Thrifting, Budget Barbie Collecting and Organizing Dolls

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 Kelly and this is Barbie Talk. Barbie Talk with Kelly in Pink. Today's guest is one of the most energetic and impressive collectors that I've come across. I've asked her to do this episode with me because her energy was just so infectious. Everyone, please welcome Robin. Hi guys. Hi Robin. [laughter] Welcome to Barbie Talk. Thank you for having me. I follow a ton of people on Instagram and you just stood out like your not just your collection but your energy anytime you posted anything. So, um I want to kind of give everybody a little bit of background about um who you are and maybe just how how did your relationship with Barbie start? Like we can I can see from your background there there's a ton of dolls there. So, tell us a little bit of history on your relationship with Barbie.

0:55Well, it started early. Um, lucky for me, I have three older sisters. So, I had a lot of pass meown Barbies. So, my favorite eras are '8s and '9s. So, like I grew up like I was born in the '8s, but like I'm a '9s kid. So, all the 80s Barbies that I ever had were given to me by my sisters. So, it started early. I think I got my first doll when I was like four or five for Christmas. So, and actually, I got one here if you want to see her. Oh my goodness. Yes, I do want to see her. Oh, so here's uh Garden Party Barbie. She's from uh 88. So, I'm sorry. This is your original doll from 88. Another one you bought. Yeah. Oh, that's fantastic. And she's in great condition, Robin. Yes. I was I wasn't very rough on my dolls. And honestly, I didn't even undress some of them.

1:45They just always stayed in their original outfits and I played with them. So, yeah. This is her. So, I got her and one other which was Dance Magic. They're the first two dolls I ever owned. So that's like I started early and I was lucky because like I ended up with the the whole rockers group. Mind you, we didn't have Ken or Derek because my mom didn't like any of the Ken's. She just didn't like them. She's like, "No, you guys don't need them. You got Barbie, though." [laughter] It's funny. Yeah, I I can totally relate. I think you and I might be around the same age if we're if you were born in the 80s and you're a 90s kid. That's that's my era as well. I had an older sister, so that's I think where I didn't have three, but I had the older sister. [laughter] Um, and that's just where it started. Her one of her first dolls, I don't want to say this because I might quote wrong, but I think one of her first dolls was a Club California or a California Dreaming, I think. See, that's nice. Yeah, same difference really names. Um, so she got a Barbie, I got a Barbie, then she got a MIJ, we got hot dog stand, and then she got her Barbie and the rockers doll. I never got one. Yeah, she got like the hot rock and stage and like the AO like she had the um great shape Barbie with the gym. So like I was and I played with it like crazy and I you know I think I ended up falling in love with it more than she did cuz like she moved on and grew up and stopped collecting and didn't care and I was just like I still kept going and and and what like those Barbies were probably on the end of her Barbie liking curve,

3:10you know? So they're probably in pretty good shape for you. Yeah. I mean we were seven years apart almost eight years apart. So like She kind of passed them on to me. Um, unfortunately her Barbie and the rockers her she gave it to her daughter. She now has a daughter. Oh yeah. And her daughter destroyed it. And I was like, "What'd you do with it?" She threw it out and I was like, "No." That's like every time the kids one kid that keeps hers pristine and the other kid that cuts their hair, tries to flush them. So Exactly. Exactly. Tell me a little bit about the collection you have. So are these what percentage would you say is like from your childhood your sisters and what percentage is like your investment that you've bought as an adult? Well, I know that I had when I started this it was like during co so it was in 2020 and my husband was home from work.

3:56the kids weren't going to school while the kids well I only had one in school at the time but I wasn't going to school and I I was just a stay at home mom so I had all this time in my hands right so I decided to go up into the attic and get out my childhood dolls so I went up and got them and I had I had roughly alltogether it's probably close to 60 I think from childhood dolls and like these they're dirty like they were they had brown on their face some of them had like mold spotting thing like they were quite dirty cuz they, you know, they were in storage forever. So anyway, I took them out. So I had probably about 60 and I watched some of um Beauty and in a Box, I believe Joey from Yeah, I watched some of his stuff and um I can't remember Arjen Barbie Nation. Yeah, that's it. Yeah. So I watched a lot of his restoring videos, right? So that's what got me into it. And as soon as I restored all my childhood dolls, it literally snowballed from there. I can imagine. So, I have in my collection right now, I have um 1,244 was the last count right in this room. They're all on display. There's nothing in a bin nowhere. They're all on display. Say that number again. 1, 1,244. Wow. And do you I see that there's a lot out of box. So, you're an out- of-box collector. Do you have anything that you

5:18have in box? Um, see, I I always like to pride myself on a very I'm a very cheap collector. So for me, I get whatever is the cheapest. So like sometimes I I do a lot of thrifting. So thrifting is my go-to for my collection. I thrift probably for my collection. It's about 80% thrifted. Yeah. Cuz like I or I call thrifting too is like on marketplace where I buy people's childhood collections and then restore them, right? So like I end up with like mounds of Barbie clothes. So um I do have a quite an inbox collection too. I have about 200 in box. So that 1,00 doesn't include the 200. Yeah, it does. Okay. [laughter] Yeah. So it counts like all all Barbie. So it doesn't count any other dolls I collect outside of Barbie's world. But yeah. What about like accessories? Uh Dream Houses, like where does that So I don't do the cars. Um I don't have anywhere really. Like that takes up a lot of space. Like I have two of the camper vans. I love camper vans.

