Collecting 1970s and 1980s Barbie Dolls and Playsets

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. [music] Barbie Talk with Kelly in Pink. Today's guest is someone whose Instagram feed is a dream for Barbie lovers. From vintage treasures to creative photography to his recent adventures at the National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention, Rafael, known as PachecoRJ48, shares his passion for Barbie in a way that's both nostalgic and inspiring. Please welcome Rafael. Hi Rafael, welcome to Barbie Talk. Hi Kelly, how are you? I'm so glad to be here. I'm so excited to have you here. Let everybody know a little bit about yourself, where you're from, and how your relationship with Barbie started. Well, my name is Rafael. I'm 55 years old. I'm from Puerto Rico and I actually my first memory of Barbie was back in like, I would say 1975 when I saw Malibu Barbie.

1:00And uh as you can tell, we were not allowed to play with Barbies. You know, me as a being a little boy, I was not allowed to play with Barbie, but I was allowed to play with Ken. That's good. That's a start. That's something. And Rafael, let me just say, I think I speak with everybody, I would have never guessed, like you look great. You look fantastic. I would not have guessed 55 years old. You look amazing. What was your first Ken doll? Do you remember which one it was? The first one that I got, it was called uh the Now Look Ken and unfortunately, I don't have him anymore, but I do have my second Ken. This is my original Ken. And he's actually a Superstar Ken and he's all broken up. I actually have to tape him up, as you can see, because he he got a lot of play. But uh he survived. I actually have moved four times in the course of my life and most of the toys haven't survived, but he made it.

2:01He just needed a little plastic surgery. He's harsh. Yes, absolutely. [laughter] So, that doll is from what year? This one came out in a 1978. Wow. Wow. So, he has been with me all this time. He's loyal, that Ken. He's a good one. He's a good guy. Absolutely. Yes, and I love his outfit. Do you remember the first Barbie that you got? The first Barbie that I actually got, I was already like older and it was the uh Day to Night Barbie. I was already like in my late teens. I wasn't playing with toys anymore, obviously. But uh I actually bought it myself and that was like my the very first Barbie that I had on my own. Do you still have that original Day to Night or No, I don't have the original, but I have actually I I bought another one, which is this one right here. Oh, and it's still in box. That's nice. A lot of people on the show, they don't have the original dolls that they had when they were a kid. People move, you play with them, uh you think you're going to not want to play with it later on in life. So, a lot of people as adults, we just buy them again. Now that we have adult money, we just buy them again.

3:11Absolutely. And what I do, which is um I don't actually recommend it to anybody because it's it can get overwhelming. Usually when I like something a lot, I buy duplicates. So, I can open one, put it on display, and keep one mint in the box. That is everybody's dream. Why would you not recommend that? If you actually talk money-wise, you know, it can be expensive nowadays. Like when I started collecting back in 1995, things were a lot cheaper and I could buy dolls from the uh '70s and '80s for less than $20 each. Now, for people to start collecting, for example, that same Day to Night Barbie, that can set you back $100 or more if you buy it never removed. So, if you start buying duplicates, it can actually set you back money-wise. Very, very true. The prices of things have definitely skyrocketed. The value has gone up. I think for me not buying two was also because space. I just don't have the space for all of it. I'm starting to take my old dolls that are in box and I'm starting to open them because I just don't have the space, right? So, I know you have quite the collection. Your basement I looked like a basement a reel that you posted a while back of you walking into your basement and it's just toy heaven. Tell me a little bit about how that came to be, how much time it took to set all that up. Like you've got a lot of stuff. You've been collecting, you said since '95. So,

4:33that's a long time to be collecting. Okay. Well, like I said, I started collecting back in 1995 and I was living in Florida at the time. Um, basically now like we moved to Colorado like 7 years ago. So, here in Colorado we have basements in the houses. In Florida we don't have that luxury. So, this basement, my partner also collect all kinds of toys. So, I actually have only like half a basement for my own collection and he have the other half. Originally, when I'm moving into this house, the whole entire basement was Barbie because that's my core collection. That's how I started. But then, as time went by, I started going into other lines like Spectra from Mattel and Rainbow Brite from Mattel and it was like a snowball situation. And I end up collecting like all kinds of toys. So, now Barbie have to actually share her space with everybody else.

5:32That's okay. I mean, at least you have the space to display your collection and it's set up very beautifully. It feels like you're going back into time because you've got all these '80s retro toys as you're kind of going down the stairs. It's definitely a trip back in time and it's stunning. It's absolutely stunning. Thank you. Thank you very much. So, before we go into more of your collection cuz you've got a lot of stuff and I'd love to see. You just got back from the National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention. And so, I would love to hear about that because as someone myself who's never been, I know you've been four times now. Yes, four times. Yeah, I'd love to hear how would you describe the experience? Let's say somebody was going for the first time, what could they expect? And then of course, I'm going to want to see some goodies from convention. Well, Barbie convention can be a little bit overwhelming for a first-timer. My recommendation is to like go with an open mind. You're going to find plenty of nice people that you can talk to. You don't have to be afraid. Everybody's really open, really welcoming. As a first-timer, I would actually be more like in the audience instead of participating because there's like many different things that you can do. For example, the fashion show. People are encouraged to bring table gifts in the table that you're assigned to. You don't really have to. As a first-timer, you can just like go in, enjoy

