, the pop of blue, and just tying in different elements. Her hair was braided for a few years, and so my oldest daughter, who's into beauty, was like, "Oh, Mom, can I do her hair?"

40:07And so, I always appreciate kind of just even if I don't photograph or I wait to photograph, just having like a I call it a styling sesh, especially after a long day or long week. I said, you know what? I'm just going to have some fun and play. Maybe I like beauty as well. Maybe I take some markers or paint or a color pencil watercolor pencil and I might touch up the makeup or try something different that's not too permanent and polish the nails. And it's just a fun way to express my creativity. So, that's something fun I like to do. And I love that because you're doing something that's not permanent because tomorrow you might be in a different mood and you want her to look different and you're not locked in to that look. Yes, absolutely. The dolls that I do unbox sometimes instantaneously I will change their look. And it's not like I don't like the clothes that they came in but I'm like, oh, maybe she's a college student or maybe she's about to go shopping and I just for the fun narratives and in different moods like you said, I like to change them change it all up.

41:12Awesome. I love that and I love those boots. I think they're from the Mini Brands, the new series. That's fun. Still don't have it in Canada. I got my capsules when I was in Jersey. We still don't have them here. Yeah. I'm trying not to complain but I'm like, it's been a while. Come on. I know and you inspired me cuz you got these, didn't you? I did. When I was in Jersey in at Christmas, I was at Target and I'm like, yep, I'll take one, two. I'll just take the rest of what you have here and we still don't have them here in Canada. Adam to cart. Mhm. Yeah, exactly. So, a couple things from my childhood that I'm so grateful that my mom saved for me. They're just when I think about it, it just warms my heart. And do you remember these? The furniture? Yes. I forgot the name of this actual um but it was like a a living room set. A living room set and I have these covered which I can uncover but the pink and the blue.

42:01I love the reversible and I remember as a kid thinking, this is so clever that the design team thought about if someone wants to take a nap or rest and I always love those details. And then so she kept these I mean they're in really great condition still. Yeah, look at the the pattern and the material the the pattern almost looks like it like an embroidery almost on it. I know it's hard to see on the camera. It does. Yes, it really does. And in fact, you know what? These have been on here long enough. Let me take it off real quick live because do it. just takes me back to my childhood. Look at how awesome that is that you just wrapped it in like paper to just give it a different kind of look. To give it a to give it a different look. This was like a fireplace thing a few years ago I helped the girls and I helped and we just used napkins from a holiday party. Again, we used, right? And then it still has a little tag on it. Oh.

43:00And pink and blue. don't The pink and the blue you could flip it whichever one you want. They just don't make it like they used to anymore and I'm pretty sure this furniture I had I used it as like patio furniture cuz I feel like it has that dual look. gosh. That's actually a really great almost even like a sunroom. Like I I watch those home decor shows on YouTube like HomeWorthy and Architectural Digest and I love to see I've seen some people use you see some in that space. I love that idea. And then when we would go visit my grandma who's still living, love you Grandma Darby, we would sleep, you know, she'd have so many family members at the house and I always loved that her couch in the living room would be a what a fold away? Is that what it the convertible couch or we would, you know, sleep out there. a pullout maybe? Pullout. Yeah, and and again, I just remember being a kid thinking this is really cool. And so same thing with the cushion. I could take this on or off and customize it. But that patio idea, the backyard, I like that. You inspire me, Kelly. I'm glad. So if there's any patio dioramas in the future, just make sure you credit, you know. You know I will. You know I will. [laughter] No, I'm kidding. But And the thing is, when you look at doll furniture now, like I this is not to step on Mattel at any, but they're just hard plastic. And there's nothing to them. It's just a pink couch. There's no softness to it. There's no They have more character. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yeah.

44:26No, I'm with you on that. You know, there is a doll actually I just thought of that my sister, who's not a doll collector. We did play for a little bit, but I would say by the time she was eight, she wasn't really into it. So, she gave me her dolls. She got this doll for me. She bought this doll, I want to say in the early 2000s off of Fingerhut. Do we even know if Fingerhut still exists? I would say they were like a Amazon. Everything from soup to nuts you could get on that website. It used to be a big catalog business, I remember in the '80s. But she knows that I love the dolls, and I wasn't even collecting per se during this time. And she said, "Cass, this doll was so regal, Bob Mackie. It made me think of you. And I just had to get her for you."