6:20Like if I had the space, I'd buy all the camper vans. I have my childhood camper van, which is the the 80s, the all pink one. Yeah. So, that was my childhood one. But I uh accessories. I have I have everything Barbie ever needs and accessories. I have tons and tons. I have bins of um food. I have three of the three of the um Barbie supermarkets. Oh my goodness. Yeah. So, I have I have nine I think nine Barbie houses right now. And I can imagine the fashions are just like Oh, it's unreal. I have I have a lot of fashions. Like I'm not so I'm not so much into dressing my dolls up in fashions. Um there's only there's a couple doll lines I have that I do like keeping multiples of like Totally Her Barbie. I have four her right now. One an original outfit and three right now in the fashion pack. So there's four fashion packs, but I only have three. So hopefully one day I'll find the other one. And like Hollywood Hair Barbie, I have about seven of her. So, I hope they get like I like the fashion packs of those dolls, but all the other fashions I have, I don't know what I'm gonna do with them one day. I think I might just sell I'll sell a lot of it.

7:25It's just like for me it's that's for I'm a completionist. I like my dolls. Like I like finding a doll thrifting and then having it completely dressed right out in its original fashions and like jewelry and all that. I think a lot of people can relate and I there's a lot of things that you're saying that I noticed that like are similar to me. I've always been a box collector. But when I was a kid, even when I got the dolls that I'd play with, like uh school cool, I think she was called like all American too. Like she went Yeah. She's like Weakened. Yeah. And I didn't want to like take off their original outfits. Like my friends would be like, "Take this off." And I'm like, "No, leave it." And like even any dolls that where their hair was crimped or really curly, I had a cousin who would like comb it out and I'm like, "Stop it." like I wanted them in such like the in like the original condition. Now, as I've gotten older, thrifting is like almost like you feel like you're saving them like somebody somebody enjoyed enjoyed it and now it's time for it to be passed along to somebody else. But it's also like, oh man, but the hunt of finding the original dress and the shoes, but that's what makes it so exciting and fun. Yeah, this is a new territory for me. Like restoring and like, you know, popping off heads and changing bodies. Like maybe rrooting. Like these are all things that like I really only started doing recently because I was such a box collector. Oh yeah. See, I've like now

8:49like there's some dolls behind me that like are like you said marketplace or eBays or thrifted um that I'm like, "Okay, you know what? I can't keep every doll in the box." Like what is worth keeping in the box? Yeah. for a display piece because it's a really nice box and what's Yeah, that's Yeah, exactly. And what's like at this point like just enjoy them. Yeah, just enjoy them. And you start to notice that some of the dolls get like mold or like even like the I call it the sweaty face look. Oh yeah, it is. Yep. Absolutely. Some do. And and luckily it's always the same ones. And not normally you won't like like you get a Christmas Barbie and you that'll never get a sweaty face, but if you get like a style magic Barbie, all of a sudden she'll get ghost face cuz her face turns white after a while. It's always that one Barbie. What Barbie would you say? Aside from maybe that first one you showed me, means the most to you. Okay. For me, and this is a doll that I didn't know existed as a kid, like I didn't she wasn't even on my radar when I first started collecting. Um, but when I found her, I realized how much I loved her. So, everybody asked me like, "Do you have a favorite Barbie?" And I and they're they're surprised when I say I do. And it's not one of my favorite hard question to answer, right? Like, I don't know if actually I think my favorite Barbie would have to be Perfume Pretty Barbie. So, she's from 88. Absolutely. She's probably to me she is everything Barbie is. Um, I just love this doll. Her face is just amazing. She also has

10:13the cutest little bow earrings. Oh, she does. And she's got a bow on the front of her dress here, as you can see. She also has a bow ring. And she also has bows on her shoes if you can see them there. She's Wow. Yeah. And And even the pink, like it's not like a hot pink. It's like just like a baby pink. Very subtle. This is what you say like Barbie pink. That's what I say. Like to me, Barbie's always been like a lighter pink. I don't know. To me, like this this is definitely her. This I don't know what it is, but she gives me like goosebumps. I love her. And like I didn't know for the longest time that she also came in the African-Amean version too. I am also obsessed with Christy. Christy doll has always been for me like a big hunt. Um she's very hard to find and like I am not one to pay a lot for a Barbie. Like I try to like I I stay away from eBay. The shipping all that's just insane right now. But these, you know, to find her from FA Facebook Marketplace, I got her in a mystery lot was just in a suitcase. And the lady's like, "I'll sell you the suitcase for $12." I said, "Okay." And then when my husband went to go pick it up, she said, "I found another suitcase of Barbies. Do you want it an extra an extra $12?" So I sent her another 12 bucks. So I ended up getting two suitcases full of Barbies.

11:26And almost all of them were the AA versions. I can Yeah. Like I was like almost crying the whole time I was going through it. I can imagine that Christy face mold and even the Whitney the perfume pretty Whitney is one of my favorites too. She's I have her right here. You do have her. Oh my. And I just loved how her dress had was different, you know? Oh yeah, she's gorgeous. Like I just mean there's just something about her face with a Stephy face. Like it's unreal. So cute. Like she's pretty. So this whole this whole set I also have a Canon box, but he wasn't too important for me to dig out. So yeah. Yeah. This this is it. This whole line is my favorite. But if I had to pick one, it would definitely be either one of these. If I had to run and grab one, what is your whichever one was closest? I would tear off the shelf and run. [laughter] Yeah, those are gorgeous. Those No, they're definitely classic dolls. Like so. Oh my gosh, they're gorgeous. So iconic. So iconic and really hard to get a hold of, especially complete. if you want to buy a boxed version, especially us as Canadians, like we're not going to sit here and complain, but it kind of sucks for us Canadians sometimes because we don't get some of the opportunities that like a US resident would or even ordering off Mattel Creations, we don't get free shipping. Like there's always those kind of like you got to start thinking to yourself, okay, I'm going to spend $40, but then I'm going to pay 25 shipping. Like, is this worth it? Right. It's like the same.