6:56the vibe, relax, don't feel pressure that you have to like participate in a fashion show. You don't have to be pressured into buying table gifts. You just have to go and kind of like be like a little sponge and absorb all the experience. Now, once you get into like the second convention, then you can like feel more at ease and maybe participate. You can be a volunteer for different events. You can be like greeting people at the door. There's actually a lot of things that you can do, but as a first-timer, I would actually tell people to just like sit back, relax, and enjoy the experience. That's really good advice because what I've heard from many guests and many people on Dollstagram is that it is overwhelming. There's a lot of workshops going on. You've got room sales, you've got the sales room, there's just a lot happening. What would you say is one of your favorite events at convention? I actually enjoy really the fashion show because I participate. As soon as I got, you know, my first convention, which was I think it was in 2009 back in Ohio, it was Barbie and the Rockers related. And since I love the '80s, I jump in right on into that convention. And I was like, I I do have to participate in the fashion show, and I did it like right away. I couldn't miss that the chance. The fashion show is actually really nice, and uh they have like many workshops that people have many ideas and many things that you might not know as a collector, and they help you

8:21in how to like maybe preserve your collection, and how to like display your collection better. They have workshops on like re-rooting hair. Every year they have like different workshops. So, it depends on the year and who's doing the workshops, you know, it varies. I did see you dressed up as Derek from the Rockers. Was that the fashion show that you participated in? I did Derek for 3 years, actually, because I did uh three different fashions that Derek has. Very well done. Very well done. But uh this past convention, I actually decided to dress as this doll right here. [gasps] Well, that makes sense cuz there was like a yacht theme one night. Yeah, it was actually a traveling theme this year. Yes. My first thought when I hear traveling was like, I can be the captain, the sea holiday Ken. Yeah, it was a traveling in style, and then they had a yacht themed night, I think. Yes. Yes, absolutely. Awesome. I think that's fantastic. What would your day consist of at convention? Each day they have different workshops on different days.

9:25The uh sales rooms are actually open throughout the convention until they actually have the big sales room for everybody to go into. Um so, you actually have to like look at the calendar and see what suits you best. Unfortunately, some people don't go to like every single workshop. You can get tired because sometimes it's like go, go, go, you know, there's one after the other. But it's actually exciting. You can get up early in the morning, you can go to the uh sales room, do some shopping, then you can go to one of the uh rooms that they have any activities going on. And then on Wednesday, they start like the opening ceremonies for the convention. So that's a night that you cannot miss. And usually Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, there's a lunch on Thursday.

10:13And then you have like a Friday and Saturday like dinner. They usually like theme related. So people tend to like dress up and be all nice and glamorous for those uh dinners. It's actually very fun. It's an experience. Yeah, I can imagine. I'm just smiling thinking about it cuz it sounds like 850 people who love Barbie just being in the same environment. Like I can imagine it's a Barbie high. So, the opening ceremony, what happens during this opening ceremony? On the opening ceremony, they usually like talk about the charity that they're going to be donating the money of the one-of-a-kind dolls that they have for auction. It's kind of like a welcoming, you know, they actually like welcome all the new people that come in to convention, which I have to say, if people do want to go into convention as soon as they open the registration, you have to be on the phone or on the computer or the laptop or whatever you got in your house because they go super, super fast. I don't know if you heard that next year is going to be superstar related. Yes. I believe that it's going to be a little rough going into this convention. They had previews that I don't think I can actually talk into the video right now because they got us some um disclosures that we cannot talk about before the time comes up. But there's actually a doll that is going to be very very special that they're going to give away to all the attendees.

11:37Um just by the reaction when they showed that doll on the screen, which they usually don't show, they usually keep it under wraps until the convention. But, this doll is going to be so special that they actually show a preview of the next year doll and I can tell you it's going to be a little bit rough getting next year. So, what you're saying to me is if I haven't had a chance in the last 8 years, I definitely don't have a chance in the next year. No, I mean I I don't want to discourage anyone. Of course. As soon as they open, which I don't have the date yet, as soon as I get the date, I would actually post it on my page or I would let you know so you can let everybody else know. You have to be there, like Yeah. You cannot waste 1 second in doing the registration.

12:22I think I've been pretty good at doing I'm always on the wait list. I'm always on the wait list, but I just never get the call. So, when convention starts on that Wednesday, from there on it goes until Saturday, correct? Until Saturday night, yes. And are we talking like from first thing in the morning all day until night there's events happening or is there like breaks at some point? No, there's there's actually breaks in between um but um some of the workshops are like back-to-back. Maybe they have like a 30-minute gap, an hour gap, but if you want to actually attend to all the workshops, you you're going to be pretty much busy back-to-back. But, there's actually breaks in where people can actually go and have lunch. They can go out and visit the city that we're um hosting the um event. The sales room usually opens, the big sales room opens for like 2 3 hours for 2 days. So, there's some gaps, but in reality, you cannot attend to every single thing that they have available because it's a little bit overwhelming. And when does the auction open? The auction happens on Friday. It's actually a very heated auction. I mean that those dolls go for an insane amount of money, but it's actually for a good cause. So, you see people bidding on one doll that can go for like anywhere from $2,000 to like

13:44$15,000. But, all that money goes to like a good cause. Yeah, and do you happen to know which doll sold for the most in that auction? I don't have a picture of her right now, but I believe it was the one made from Magia the Italian guys that passed away Yeah. last year the Magia 2000. Magia 2000, yeah, that makes sense. Yeah. I think that she was the one that went for the highest. Yeah. I was curious cuz I saw the Angel Kent the Odile with the beautiful nautical I guess it's called nautical nautical with that dress. It sold for like almost $10,000, which is fantastic. It's awesome. Those dolls were beautiful. Did you win any auction dolls? [laughter] No, well, I wish. If I would have that budget, believe me, I would buy one in a heartbeat. Yeah, they are beautiful.