45:20Oh. Wow. Goddess of Africa Barbie. Look at those details. Bob Mackie, like always just Always. Always. Goodness. Look at that headpiece, the detailing. And look at the box is huge. Oh, no, she fell. It'd be nice to go to the next piece. be even a podcast episode if a doll a blooper. We need a blooper. That's a good We need a blooper. We need a blooper. [laughter and gasps] I'm sorry, girl. She's okay, good. But you're right, the next piece, the headpiece. I kept her in the box for all these years. So, maybe I do need to find a way to like bring her out, showcase her. But this was, as soon as I opened the box, when I first received her, this was the artwork. And my husband is an illustrator and he actually he teaches concept art. And so just the detail, the illustration and it's signed. This in it of itself, the packaging, the artwork, it's always feels so special to me, too. So I appreciate this and I do I have my undergrad degrees in fashion design. I went in a different direction, but appreciate fibers and fabric and silhouette and all that good stuff of how things are made, uh which is fun. Since she fell? Ah! [gasps] Since she fell, we have Since she fell, should we go ahead and just show? Is this the first time she's been out of boxes on Barbie Talk? It's the

46:43first time. I've never taken her out. I feel so special. I feel so special. Look at this doll. I mean, look even on her wrists, she's got um a ring. I mean, and I just you know, it made me tear up, I would say. I've got I have my moments because my sister knew and my mom, too, I guess some kind of way Barbie's going to come back to you in your life, whether you have kids or not. We sensed that because this was such a special part of your childhood that she's going to make her way back to you and so they've sewn literally into my collection. And honestly, my sister doesn't even remember giving this a doll to me. Oh, the little little feather. I've asked her about it, but she knows, you know, she's like, "I love you. I'm sure I did something special for you." but here she is in all her glory. Oh my goodness. Is she wearing any shoes? The dress is so long, I can't even see if she's got shoes. You know what? I think I did take the shoes off even though I didn't remove her from the box. I think I used them for something. They are dress heels in this color. So I'll have to find them, but I don't think they're on right now. even see them.

47:56I was just curious cuz you can't see it. you're right. She And that's that's the beauty of it is that they don't show, but they still made shoes for her. They're beautiful shoes. I'm sure they're not just the right They were beautiful. They were beautiful little T-strap burgundy high heels that I was like, "Okay, Mattel. Okay, Barbie." Thank you, Bob Mackie, for these beautiful dolls. Just stunning. And you know what? You can keep her out of the box and you can put her back cuz she's kind of has the setup. Like you can do either way. You can even put the back in behind the box so she's still in the box, but the box does take up a lot of space. But either way, she's beautiful wherever she is. Look at you already giving me display ideas, Kelly. Okay. Okay. dolls. [laughter] Come on. Come on with the inspo. And we talked about that earlier, giving this community flourishing, inspiring each other, encouraging each other. And that's why I stay here even in the busy seasons of being a working mom and a wife and life, I still come back to this hobby to connect, to express my creativity, and that's why I love it here so much. Exactly. Well, she can hang out on your new patio. Yeah, come on, girl. [laughter] That's awesome. Well, that was a good one, Cassie. That was a beautiful doll. Okay, do you want to see a car? I want to see a car. Barbie's got to drive. She's got to get somewhere. Oh.

49:15This is like a a Volkswagen You got it. That's what it is. Yeah, like a station wagon, huh? Cute. Yeah. Yes, I think I guess the official is I don't have my glasses on. V something something. The Volvo. I said a Volkswagen. I meant a Volvo. Yes. Yes. I've never seen this car. This one is so fun because look. And I want to say maybe my niece, who's like 27 now, she may have been around early 20 like playing with dolls around this time cuz I think she did have the van. It was a purple van. I've got the pink one. This was so fun because it has the car seats and my kids my girls are 2 years and 1 day apart so they were in car seats at the same time we had the double stroller and my mom got this for me she found it at an estate sale and she called me up but whispering talking about how she was going to negotiate and get it for me and I was like oh you know don't worry about it if it's too much and then she sent me a text and she said I'm at the post office right now and it's on its way to you and so this is just sweet it's been fun it's got seat belts and I've kind of kept it as is a little tip I do keep a little fan makeup brush for dusting in my dioramas and things like that so this does need a little dusting but just a