12:44It's sometimes the shipping's more than what you pay for the doll anyways. It sure is. Yeah. Like like this like her dress here, it picks so easily and to find one that wasn't full of poles and picks was like it was so hard. But I had her outfit long before I had the doll. Yeah. Yeah. And that's the thing like like we were saying earlier like sometimes you have to like get the doll and then find the pieces. Yeah. It's the it's or you have the clothes first and you just hope the one day that you'll just find that doll thrifting or online, you know? You just never know. Yeah. I'll tell you, I somehow have Crystal Barbie's dress, but never got Crystal Barbie. Tell you how I got her dress. I think me and my cousins were maybe switching trading clothes. I've always had it and I'm like, but I don't where where's the doll? I don't have the doll. So, yeah.

13:29Yeah. How did you go about deciding how to organize that that display of yours? I can understand like themes like all the Hollywood hairs, all the Baywatch. I'm just trying to look like maybe all of the the camp funds or something. But yeah, how did you how did you like did you do it by years? Because I see I think I I see you have your skippers all together as well. Yeah. Tell me a little bit about your thought process with how you organized all that. Well, I think organizing is my like that's my superpower. So if if anybody has a superpower, mine's just like random organizing skills and I've always been like that even as a kid. So, um I kind of just like I like putting um like it's hard to to put it into words, but I I made sure I put all like the Y the Y2K Barbies all along the same section of shelf. So, like they're all the ones I would um like the Mackie face and any of the early 2000s. So, like I like collecting into the 2000s. I also have like my budget dolls. I usually So that would be like Bali Barbie and Capri Barbie and like all those ones with the straight arms. I keep them together also just I just like having things together. I don't know if there's much of an actual I just do it. And it's always at midnight. Like I don't know why. It's a skill. Let me tell you whenever

14:50it hits I tend to quite organized but I I still looked at your shelves and I went how would I have sorted that? Yeah. Right. I do big moves probably three times a year where I strip everything and then put it all back. But then I do like section moves where like at the risers where you can't see or like right in front of me. So they they're they're themed risers. Like for summer I just put all of my bathing suit and um all my bathing suit lines are all in the risers now for summer. So like for winter I'll switch it out and put some Christmas ones there. But when Christmas comes I always stick them next to the door so everybody can see them when they come in and out. Like it's just like that just I find that fun and it helps keep them clean. Like if you're constantly moving things, dust can't settle. So you're always moving stuff around. Cuz that's like one of those questions I get asked all the time is like what do you do about the dust? It's like I don't really do anything cuz this room isn't a hightra area in my house. There's no I took the ceiling fan out because the ceiling fans and fans in general are huge dust blowers. Yeah. They they'll fill your dolls full of like all the animal hair. So, we have a lot of pets, though. [laughter] You Sorry. You do have a lot of pets. Oh, yeah. I have a dog and four cats and a lizard.

16:03And you're able Well, I guess if you're touching your doll that often, it's an opportunity to kind of like clean. For sure. I think a lot of people just kind of make their displays and they're like, "Perfect." Like, I'm just leave this here. Yeah. A lot of people do that for a while. And then it's a lot of work to like get in between. Like, I would probably use like a little duster or something and like Oh, yeah. It would be it would take a lot of time. I was actually going to say, what do you do with like your Christmas dolls? I guess you keep them up all year round. Oh, yeah. They're they're they're always on display 24/7 cuz like I I love the Christmas dolls. They're some of my absolute favorite. I'm always a big a fan of Barbie in a massive ball gown. Now, they take up a lot of room, but if you get uh crafty with it and put them a little bit on the side where the dresses can still flow out and you put another one next to them, you can actually line up quite a few on a shelf. So, they're so nice. So, yeah. So, yours are out of box, I'm going to say. Oh, they I only have one. No, that's that's a lie. Actually, I have three currently in box. Um, I also have them out of box. So, they when I first got them, they were super cheap. Like, man, I'm only paying $20 for this Barbie in the box. And I got one for $15. So, I was like, I'll buy them and I'll unbox them. But the problem is when I get them home, I'm just like, I can't open the box cuz the box was in like super condition. If it was cracked or was bent in any way, shape, or form, I would have ripped that doll out of there. For sure. Yeah. The boxes are so pretty. They're just They are huge. Like they're like a huge They're a big story and part of my collection. So that's

17:27why I like having a little bit of both cuz like some of them have like full bios on the back. That's right. They have a whole story. Yeah. And like the pictures, the artwork. Like to me that's like, oh my gosh, it gives me all the feels cuz then you remember when you go into the store and you're allowed to buy a Barbie that you're looking at the boxes and like making your choice and stuff. Like to me it's huge. It is. And it's such a fond memory as like a kid opening it up and I always got one at Christmas. It started for me in 92. Yeah. 92 was a good year and I got like every single year after that like even as an adult at one point my nephew would be like why is auntie still getting dolls and I'm like sh [laughter] and then I was buying them myself and then I was missing 88 89 9091 and of course as an adult I went and grabbed them myself. What would But I I kind of would want to see a couple more dolls from your collection, but before we do that, what is your opinion on talking about holiday dolls and like late 80s, early 90s?