14:32Okay, so that's okay. You didn't get any auction dolls, but I did see some of your videos on your halls. So, how did you do with room sales? Like what did you purchase at convention? I'd love to see a few items. I did okay. I actually arrived at convention on Tuesday. And some people actually are there present even the weekend before convention when everybody have their sales rooms open. So, those are the ones that get the best deals because they're the ones that get there first. So, it's like, you know, you see it first, it's yours. People that arrive late like I do, we usually get whatever's left, but they still have plenty. I mean, it's like it's amazing what people bring into these rooms. I actually got her. She's She's a doll that um she's from the '90s. I believe she's from 1991, but she's been on my list for quite some time and I haven't been able to buy one from eBay because sometimes these beads that you see here, they turn yellow. Um, this one actually is pure white. So, I was very lucky to find this one. With all her all her beads are still in like basically brand new. Her makeup is stunning. And even her hair is like coming through that headpiece. Yes. And look at that headpiece. Look at the sparkle on her headpiece.

15:57Wow. Is this a Bob Mackie? Kind of looks like a Bob Mackie headpiece like I said. Bob the absolutely this is a Bob Mackie. Um, like I said, I've been looking at her for quite some time, but when you see them on eBay, you have to be really careful looking at those dolls on the pictures on eBay because sometimes they can be deceiving. When you receive them, the beads are yellow, they're beige. It's not a good thing. It all depends on how they're stored, right? I've got a holiday doll that she turned yellow, too, because she was too close to the window or something like that. Like you have to be really, really careful. Absolutely. This is another doll that I was looking for. This is the Billion of Dreams Barbie. And this lady in this sales room like it seems like nobody was looking at this doll for some reason because she's been open since that weekend before I went into convention and nobody bought her.

16:51I just got her for $45. Oh my gosh, Raphael, that's a steal. Brand new in box, so I actually I just opened her. Let's take a closer look at her face, but that bodice. I really like her bodice. Look at that glitter and all the like sparkly beads on the dress. And I like the two-tone. There's a little bit of pink, too, on like her shawl. That's very, very it's actually light blue and pink. Yes. Oh, that is super elegant. And those drop earrings, stunning. Stunning. Oh, wow. When I asked her for the price and she told me 45, I couldn't I couldn't leave her there. I have to give her a new home. Yeah, I know. I would probably say the same thing. Take my money. Take my money. And um as you know, I love the '80s and he's not really anything big for me.

17:38I like them, but for some people they would be like, you know, she's not that big of a deal. But this is the Hot Stuff Skipper. I like it because it's unique. Listen, I like the dolls and like you do too with the Bob Mackie and the big glam, but sometimes stuff like this I like that you can change her outfit. Oh, that's cute. She's like super '80s. And uh I actually had one loose and as soon as I saw this one, I'm like, well, I need a never be moved from box one, so I have to grab her. She actually have a swimsuit, a sweater, a mini skirt, she got sweatpants, she got tights, two different kinds of shoes, sunglasses, you name it, she got it. I love that. I love it. I bought some Rockers that I couldn't pass because they were just $25 a piece. So I bought me the four girls from the second series. The ones that dance. Yes, so I actually got me the four ladies of the group. They were just $25 each, so I couldn't leave them. That's amazing.

18:41That's amazing. And I think the Rockers, Derek, it was one of the outfits you wore. Uh the gold, yes, absolutely. Yeah. So a lot of things you bought, do you win things? Are you given things? I guess you get stuff with your table? Well, actually, as a matter of fact, yes, when you go in a convention, you actually get a package. So this is kind of like a backpack that they gave. And inside this bag, you get another tote. And this tote, it resembles a lot well, like one of the vintage cases. So, that's that's one side. [snorts] And that's the other side. Oh, wow. And it goes really well with the traveling theme. This is actually a tote that you can use throughout your stay at the convention. And you get all kinds of goodies. You get pins, you get pens. Of course, you get the booklet that you have all the activities that you, you know, you're going to be going through through the convention. You get all kinds of different goodies. There's a Texas flashlight.

19:44They got these like cute Barbie pins. I don't know if you can see the image. Yeah, it's like Barbie and like a pilot, like in a pilot outfit. Yes. Wow, that's so cute. So, you actually get all kinds of goodies from the get-go as soon as you do your registration. They give you one of these lanyards that you actually have to use through convention and you get perks in the hotel and you get discounts on the restaurants, which I love food, so I actually use the restaurants a lot. [laughter] So, I got my discounts in drinks, food, you name it. And I can show you I got some of the table gifts. Like for example, Bradley Justice was one of my tablemates and he gave us these amazing vintage fashion. Oh, wow. Oh my goodness. That is actually one of the table gifts. Oh my goodness. Different people bring different items like I got this Ken cologne.