50:35fun kind of meeting me where I was you know in my parenting journey and connecting it to dolls and the girls love they still like to play with this one Yeah and I love that because it's not just like the standard Barbie's in a Corvette Barbie's in a an ultra vet Barbie's in a Ferrari you know she's a convertible top this is more relatable to again as we're growing in our life and in our journey what I'm curious to know though is did that car come with the car seats It did it did and Kelly I believe they're removable So here's where I'm curious Mattel's thinking if Barbie's not married and Barbie doesn't have children how come that car exists Ooh this may have been and someone keep us honest in the comments this may have been part of happy family That would make sense but the license plate says Barbie That's it you know what I thought about that earlier too because I you know I was going to show Barbie things but Like if that was Midge's car Why didn't It could be Midge's car because Midge's got the family the whole happy family thing but interesting like I've I've always sometimes it's the story line gets a little Yeah and that's the marketing that's the marketing side you, too, huh? There you go. There you go. [laughter] It's so true. Very true. Very true. But, I love that vehicle. It reminds me of the Barbie minivan

51:57that came out in, oh my god, late '90s. I wanted it so badly, and there was a car seat in there, but it was for Kelly, Barbie's little sister. Yeah, not like a little baby. Mhm. Right. So, those I mean, could those be for Chelsea? Who knows? But, anyways, if anybody knows the storyline here, leave a comment below. Educate us a bit cuz I'd like to understand, but I love it. I love that vehicle. Yeah, and the two different car seats, which is fun. And, of course, safety first, and Volvo is known for safety, right? Yeah. Yeah, shoutout to Volvo. Yes. [laughter] Do you have something there that you'd like to share that maybe was hard to find? I do. I do. And, I've kept this one in the box, so I'll show the box first. Let's see. So, this is a designer line. It's Kith.

52:44So, this I've never seen this doll. Yeah, so a Barbie and Kith collaboration. Let me show you. And, there she is. Kind of a luxe streetwear vibe. She came with some other items. It's almost as though she's in the store. I mean, this was a different doll, especially because she's got like a blonde short cut. But, the sweatsuit and cute little booties and the coat, the camel coat, as well as some sportswear items. This was just the moment I saw her, I was like, she is so cute. I really want you to get her. Find her. So, you know what? My husband had purchased some things from the brand Kith before, and so he already was able to get online because he had an account set up earlier. I want to say it sold out under 10 minutes. And I've kept her in the box. I did make a funny reel, going back to your earlier question, where my daughter has scissors and she's about to cut the doll. And I I run in. I come through the doorway like, "Mm-mm, girl." And then I hand her a Barbie Fashionista. To play with. Because it's like, "No, no, no, no, no." This one

54:04is special. And I'm going to keep her here. And I love to see, maybe for people who weren't able to get the doll I don't know, cuz I think after market's probably pretty high. But I know a couple people that like created and inspired by doll. So I like to see that, too. I've done that with the Aaliyah doll when it sold out. And so that just shows so much ingenuity and creativity. But this was just fun. She comes with some other pieces. So will and yeah, some warm-up pants. So will I open her one day? I'm I'm still not sure. But she looks just as special in the box. And I like the visual merchandising elements, too. So here she is. Yeah, I love the clothing hanger. The little There's like almost like a bench or something behind her. a bench. You got it. And you know what? Like again, there's no formula to collecting keeper in the box. One day you want to remove her, you remove her. If you don't, it's whatever you want. I love that it's your prerogative. And that's the beauty of this community. We collect as we feel inspired. Definitely. Definitely.

55:05So I've had such a great time with you today, Cassie. Thank you for sharing your creativity, your perspective, your joy, your collection, your dioramas, uh your personal stories. And I think what makes people love your content is it's not just about the dolls, it's about imagination, uh storytelling, your humor, and just creating a space where people feel seen and inspired. And so on behalf of the doll community, I want to thank you. Thank you so much. And I love what you said earlier about welcoming and inviting. This is a space for everyone. And we all need more creativity and expression, whatever that looks like for each individual, to make this world a more beautiful place. So, thank you for doing that through your content and with this wonderful podcast. I appreciate you and I know so many others do, too. That warms my heart. I'm so grateful for you, Cassie. Thank you so much. See you next time. Bye. Bye. It's amazing how one doll can remind us to take [music] a step back, laugh, and enjoy the creative ride. Make sure to like, subscribe, [music] and hit that notification bell if you love all things Barbie. And if you enjoyed this episode, click here to [music] see one of my other episodes. Thanks for watching.