18:26Do you have an opinion on like the holiday dolls or the I'm using holiday dolls as an example, but maybe some of those glam dolls from then versus what we're seeing now? Like if we look at the holiday collection, you know, look at like early or late 80s, early 90s when holiday started to like the 90s to the 2000s and how it's evolved. I mean, that's I kind of want your opinion on how you If you would have if you would have asked me this, you know, a year or two years ago, I would have probably answered it differently cuz um I stopped my holiday collection for years. it just stopped at um uh 99 and I was like that's all I'm going to collect and for my that went for my collection in general like I didn't want to go past 99 cuz I wasn't interested in any of that.

19:13So if I ever got anything past 99 I just I sold it and um of course now I'm sitting here and I have a lot of regrets. [laughter] I have so many regrets of the stuff I had got rid of because now um I have quite a few of the newer um holiday dolls. U I'm not a fan of the Millie face mold. Um I just think that a lot of the Playline dolls when you get them like there is no distinction between some of those Millies. Like I've literally had 12 millies laid out in front of me and none of them were different. And I am talking about uh the count of eyelashes or the catch lights. This is the kind of stuff that us for 80s and 90s that we look to identify them. Like that's a huge identifier for some Barbies and like there wasn't any for them. But I do have I back to the original question. I do have some of the newer Holly dolls. And I do like them. And do I think that they're as grand as some of the older Holly dolls? I don't think so because like the patterns on the dress themselves don't even go all the way around. So for me to display them sideways, you're getting uh all the good stuff over here and nothing but plain fabric back here. Like I don't understand why they did that. like it couldn't have cost that much more to run the fabric around the back. But that's they're definitely you can't compare them. They're two I they're all Holly dolls and they all

20:37go together. But man, when you line them up on a shelf, you see the quality when it starts to drop cuz even 2001's beautiful. That's a gorgeous doll. 2002 is gorgeous. And about 2003 is when the face really did change. Like it took like a Yep. It's just a lot different. Yeah. And I this is by [clears throat] no means I'm not trying to like bash Mattel or anything. At the same time, I do feel like I had this conversation. I have this conversation with a lot of people in the doll community. Just and again, not bashing Millie, but it's just like Millie is just so overly I don't even know the word like in terms of playline. She's just everywhere. And I don't like Barbie signature. I think collectors want to see something different. Yes. They never gave Millie the chance either. if they if uh and again I'm not trying to burn a talent at the stake. It is what it is and those dolls were made for kids. We have to remember like this we started somewhere too, right? So they these kids have to start somewhere. But I wish they would have put a little bit more effort into her clothing cuz a lot of Millies had the painted on tops and then they got like this really just onedimensional gown on the bottom or like they had like one a one piece but it was like a lot of Millies had those long t-shirts and she had flat feet with sneakers. Like that's I wish there was just so so much more to do for Millie. They really didn't do her they did her dirty

22:01sometimes I think. And I think that if they they made the options more, they expand the options for Millie, we'd all collector-wise would probably feel different. Now, I have a couple of the the newer Holly dolls, and that's got a Millie face sculpt. And she's pretty. She's got a whole gold gown on, and like her face looks a lot softer, but it's still Millie, but it's softer somehow. And her hair, I don't know. I just think I think she's pretty. Do you have one close by? I do. So, I have this Millie, too. This is um What year was this? Was this 2023? She looks so different. Yeah, like her her gown's pretty. I mean, they could like hem the edges and such. And on the back, look, this one has something on the back, which is quite surprising. She's pretty. She is. She's got the nice open mouth smile, which is really nice. Um, her eyes are nice. Um, yeah.

22:51I mean, I love the red cuz red is just I mean, it's Christmas, but I think I don't know if you saw, you might have seen at the toy fair the 2020 six holiday Barbie and she's in red. And listen, red is classic. I'm not, you know, I'm not, you know, crapping on it or anything, but can we try and get back to like let's look like there's other colors out there. There's Christmas like let's do another green. Another beautiful green dress would be gorgeous. They have an emerald green or something like so like boom. It's just like we just saw a red dress in 2023 and now here we are three years later and it's another red dress and Ken has a red jacket. It's the same holiday Ken as last year just he's got a red jacket. Like there's Yeah. See, I wasn't even aware there was holiday Ken's until like not just recently. I was like last year it was the first year. Last year was the first year or 2025 was the first year. See this one's cute too. And she's in she's an early um 20 something. I think she's 24. Yeah, I think she 24. Yeah. So, see again, yes, you're right. Like, she looks much more glamorous. Definitely. Yeah. And it goes like her dress is really pretty. Like, I think she's I think she's gorgeous. And I found both of these dolls thrifting.

24:01Oh, you you know what? I think I have to I have it all wrong. I keep buying them in box every year. I got to stop. Like, I wait until they're on sale. I a lot but I just I'm doing it all wrong because and then they start coming out now with like oh my god like the you know the exclusive red heads like the MIJ and stuff. You know I got her thrifting too. I paid $3 for that MIJ. How did you get her thrifting? She's supposed to be exclusive to Mattel. Some kid must have got her and thought, "Oh, I don't like this." And her parents biffed her at the thrift bin. But I got I almost got all all the ones in this set and they all came from thrifting. I didn't buy any of them new. I didn't pay more than $4 for them. And the red head from that line from the red dress is gorgeous. Yeah, she is gorgeous. And then there's also um I don't know what she was called. I don't know if she's like supposed to be Latin or she was like another blonde that came in this line, the 2024 the gold.