20:41A Ken cologne? Ken cologne. It's awesome. It actually smells really good, by the way. [laughter] And some of the table gifts, these are from convention. These are fashions that they gave us. We have a stewardess outfit and we have a pilot matching outfit for Ken. And then this one was on a different night where they had a yacht. So, this is kind of like a cruise fashion that they gave us. This is fantastic. Who was your table host? My table host was uh Ken Guibert, which he's actually the the one that um uh when I was in Florida, I was in a in adult club. It's named the the Pink Pony Tails of Florida, and he's actually the president of the club. Oh, very nice. So, he gave us this doll. Ah, [gasps] the astronaut repro. Oh, yeah.

21:41That's awesome. So, some of the things you mentioned that I'm curious about, like the restaurant, did they have Barbie-themed food? They do. There's always just one restaurant. They usually have two entrees, and they have some drinks, and they're all Barbie-related. For example, this year the drink, which it was absolutely amazing, it was called Pink Corvette. Um they usually either pink in color, or they have like whimsical names that are Barbie-related. That's wonderful. It kind of adds to the experience, too, right? Absolutely. And do you get to pick what table you want to sit at, or is that organized by the organizers? Usually, when you register, you can uh either sit with your previous tablemates, if there's a space available. They have a Facebook page once they open the registration, and everybody kind of like get their registration going. They usually have a Facebook page, and you can actually ask if there's a somebody that need a space for two, a space for just yourself. So, you can either sit with people you know, or you can just sit with a complete group of strangers and make new friends.

22:49Well, that's good, because you have the option if you want to sit with your tablemates and be comfortable, or if you kind of want to start meeting new people. It's kind of nice that you have that option, too, right? Either way is nice, because I mean, like, even though you see usually the tables are 10 people per table. Let's say you're by yourself and you're sitting with nine strangers. They won't be strangers in less than 10 minutes because everybody's like welcoming. Everybody's happy. Everybody wants to be there. Everybody's enjoying. You would actually end up having friends for life after convention. Yeah, I think Flippin' Debbie said it in their episode that you walk into a room and you've already made 850 friends because everybody there has the same interests. Absolutely. great. Speaking of Flippin' Debbie, thank you so much for taking that photo with them at convention. He's wearing his Barbie Talk shirt and by the way, you're going to get one, too. So [laughter] they kind of planned this whole like Barbie Talk alumni photo, which was really really sweet of them to do that, which I appreciate. Of course, you know I'm going to ask, let's see the convention doll. Yes. Okay, so here it is. Her name is I don't know if I'm going to spell this correctly, but it's a Fleur-de-lis Noir. I don't know if you can see the name.

24:01Fleur-de-lis Noir. Fleur-de-lis Noir. Ooh. And this is the African-American version. Beautiful. So, when you sign up for convention, do you get to choose which one you want to do that you randomly get either an AA or the blonde? No, when you do registration at the end of the form, they ask you which doll do you want to get. I mean, if you actually go with your husband, partner, a friend, in my case, my partner doesn't collect Barbies, so I get both. But you get to choose which ethnicity you want to get. Usually we get them on a Saturday night. And do they have a Hispanic version, too, or is it just they only have the two? No, actually I haven't seen a Hispanic one so far, but they always have the African-American and the white version. I love this face mold, though. Wow, look at those roses on her shoulders. Like it's a big piece. It's a statement, those two big roses.

24:51I love that. I do like that. Yes, she is. I love the black and the pink and And love the face mold. She's absolutely beautiful. Yeah, she's stunning. So, does she have the same face mold just AA? No, the African-American have her own Oh, she's different. Okay. Let's see her. Oh, wow, the makeup. Yeah. Stunning. And you know what? I think it's a great that you can get both. It's great. Yeah, that's fantastic. So, are you going to take them out of the box? I tend not to because, I mean, the value of these dolls they skyrocket. Yeah, they do skyrocket because by now they're on eBay and there's only 800 and whatever how many people were at convention that were made. So, as much as I would like to open them and put them in display somewhere, I just don't want to like ruin the value for you know, if I decide to like sell them in the future.

25:42Yeah, exactly. Exactly. While you were at convention, I loved following along. You did post while you were there, and I saw that you brought your mini-me with you. I I sure did. Can we see him? Let's see him. Is he tired from convention? How's he doing? He's tired. He's tired. His clothes haven't changed. [laughter] But there he is. Wow, identical. The hair and everything. The hair flip. This is a really good mini-me. This is a really good one. I actually had this exact outfit on one of the nights of the uh convention. So, you guys were matching? We were matching. This doll was actually made by Christie, and Christie was, I believe she was your fourth episode. Christie Mountain Barbie Girl? Yes. She lives [snorts] here in Colorado. We live 45 minutes apart. Um she have a mini-me of her own.

26:32And she was like, "Why don't we take pictures? Where's your mini-me?" And I said, "I don't have one." So, she actually made this one for me. Aw, how sweet. Christie's awesome. She is amazing. Yeah, that's so sweet of her. Yeah, I saw him in a lot of your content, so he got to enjoy convention as well. And a lot of people bring their mini-mes with them. Actually, as a matter of fact, now that we're talking about the Mini Me's, it was one night that there was an event that unfortunately I was not able to go to. But, it was a Mini Me soiree. So, all the people that brought their Mini Me's, they could actually go into that event and take all kinds of pictures with everybody else's Mini Me's. I heard that it was fun, but unfortunately I couldn't make it. You can't make it to everything like you said. You can't split yourself into 10, right? Yes.

