What’s in the stores? (2)

Was out shopping today and just had to drop by OG Orchard’s Toy Department. The toy department there is definitely one of the better ones in Singapore at this time. They have a wide range of toys for both boys and girls and the way it’s arranged just gives the interested eye the feeling of there being loads to explore. Definitely a plus.

Of course I headed straight for the Barbie section and was pleasantly surprised to some new Fashionistas and accessory packs so Yay!!!!

I don’t know about you guys that I hadn’t seen these before. The only problem I now have is how to stop myself from buying too many 😳😱🤣🤣

I liked the accessory packs as well. These were priced at $7.90 and they seemed to have a good variety. These will definitely appeal to those interested in creating dioramas for their dolls.

I know the pictures leave aren’t that great but hopefully they give you an idea of a couple of the varieties that’s in stock.

What’s in the stores?

Has anyone seen anything new in the stores lately? I went to Takashimaya a couple of weeks ago and they had quite a few new play sets which were pretty cool but not much on the doll front. The most interesting was Builder Barbie. I thought this was great because it combined Barbie with that extra creative element that is so often advocated for development nowadays.

and theBut scanning the shelves still made me wonder when Barbie or doll collecting in Singapore got so boring? When I started collecting in the late 1990s, it was always fun to visit a department store because there was always something new or something being marked down. Of course, we used to have a greater number of stores that carried Barbie back then. This included Oriental Emporium and Sogo…sigh…the good old days 🙂 Are little ones no longer playing with Barbie? Thinking about this question made me realize that whenever I visited the Barbie section at Takashimaya or OG, the only ones browsing the shelves were adults 😖 Does that mean that the market is just too small to bring in a constant supply of new dolls or could it just be that the nearest Mattel office is in Australia? Please write in if you want to share your thoughts on this?

[Side note] I just googled Oriental Emporium to try to find out when their stores closed in Singaporeand came across this article, If you’ve been to all these 8 department stores in Singapore, you’re uncle /auntie by Cassandra Tan [Guess who definitely qualifies…yes, this Auntie :)]

A New Direction

I started this site with the sole intention of reducing the size of my collection. I started collecting Barbie in 1996 and stopped in 2000 after I found that my dolls were over-running my living space. Despite the space issue, I couldn’t bare to part with any of my dolls till now.

BUT I still love dolls and now find that I am still eyeing a lot of the dolls that were issued during the years that I stopped collecting. [I am definitely in DOLL TROUBLE]. For instance, I recently managed to get my hands on a small lot of dolls and clothes on Ebay at a steal. The lot consisted of a Paul Frank Barbie in her blue pajamas complete with slippers and a Basic Barbie (the one with short blond hair). I managed to clean up both dolls and the PF Barbie switched bodies  with a Made to Move Barbie so that she could be comfortable in a retro swing egg chair.

I used to be a box collector – my term for doll collectors especially Barbie doll collectors who keep a majority of their collection in their original unopened box.  I thought that this would keep my collection in pristine condition and I would still be able to admire them in their natural habitat 🙂 but this was not the case for a couple of reasons. 1. The rubber bands holding everything in place disintegrated over time causing accessories to fall to the bottom of the box. 2. The weather  is unforgiving on some materials especially velvet and causes fabric, beads etc. to discolour &/or fade. So I’ve now decided to enjoy my dolls by taking more of them out of their boxes and displaying them. I find that I also enjoy creating dioramas with my dolls so I’ve done one or two already. They are not fantastic (I’ve seen some beautiful ones online) but I am slowly learning and having fun along the way.

So this blog will not only have sales pages but will also have pages on projects I have done (the 1st one is already up) and doll care, etc. I hope to also shine the spotlight on the many doll collectors in Singapore and Malaysia and eventually the rest of Asia so if you want pictures of your collection to be in the spotlight on this site, just send me your details in the form below and I will see what I can do. Talk soon 🙂

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