24:52She's gorgeous. I love how the extensions, you know, of like the different nationalities. Like I really like that. And the inclusion of 10. I love it too. It makes it hard to collect the holiday dolls though because there's what is it all together? I think there's four five of these ones. So like you'd have to have five of the same doll if you wanted to get them in like same with this one. There's all kinds. There's the um the Asian one which I do have the Asian one but I don't have her dress so I have her in a different holiday gown. An Asian one like really pretty. But you know what? Mattel's really smart because as much as we're like it's too much as collectors we're going to buy it at some point. So they always get it to the end. They always get us in the end. They do really. Who's the smart one or who's the stupid one? Which one is it? I mean, that's the question, isn't it? We don't want to know the answer to that, though. We don't. We don't. Do you have um like what would do you have any unique dolls that you would say is like a hard to find? Oh, yeah.

25:47I got I got some gems. I have actually I got one standing right here. See these gems? This here is uh great shape. This is the European release version. And so she wasn't anywhere else but in Europe. Wow. I right away I was like that's not the color of her her outfit. No. So she's got the green and the green tights and the yellow the yellow shoes. So there would have been a Ken and a skipper in this line too. So this how uh actually I always had the clothes. It came in a random lot. The clothing I was like oh this is weird. So I didn't really know it was for a European version. Uh, I also collect with my childhood best friend and she happened to get the doll in a random lot. So, she's like, we we were trying to figure out who it was. So, we're on we're doing this is like back in the early days where we weren't very good at identifying dolls and uh then we identify her and she's like, "You can have it. You have the clothes." So, she sent it to me and that's that's what it is here on my shelf. Yeah. I'm still not great with identifying. There's some that I can tell like a certain doll sparkle in the eye or has like a a colored eyeshadow, but I always go to like the doll community and like a good friend of mine, I'm like, "What doll is this?" And she's like, "It's this one." Like she just knows right away. Yeah, me too. I'm pretty good at that. I have a lot of people that message me on Instagram like they're like, "Robin, do you know who this doll is?" I'm like, "Yep, you got to start charging Robin. You can't I know,

27:08right? [laughter] $5 finder fee." Exactly. Exactly. See, this one here is another rare one. This was found in a thrift store for a dollar. I paid $1 for her and she is the bubble cut. Um, just let me think. This bubble cut was uh from 1962. Okay. So, Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Did she have the green in her ears? Nope. She's She's got uh no green in her ears, which is lucky. Very nice. Very nice. None. So, she's in pretty good shape. Her head is about as hard as a stone, though. So, if I were to clunk it on the desk, it's going to it's going to sound like a rock. Yeah. Yeah. I do have her original red bathing suit that goes with her also and her shoes, but instead I stuck her in this uh vintage 60s lingerie. I love it. I mean, I know you and I seem to like we like to keep them in original clothing, but if it's a bathing suit, it's like she deserves a something a little fancier, you know, like something cute, right? Yeah.

28:07That's awesome, too. also had found the um the one that would came with the wigs. Yes. Also, I found her and my mother-in-law had found all the wigs still on the little display two years ago for Christmas and she gave me I don't know what these are. It was just in here and I couldn't believe it and I was like, "Woo!" And then I found the doll thrifting like a couple months ago. I got to come out to Nova Scotia. I don't know. I think you should you can you can help me sort some clothes. I would love to do that. And I'm finding that like in Toronto it's I think just like there's so many collectors and they start you know through co and stuff people start to catch wind of like going to thrift stores. So Oh yeah. It's like it's like it's it's like uh Hunger Games out there, right? Like you kind of right now it's unreal. It Yeah. So something I was I'm curious to ask people because I think as collectors whether you're a doll collector, a toy collector of any sort, I think we're all plagued with sometimes judgment from peers. Oh yeah. whether it's family, friends, co-workers. Um, how [clears throat] have you experienced this? I'm going to assume you have just because I I feel like we all have. And how do you kind of handle and deal with that?

29:15Well, I have. Luckily for me, I haven't had any of that. That's in my core as in family, my friends. Um, they've all kind of jumped on board and they're they buy me Barbies all the time. So, um, I do I do get a lot of judgment online. Like I get a lot of um terrible comments like just people who don't know me at all and they'll just write me the most horrible things. Um that's probably happened since I've been it'll be two years I've been on Instagram this May. So I've got some doozies in my Luckily Instagram has the hidden messages so you can look at them and they don't know that you've read them. But man I've had some doozies from just like strangers on the internet on your Instagram like your Barbie Instagram account. Oh yeah. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Like just terrible. So lately, this is something I started in January where I'll post I'll post one of their terrible comments for everybody to see and read and then you know like the doll community does their thing. I always block them though. I block them and then I post like their what they said. But like oh sometimes you can get some some people in there. They just tell you, they literally come out and say, "I hate you." For what is like, "Is this a jealousy thing or I don't know. I really don't know because I don't know." Like I find that the doll community is actually where I get the least judgment. Yes. You're going to get

30:36people who, you know, god forbid you, god forbid, you say the name of a Barbie wrong or Yeah. you know, you accidentally identified um I don't know, Stephie as a superstar or whatever, right? Like they're they're down your throat. Um, yeah. And that's, you know, people make mistakes and and some people are more knowledgeable than others. We're all here to learn. This is why, you know, I love to like talk to different people because I myself want to learn a lot more. I have a great knowledge, but there's also like I know nothing about 70s mod. Like I just don't. That wasn't my area. I don't know anything. So, um, I find less. So, that's why I'm shocked because your channel is a Barbie. It's Barbie content. Yeah. So, if you don't want to if you don't like what you see, you don't have to see it. Now with family and friends, I have had both. Yeah. Yeah. Um I would say like um inner like really close is not as judgmental but like even some friends are like still like aren't you aren't you you playing with toys? Like and I don't play with toys. I like fashion. I like to collect them. Like Yeah. I like to you know what I mean? Like I like to restore and I like to fix them. Yeah. I don't think they truly understand why. But Yeah. Right.