27:17You can only do what you can do. You have a couple pieces there that actually caught my eye. So, one of the first dolls I got in play sets was the California Dream, also known as Club California. I can see the gang there. I can see the taxi, the surf shop. That stuff is so nostalgic to me. It just brings me back to my childhood. But, you have a lot of unique pieces aside from Barbie. You've got play sets, you've got cars, you've got doll houses. I saw your recent reel that your sister's doll house, you still have it, which is a very iconic doll house. So, all of these pieces, you've got furniture. What is it about these particular pieces that gravitates to you? Well, to be honest, when I was a little kid, I was attracted to dolls, obviously. So, my first and foremost, you know, the dolls were kind of like to me, they were like mesmerizing when I was a little kid. But, besides from the dolls, the houses. Like as soon as I saw the Barbie house and the Barbie Dream Pool and her cars, you know, I was actually very intrigued about all these accessories that when I was a kid, I was always wondering like how much money Barbie makes to buy all these expensive houses and cars and pools and I was very intrigued and when I grew older and I started collecting Barbie to me, like I couldn't have Barbie without an accessory. So, of course, I started buying

28:44everything like from the United plane from the '70s into like the dream house and the dream pool, the dream Corvettes. You name it, I have it. You definitely have a lot. Is there any pieces there that are maybe one of your favorites that you can show? I think that my one and most important love is that dream house right there. The A-frame or the one beneath? The A-frame. Wow. The A-frame was very important because actually that was basically like the first Barbie dream house that I remember from when I was a kid. I knew that I couldn't have one because my parents were not going to buy me a Barbie dream house. Yeah. But I knew that someday I was going to have one and now I end up with six. You have six A-frames? I got six. I got one yellow. I got this yellow one never removed from box. I got that pink version never removed from box. And then I got all the other ones are open just like this one that you see right here. Okay, so wow, this is one of the six A-frames that you have. Yes. Beautiful. Stunning. I acquired the first one in 1993.

29:57Would you say it was easier to get then? It was probably more affordable, that's for sure. I don't know if you're going to believe me because like some people don't believe when I tell them these stories because like as you can see the prices right now, the prices are like ridiculous right now. Yeah. But I got that A-frame brand new for $25. In 1993? In 1993. Okay. Yeah, that makes sense. Wow. Wow. And it's in good condition. So let's take a look at the other doll house that you have under the A-frame. Yes, that one right there. So tell us a little bit about this dream house. Okay, this one is the magical mansion from 1990. I know it's kind of like a weird angle that I'm taking the video because I have a table in front of it right now. But, this house, to me, is very special because it used to be my sister's. We're 18 years apart. So, I bought this house for her back in 1992 for Christmas. And when she was old enough not to play with dolls anymore, they were going to give it away to Goodwill. So, I actually saved this house from going to Goodwill.

31:09You saved this house because this is an iconic doll house. And I'll tell you, when I search up doll houses just to see what's available on eBay, this is not one that comes up often. Yeah, it's actually hard to find, especially never removed from box. This one, I still have the original box. I have it in the attic here in the house. And my sister used to be very, very careful when she was playing with her toys. So, all the furniture inside it's still looking pretty much brand new. Is that a fireplace I see on the first floor? Yes. Oh, that's adorable. And And every everything works. It got chandeliers that works, the fireplace works, the kitchen works, the bathroom works, the doorbell works, there's a porch light on the outside, and everything still functional in this house.

31:57Oh, those little details are the best. And like I love that little balcony up there at the top. That's wonderful. I'm glad you saved that. And the fact that it still works after so many years, it's amazing. Almost 40 years old, that house. Yes, there were a few things that I actually have to work on because there was a little bit of corrosion on the battery compartments, but everything still works. Amazing. And I see that you have on the outside a little pool. So, you've got the pool outside. Look at that. Amazing. Amazing. You've got another pool over there. Your basement is just like I feel like it's a Barbie collector's dream. I absolutely love it. Show Tell little bit of what you have there. I see the superstar stage, lots of play sets, dolls in boxes. As you're showing us this, tell us a little bit about your collecting style cuz you've got some stuff in box, got some stuff out of box, and like you said, so your goal is to always buy two.

32:48Yes. One to keep in box and one to take out. Well, as you can see here in that picture, these were my first loves. These were the superstar Barbie, Ken, and Christie from the '70s. Um those were actually so affordable back when I started collecting that I got multiples. I mean, it's like insane the amount that I was able to get because when I started collecting in '95, these dolls nobody wanted these dolls back then. People were actually overlooking the superstar era, which they called them the pink box era. Yeah. Yeah, the pink box era. So, nobody wanted these dolls even if they were given away. So, of course, I have to buy them, and I bought them for like pennies on the dollar. And you even have multiple of the superstar dolls? I do. I have the bride, the original, and the grow hair supersize. And then, I have them in box. I have Christie and the original one in boxes right here. I've never seen a supersize Christie. I've never seen one.

33:51That is absolutely amazing. Oh my goodness, they're so gorgeous. As you can see, all these things that I'm showing you here in boxes, I also have them loose because I have to buy two of each. Of course. That's amazing. And I see the little McDonald's play set. I actually have that. I got it off Marketplace though, which is I it caught my eye cuz I was like, "Oh, that's something I have." [laughter] There it is. Yeah. These ones are like the never removed from box version and the loose version. Oh my goodness. So, that Golden Dream Christie, that's an original Golden Dream. That's not a reproduction. No, this one is the original. I've also got my Golden Dream Barbie and Christie, but these are repros. So, what I'm holding here is not an original. This is a reproduction. The reproductions are pretty nice, too. All they are never removed from And I love this bronze that they did with Christie. It's absolutely beautiful.