31:45Right. We don't get it. Yeah. But then there's also the the argument of like adults who do adult coloring because it's it's stress. It's it's stress reliever. I do that too. I like I enjoy it. I enjoy that as well. I actually haven't in a while. And so, you know, I'm not jumping down your throat saying, "Hey, why are you still coloring? You're not five." Yeah. It's not Why? So, the same reasons you're coloring in that coloring book or you're doing, I don't know, you're playing video games or you're collecting stamps, whatever it may be. It's at the end of the day, it's something that's feeding your soul. Oh, absolutely. I feel like, you know, toys or specifically for us, it brings us back to a simpler time, happy time, nostalgic. Everyone loves nostalgia, you know. Yeah. Some people who may have had a rough upbringing, maybe dolls were their thing. Um, I was fortunate not to not, but still some of those times are some most memorable. Like, I've got dolls that were gifted to me by my father. I no longer have my father. So there's a lot of things that just So it's just I I can't seem to understand why there's this almost sense of like I almost feel guilty sometimes when somebody's like you're I think a lot of people just don't like to see somebody happy. You know what I mean? Like there's and some people see see this as like a waste of money or resources. Like what about giving some of the they say a lot. They're like um why don't you give some of those dolls to children so they can play with them?

33:06And like these dolls, some of these were sitting at the thrift store and they were there for anybody to pick up and there's hundreds of dolls at the thrift store. Like I'm pretty sure if a kid wants a doll, they could find one. Do you know what I mean? I just I don't understand it. But yeah, most of my judgment is from randos on the internet. But I understand you are a mother. Yes, I am. And you have a little boy. Two boys. Two boys. So what do they think of mommy's collection? I mean, if they were girls, it could be like this is cool, but do they think it's cool? Do they think? No, I think it's great. You know, sometimes uh my oldest is like, "Why do you why do you collect so many dolls?" So, I just turn around like, "Why do you have so many Hot Wheels?" Cuz like he's got a ton of Hot Wheels. Or like, "Why do you have so many Beanie Boos? He has a huge collection of Beanie Boos." He's just like, "Okay." He doesn't ask anymore. He's like, "Okay." And my youngest when he was little little, he used to actually play. I used to give him I used to have a beat up Barbie Jeep and I [clears throat] had like a couple of like uh like messed up dolls. I He had his own doll. It was actually a pop star doll and like every time he moved her hand, her dress would spin around and she'd sing her song and he probably carried that Barbie around for like three months and he heard nothing but that song like for three months straight.

34:15Wow. So, you know, they don't care. They like it. They don't think anything about coming in here. Good. Yeah. I was wondering what his response was if he because I'd be interested to know if he would say, "Well, because they make me happy." And yeah, because I like them is what he said. "Because I like them." I was like, "Well, you got your answer." I said that's right 100%. I I have always been very open with my kids that I don't want this collection to be a burden on them when they're older. I don't want them to think they have to keep it. Um if they want to keep one or two dolls just to remember mom by then do that. I they'll know what my favorites are. If they want to keep my perfume Pretty Barbie, then they could do that. But like I I made it very clear that like please sell it all. Give yourself some money. Go on a trip. Like you don't have to keep it.

35:00Yeah. That's honestly like that warms my heart because I've thought about like you know myself not having children and I just thought to myself like if I had a daughter she could keep it or she could pass it on and you've got boys and they can do the same right at the end of the day like and you know and that kind of remind that kind of you actually just reminded me of a story. I was fortunate enough to find a marketplace um seller. She had a few dolls I wanted and she's like you know what come on over to my place. I mean I was like okay like you always get a little weary because it's marketplace. Yeah. And I show up into this beautiful neighborhood to this woman who's 90 years old. Her husband is probably 95 96. She's like, "Come on in. They're in the basement. I got more to show you. She's just not techsavvy." And she had needed her daughter to post these some of the dolls. And they she only posted like, let's say, five or six. Yeah. And she had the stairmaster. She's like, "I can't go down there alone. I need some help." She We walk into her basement and she opens this pink door. Yeah. And she opens the door and I feel like it looked like your room but with just boxes and I just was like, "This is like a thing that like like that song that you played in your real the other day, Walking on a Dream." Like legit, that's what it was. And she's like, "You pick whatever you want from this. There's a few that I'm going to leave for my grandchildren. Whether they want them or not, they can sell them down the road.