34:44So, the hair on Barbie, is that her original hair or do you fix them up? No, actually I bought I don't know if you can see the other one well enough on the screen. This one is an original that came with curly hair. Oh. And this one I bought also never removed from box and it came exactly the way you see her. And I never seen another one with straight hair like that. Interesting and the repro came almost kind of curly, like a lot Very curly, yes. Yeah, [snorts] versus like the Wow. Wow. Either way, they all look beautiful. It's just really interesting to see how there's differences between them, right? Yes. Yeah. Beautiful. Let me put her right there. [clears throat] I don't have that much space, so I have to like keep on rotating Yeah.

35:30on the shelves, but I usually like to show like the one never removed from box and the out of box. I love that. That's every collector's dream. Every collector's dream. And then I saw Pink and Pretty. That's beautiful, too. The Pink and Pretty dolls. Very beautiful. Yeah, that's You know, there's something about these AAs that when I was younger, I just didn't appreciate and now I'm like, "Wow." Like she's so pretty. Very difficult to find and I just find that any color looks just so good on her skin. I got the Beauty Secrets. I got them in in both versions. I've also never seen a Beauty Secrets Christie. Never seen one. Look at that beautiful color on her. Oh my goodness. I don't know if you can see her face. Oh, yeah. I see it.

36:17Oh my god, beautiful. Her eyes are like They're like a light brown. Yeah, they're like a hazel Hazel. Yes. Oh my goodness. Just absolutely beautiful. And then this one is actually a platinum. They're usually like a darker blonde. And I found these nice platinum beauty secrets. Oh, beautiful. Beautiful. I tried to buy one of each of the Barbie and and a Christie. These are the kissing dolls from the '70s. The kissing Barbie, yeah. At least that kissing Barbie still has bright bright red lipstick. Mine's all faded. She's been kissing too much. No, actually I'm going to be honest. I have to actually repaint her lips because she had like non-existent lips. Oh, then that's kissing Christie. The kissing Christie, yes. I've also never seen that either.

37:05I mean, this wasn't really my era, but now I'm really opening up into more of like the '60s and the '70s dolls because I'm interviewing so many people who have beautiful dolls from those eras and I'm more interested in them. So that's probably why I haven't seen a lot of these, but the Christies are just wow. Oh, and there's the beautiful California Dream Line, which is a personal favorite of mine. Yeah, I absolutely love them. And I love the fashions. I see that the Midge is wearing one of the fashions there. Yes. Still trying to collect some of those, but they are pretty pricey, so. Oh, I love those fashions. Oh my goodness. So sweet. Ah, just reminds me of my childhood and that was the return of Midge and I love that beach taxi. Sweet. And I have a set that is a European. But this is the Winter Garden Barbie set. So this is a European exclusive? This is a European set. It was never sold here in the United States. Oh goodness, and did you get this online or did you get it in Europe? No, actually I got it on eBay and I got it for a really good price. Oh, it's cute. And I couldn't pass. I actually have quite a few European sets because they're like really they're sought after. Yeah. Some of them are like very realistic. Oh my god, they're stunning and I love that that you have the perfume pretties there.

38:20That's the perfume pretty set is there. I got the perfume pretty Barbie and uh Whitney. Whitney, oh my goodness, beautiful. And Ken, Ken's there, too. Ken there, too. Ken, he's the one serving the food. He's Yeah, of course he's serving the food. That's what he has to do. [laughter] Oh, wow, this is beautiful. And I see under that shelf, I know it's probably a little low, Rafael, which is fine. You've got my grail car, the Chevy, the '57 Chevy. Yeah, this is the blue version. I'm still looking for the pink one. I have to buy the pink one. You'll get it. Yeah, you'll find it. You shouldn't have a problem. And you've got, of course, the Beat, Barbie and the Beat, the whole gang's there. Yes. I love that whole set, that whole era. I try to mix the eras, as you can see, I got the Rockers van [sighs] on the top shelf. So, let me ask a question. You've got the Rockers van. You tend to buy two of the dolls. With play sets, do you just buy one? Unfortunately, I also buy two. [sighs and gasps] How do you do this, Rafael?

39:17So, I assume that that box was either empty or you have the product in there. No, this one that you see on the picture, this one is the never removed from box. The one that I have I actually bought this one like a year ago for like a very, very good price, so I couldn't pass. But I also have this one loose. Oh my goodness, I love that. I had the Hot Rockin' Stage, so I needed the van and then I never got the van. Never got the van. This one here is the same. I have it loose and I bought this one uh never removed from box. That's probably the best pool. I don't know, there's something about that. Even just to photograph it or make content, it's just so beautiful. It's beautiful. Ooh, what car is that, Rafael? This one is the European Barbie Jaguar. Oh. And is that the Billy Boy doll sitting in there? Yeah, that's the Feeling Groovy. It is, by Billy Boy. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Oh my goodness. So, that's the European version, the one that was sold here in the US. It was actually pink and translucent with glitter on it. So, to be honest, this one actually caught my eye. I liked it much better than the that that translucent, yeah. Yeah, it's unique. I kind of like that, too. Yes. Yeah.

40:33Oh my god, I could stare at your shelf all day. I think I saw the Hot Rockin' Stage. It was probably at the top, as well. I have one I have one This one is also never removed from box. I had to buy a new one. So, the one from my childhood disappeared. I don't know where it went. And so, as an adult, I bought a another boxed one. So, yeah, so this is part of my mess here. So, this is it's it's not a mess. It's Barbie chaos, but it's so fun. It's so fun. And I've seen your content, you photograph it really well, you demonstrate it really well. I don't know if there's been a day that you post something and it's not a grail of mine. It just it [laughter] all the time, all the time. You even inspired me to start looking into old retail catalogs and Barbie magazines, cuz I also would get the Barbie magazines as a kid, like the magazine for girls, and I would get those magazines as a kid and Barbie bazaars, and you've really motivated me to like go complete my collection, and I'm looking for some of the issues that I don't have.

41:30So, yeah, you definitely inspired me to do that. So, if Mattel were to walk into your room today and say, "We're going to re-pro one of these dolls, which one would you tell them to re-pro?" Well, actually, I'm very big on the '80s. I'm pretty sure that all the ones that I I like they have been re-produced, like the Day to Night have been made, the Peaches 'n Cream have been made. The Rockers The Rockers were recently done. The Rockers. I would actually say Pink 'n Pretty, but both versions, not just the white one. I think that both versions should deserve to be re-produced, because she's actually very popular. Yeah, and she's beautiful. It would be nice to see Pink 'n Pretty, but maybe with a twist, kind of like what Andrew Mukamal did with Day to Something maybe the outfit does something different. Just to Absolutely. change it up. I don't know. That would be my opinion. Or even maybe adding more cultures like Hispanic, Asian. You know, maybe we do some of that because those dolls are beautiful as well.

42:25Absolutely. Yeah, for sure. Which doll are you still in search of because I feel like you've got a lot. Anything you want, you kind of make sure you look for it. You're determined to get it. So, what doll is still out there that you want? The one doll that I would like to have, even though I don't collect vintage because my specialty is 1974 to like 1993 and some of the ones in between, but it would be the number one Barbie. What's the oldest doll that maybe you've seen at a convention? They actually have plenty of number ones, but they are like way out of my range. We're talking about 13, 14, 15,000 dollars for a number one. And we're talking about a number one doll that doesn't have the original box. Some of them don't have the original stand, but I keep my hopes up because not long ago, I would say like month and a half two months ago, somebody found one in an antique shop for 10 dollars.

43:25Hold on. Was it a number one? A number one. Oh my goodness. I'm assuming no original box and stand, right? No, actually the doll, she didn't have her shoes or sunglasses. She got her swimsuit. And her hair wasn't the best. But can you imagine buying a number one for just 10 dollars? So, speaking of old dolls, what's the oldest doll you have? I know you showed the Ken, but that was like your first. But what's the oldest doll that you have in your collection? I have a ponytail Barbie. I believe it's a number five and a bubble coat. Oh, wow. So, this is your oldest doll. This is a number What did you say? A number five? This is a number five Barbie. I found her by mistake. That's actually a reproduction dress.

44:12It's not her original dress. But um I found her and it was actually less than $10 because it was in a big Barbie lot that I got. And um she was basically like a freebie. Let's put it that way. She was like a freebie inside that deal. How was her hair? Did she have the green in her ears? No, she don't have any green in her ears. Oh, that's amazing. But her hair is very thin as you can see her ponytail. Yeah. It's very thin, but her curls are like really nice and thick. And her makeup still looks great. She's Yeah, she still look nice. I had to do some research because like I said vintage is not my specialty. But when I see them I get them if they come in in a box, they come home. Yeah, of course. And you saved her even though her hair is thin and I'm glad that she found a beautiful home with you and she's with all of her other gals. Absolutely. Absolutely. Before we end off the show Rafael, I always like to ask my guests if there's any sort of unique pieces or something rare that they have in their collection that may be hard to find. Okay, I've been looking for this one piece for years and I remember seeing it for the first time in a JCPenney Christmas catalog way back in the day, but I never seen one actually anywhere in any store anywhere.

45:36So, I actually from not finding one for many many years, I end up with three of them. And it's And it's this Barbie and the Rockers beauty set. Oh my goodness. That is fantastic. I have never seen this in person and she comes with curlers, she comes with makeup. What's that guitar? Does she come with a guitar or is that just That That guitar you actually open it and it's a case to put all those accessories inside. It's a carrying case for all the accessories. Yes. So, this is new in box that you got? No, the ones that I got, they were all used, but they're like in superb shape. And this box looks brand new. It looks brand new. And this suits your whole Especially cuz you know, big 80s, you're big 80s collector. This definitely suits your aesthetic. actually show you how she looks like. I have one of them outside the box.

46:29And there she is. And look at the headpiece accessories. Oh my gosh, she's got the big earrings and the necklace. Those, I have to be honest, those are actually I made them for her. [gasps] Oh, that's really good. Did she come with earrings or no? This one here that you see in the screen, this one was the one that I found in the worst shape. So, I actually I redid her hair. So, all those curls were made so she looked fresh again. And she didn't have any earrings, so I made those to resemble the original Barbie and the Rockers. Yes, it looks just like it. And of course, I had to make this a headpiece for her. Oh, you made the headpiece cuz that headpiece looks exactly like the doll. Yes, I made the headpiece for her, yes. Oh, that's love This is a one This is a one-of-a-kind. This is basically how she looks like outside the box, yeah. Oh my goodness. Well done. Well done. I love that.