36:20Like, I don't care." And she just let me like pick whatever doll I wanted to take. And you know, we negotiated like a fair price. Yeah. And I would I left so much more behind because she's like, I don't want to like I think like I took what I wanted. Um actually I shouldn't say I took what I wanted. I took what I could afford that day. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Sure thing. And uh she's like, you know, I'm like message me if you want more, but I'm trying to like, you know, keep some for my grandchildren. I want my grandchildren to come take a look and pick what they want. Yeah. And I just thought like, you know what happens to these dolls when we're gone one day, right? and you want to be passed on and if someone's not going to enjoy them, fine. Then sell them and make your for your kids. Right. Right. I'm always really um you know when like there's new people that join Instagram and you can see that they already got quite a good collection going. I'm always just like please start a book. Please start writing down what you got and the date like you know think write down their name and then put the date they were released in at least like so you have everything because you're going to keep getting dolls and it's going to be like how are your kids even going to know who's who cuz to them they're going to be like these dolls all look the same that terrible thing people say. So, like it helps when you have a it all written down like do it on the computer on a spreadsheet or something. That way you can have them all, you know, who they are and all they'd have to do is Google or Google uh the name that you

37:40put down the date and then they'd know the price. Right. You you bring up a good point because I'm organized and I've never thought to do that. Yeah. Because I'm I'm assuming like even like let's say my niece or if I do ever have a child and you know they look at this fabulous fur, which she's not complete. that's not her fur. But they look at her and be like, "Ah, $20." And it's like, "No." Yeah. [laughter] They would do that. Yep. Or they'll have, you know, people uh that it's going to be takes our place one day and they're collectors when we're in our 80s or in their 40s and they're collecting and they're like, um, they're like, "Oh, I'll give you $10 for that doll. It's not worth anything." But in reality, that doll is like worth a couple hundred dollars and your kids will get ripped off or whatnot. And I I like them to a good chunk of money if they just I told them to sell it. Like don't hold on to it. Don't think you got to put this in your house. Like make some money. Exactly. For me, it's not about money. To me, it's just like having them. And it's just more so much more. You know, I get that question all the time. They're just like, "What's your most expensive doll?" I said, "Every doll here is worth the same amount to me because I would never sell it." They're priceless, right? Like I think it just for your like obviously if you if they're passed on they're they don't see it like that like they may not value it as much as like you did and that's totally understandable. It's a different right different time. Um but at least like keeping some for you know

39:04as mom's memory right like that's that's cool I think. What would you say if you had to describe Barbie in just a very few words what like what she means to you? How would you describe that? Man I know [laughter] I asked the hard questions here Robin. Yeah, Barbie. Barbie for me is like you can live out all your dreams, okay? Cuz like I was never very good at school. So like I knew I was never going to be a doctor when I got older, but with the doctor Barbie, you could pretend to be that doctor. You can play all the scenes that Barbie was. Like Barbie is a dentist. Like you could be a dentist for the day when you're playing with your Barbie, right? To me, she is the the she is a dream. You could be you could be anything you wanted to be while you're playing with your friends or by yourself solo play. You could be that for one day.

39:57Do you know what I mean? It's like, oh, I was a dentist yesterday. I think today I'll be, you know, yeah, I'll be a pilot. I'll be a superstar. I'll be whatever. It was definitely like an escape. I had a an excellent amazing childhood. So, it wasn't I wasn't trying to escape anything in particular, but I I was diagnosed with uh ADHD when I was in grade five, but like I was all over the place. Like when I say all over the place, like I was just like outside running non-stop until it was bedtime. So like for Barbie for me, I could sit down and play Barbie for hours. And I mean like all day long from the point I was allowed to leave the house to the point where the sun was starting to come down and I had to come home. So like I'd be at my friend's house playing Barbies. And like for me it was just like it calmed me down a lot. Yeah, that actually makes that actually makes a lot of sense. It is defin like a calming and that's probably why as adults we still gravitate to that. There's something calming about like caressing her hair, changing her clothes. There's something moving shelves around for me and redoing my displays. 100%. I hear that 100. I I totally agree with you on that. Did you purchase or did you invest in the any of the new reproductions of the rockers? I did not. Okay. Um, now I do like Barbie repos, but I don't I don't have any of them. But, um, I just kind of wish that Mattel would do reproductions of other dolls other than the same like four dolls

41:21they pick all the time. Like, how many times have they did a reproduction of the rockers? Quite a few times now. Like, I I don't know how many times you need to buy that one doll, right? Like I don't I don't I don't really And same with um um day to night or like a day to night and peaches. Like they keep Yeah. Day to night Barbie. Peaches and Oh my gosh. Peaches and cream. Like I And I just wish they would do like how come they can't bring out another dual hair mermaid Barbie. Like how come they couldn't do a Kira version of her to celebrate it? Yeah. I was actually gonna ask you in green or I was gonna ask you if you had a chance to you know if Mattel asked you like hey which doll should we repro which one would you that would be it I would say please do cuz I seen there was like an artist that once did a um they did a box up for it and everything. It was a jewel hair mermaid kira on the box said jewel hair mermaid kira. It was all legit and I had I went deep dog Google and thinking that was actually released. But I've done that and especially with lately it's like is that real? Yeah, I know. I know. Cuz her whole outfit like the mermaid outfit was silver. So it had all like the little dots on it like the other ones do but her outfit was silver and I was like that is gorgeous. So that's what I'd say for Metall like cuz they left her out of every line that wasn't a beach line pretty much. She was a princess in a couple of the princess lines but she was nothing else. So I I do spend some of my time

42:45making my own Kiraas. Like this is this is dentist Kira. She was never ever released, but you know, I gave her the same earrings. She's got the suit. She's got the blue shoes. Wow. Right. Like that's what I She's just like one of my favorites and I feel like they really just did her dirty. They don't put her in any lines except for wearing a bathing suit. Is there any other doll that you have that would maybe you say is like or maybe like a recent doll like your latest doll that you um got or anything else you want to show and tell? Yeah, I got um a couple of nice dolls recently and some trades I've been doing. So, I've been branching out um and doing trades. I I kind of want to be able to say I traded with people across the world. So, like to have a map and I color in the little map part to see like I just I want to do that. Like I I've traded from like from the Netherlands to um Australia a couple times. I've done Germany. I've done like I've done oh I've done um uh um um I just did Switzerland. So I got um so there's been a couple I've done lately. So this one is um I got this one in a tree. This is I dream a genie doll.

43:59Yes. So I got her in a actually this wasn't a trade. This is actually gifted to me. I had her I sold her in box. I had her in box. Yeah. So pretty. So I just I redid her hair cuz her hair wasn't in the original style. So I did her hair. So I This was gifted to me from a fellow Canadian. So she sent me some stuff in the mail which was so kind to her to do. Like it was unreal. like the stuff I got was just like I was I was on on uh cloud9 for like the whole um I also got this is um Irish dancer. So this is this one came from um uh my friend I tried to write her. Oh yeah, this one came from Fountain Mermaid Barbie. She's in Switzerland. Oh yes, I think I follow her. Yeah. So we did we did an epic trade just recently. So this is a festivals of the world um Irish dance Barbie. Yes. St. Patrick's Day just passed, so this is perfect. It would have been and I didn't post for St. Patrick's Day. [laughter] Whoopsie. But yeah, she's so cute. Like these two.

45:02So right now they're high on my love list. These two here. So these are recent traits. That's kind of cool. Yes, I did. Yeah, this one was this one was a gift. But yeah, I've done lots of trades. That's cute. I like that idea. I enjoy the whole community that I found on Instagram. That was the whole point of joining was just to find like a group of people that you like I always wanted I was always a pin pal lover as a kid like I had pin pals from like I had a pin pal in Egypt, I had one in Italy like and then I kind of wanted to do that but like with Barbie fashions and then or Barbie dolls which has turned into that too. So I kind of I like that. I like connecting with people and sending a box and then waiting for your box in return like and I also had a lot of stuff off just to give to people because to me Barbie clothes is expensive. One Barbie top is more than this top I had bought for myself. Like that's just crazy to me. I don't know if in Nova Scotia or where you live out there is there any like is there do you guys have like a Barbie club?

46:01Is there doll club? Okay. There's nothing. There's not even like there's no Barbie like there's no Barbie conventions or anything like you get in the States. There's so many. I wish I could get to those. I mean, we don't get those either here, but I I am part of a Toronto club. So, there is a club and that's where I've met a lot of people and it's a growing club and Oh, that's so nice. We're looking for opportunities, too. Yeah. Meet and just, you know, where we're talking about dolls and then sometimes it just becomes more than just dolls. like you build relationships and you build friendships and we meet up for coffee sometimes outside of meets and we do trades and we do you know if we do like photo shoots with our mini me we bring our dolls like those types of things so that's why I was asking if there's one out there maybe you got to start one I know I could but then I'd have to get people outside of [laughter] and I'm so busy with like younger kids and things so maybe I'm thinking that you know as as the years go I'll pro I might actually do that cuz I would re I really like to do that. Yeah, it's it's honestly like it's it's fed my soul. It's something I really I really enjoy. We only meet like maybe once a month or once every other month. Just do stuff like that. So have a picnic in the park or something. Like we bring our dogs. Yeah, it's it's really fun. Let everybody know, Robin, where can they find you on social media? Why? I am currently just on Instagram right now at Nutty Barbie Girl, but um I have been dabbling in starting a YouTube channel

47:25just so I could do some longer videos showing my collection. And I do have a YouTube and it is under the exact same name, uh Nutty Barbie Girl, but there's nothing posted on it yet. Okay. But people can keep an eye out for potential future Nutty Barbie Girl content on YouTube. Yep. I think so. Which is great. And honestly, like I I have to say like um first of all, I want to thank you for taking the time and being so flexible with my schedule. Um to you've got so much I'm sure you've heard this all the time. If you haven't, like I'd be surprised, but your your energy really is very infectious and you're very positive and you've always got a smile on your face and your collection it's it's a collector's dream, right? So, you know, God bless you for, you know, being able to have this collection and uh and being able to like openly share it. Some people are maybe not so much want to share it, right? You're openly sharing it and it's, you know, bringing a lot of people like that like, wow, like I would love to have that. That's like a dream and and just your positivity really, it really is is so energetic and and I really do do appreciate you and your content. And congratulations on 25,000 followers.

48:32Let's go round [laughter] for Nutell's Barbie girl reaching 25,000. You're going to be a 50,000 like next week. So, don't worry about it. Maybe if I have anything else go viral. You never know. You never know when that stuff happens. So, Exactly. [laughter] Well, thank you so much for joining. Thank you for all your kind words. I appreciate that. This was fun. I have really enjoyed myself. So, thanks again. I feel like you and I can talk for hours. Maybe we'll do another another phone. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. You never know if there's any anything that happens in the doll community. Then maybe we can chat about it because you never know. Or maybe if you're in Burlington and we meet up for a coffee like that'd be fun. Awesome. That sounds good. Awesome. It's amazing how One Doll connects people in the most unexpected ways. Make sure to like, subscribe, [music] and hit that notification bell if you love all things Barbie. Thanks for watching.