47:26Okay, so I just wanted to show you this is a Toys R Us exclusive that came out in 1985. And it's the first time that Mattel did a Corvette for Ken. You know what? I always wondered why Ken didn't have his own car. He was always driving Barbie's cars, but he got tired of driving a pink car. Yes, and you know what? Let me just say, my nephew, when he wanted to play with me or with his little sister, he said to me, Ken doesn't have a car. So, I got him a a pink car and I painted it black. So, what I did for him, and this is perfect, and this is also not something easy to find. Back in the day when I got this one, not that many people knew about them. That retail price for this car back in the day was like $15, and I got it in the '90s for 35. Wow. And now they sell for like sometimes over 500. Yeah. Does it say Ken on the license plate? It does. Oh, and it says California. Good, I like that. Beautiful. I was just hoping it didn't say Barbie cuz he deserves his own license plate. it definitely says Ken. Yeah, and you know what? It's in decent condition, the stickers and everything. That's amazing. Yes. They need to bring back more Ken cars. Ken needs a car. Ken needs more vehicles. Absolutely. This Corvette is not really made to fit Ken.

48:43So, they look a little awkward driving that Corvette because these Corvettes were actually made for Barbie and Big Jim, which is a male action figure from the '70s. And he's actually a much smaller than Barbie and Ken, and they fit perfectly. So, Mattel used these Corvette molds for Ken, but they're usually not made for Ken. I didn't know that. See, I learn something new every day. You're very knowledgeable, Rafael. You know your history. I didn't know that. It's a little tight. I would say that a little kid playing with these they would actually break something in that Corvette trying to put the Ken inside. Probably. Yeah, definitely. [laughter] Well, I love that. I love that. Okay, so this one doll Well, for me was a grail because when this doll first came out, I missed the chance of buying her, and for many years I was like, "Oh, I'll buy her later, and I'll buy her later."

49:34And that buy her later means that this doll went like right now it's almost up to like a thousand dollars if you buy her. And I told my partner about her. I showed him a picture, and he just came and just surprised me with these Moschino African-American So, to me she's like basically Christie. Oh my goodness, this is definitely a grail doll. And very hard to find. And they also made one in like a pink outfit, right? But I love the black with the gold chains. And oh, wait a minute, she comes with stuff? Oh, yes. I don't know if you can see, there's a backpack, there's a little purse, there's a baseball cap, she have a t-shirt. Oh my goodness, I've never seen this one. I've seen them the Moschino Mochino, I don't know if I'm saying it right, in the pink in like the hot pink leather outfit. I've never seen this one. Oh, [sighs] wow. So, this one when they first came out, they were a little controversial because there's actually a commercial that there's a boy playing with them and he's actually a little bit sassy. They actually making seem sassy on the commercial

50:59and it was a little controversial because I believe it was the first time that they actually show a boy playing with a doll like this. Moschino Barbie, [music] so fierce. I didn't know that too, but I can imagine something like that would cause some controversy. Ooh, okay, so Jeremy Scott, I guess is the designer here. Yes. Oh my goodness. Oh, wow. And so, what does it say in the bottom? How many were made? There's a number there. 700 worldwide. There's only 700 of that doll. Of course. Of course it's going to be that much. To be honest, I'm assuming, but don't quote me. I believe it's 700 of each ethnicity. Got it. So, there's 1,400 total is what you think. Okay. Okay. This is the one that I wanted the most because I love Christie. I absolutely love Christie. Yeah. So, when I showed this to my partner, he got like a magic wand and he made it happen. Oh my god, that's amazing. So, thank you so much, Rafael, for joining me today. It was so much fun hearing about your collection journey, seeing your beautiful collection both in and out of box. [laughter] I loved hearing about your convention experience, getting a closer look at your incredible collection, and seeing the creativity behind your content. Thank you for sharing your passion with all of us doll lovers,

52:22and I hope to have you back on the show maybe in the future. Absolutely. Uh thank you for inviting me. It's an honor. This is actually the first time that I do a podcast. This is a first and uh I'm very grateful that you actually invite me to do it. I've seen your other shows and everybody have a unique taste on their collection and they bring something new and it's just interesting and very entertaining. I love it. I love it. That's very kind of you to say, and I'm actually surprised that this is your first podcast or even Have you done any interviews? Because you seem very natural. I would have never guessed. No, actually at this last convention I did a presentation on Barbie vehicles and it was the first time that I did a presentation. To be honest, I try not to do stuff like these because of my accent. I'm very like self-conscious of my accent.

53:10I feel like sometimes I'm saying things and people don't understand what I'm saying. I understood everything. I understood everything. I did not have an issue at all. So, sometimes we're our own worst critic and we're self-conscious about things, but nobody else picks up on it. So, you did fantastic. You were an absolute natural and I cannot wait to see tomorrow and the days to come what you post on your Instagram because it's an absolute pleasure. I look forward to seeing all the stuff that you post. I really do. I appreciate it. Like I said, it was a pleasure and hopefully we can do this again. Absolutely. Thanks so much, Rafael. Bye. Bye. It's amazing how one doll can create memories, build communities, and bring joy to so many people. [music] Make sure to like, subscribe, and hit that notification bell if you love all things Barbie. And if you enjoyed this episode, click here [music] to see one of my other episodes. Thanks for watching.