Hello everyone! Angela here, with another one of my long and somewhat random posts. This time I thought I'd give you another look into my doll collection. But this time, I'm going to do it as a series of posts spotlighting the dolls who have most influenced my collection/me as a collector.
And today, we're going to start with an old friend from my childhood. I was roughly two years old when Hot Skatin' barbie came out in 1994 and I don't remember where or when I got her, but she was my first articulated Barbie. She bent at the knees and elbows besides the usual hips and shoulders and I was too little to realize she was a roller skater, so she spent several years as a gymnast in her bright rainbow splattered jumpsuit.
Thing was, she spoiled me. After her, even the old click-knee dolls bothered me with their lack of being able to sit at the dining room table effectively and permanently straight or bent arms. I wanted more jointed Barbies like her.
When I was six or seven, the elastic in her legs finally weakened and gave out all the way, leaving her sadly legless and broken. I asked my brother to fix her for me, but he didn't know how to at the time and neither did I - I couldn't save my childhood Hot Skatin' Barbie, but I have since replaced her with another to keep an old friend in my collection.
Why is she so significant to my collection? Hot Skatin' Barbie's tragic accident (and later, my 1991 Disney Classic Aurora's accident) were part of my motivation to learn how to repair and restore used and broken dolls. I never liked having to throw away a broken doll, especially not if there might be a way to give her new life.
In my current collecting habits, I tend toward buying dolls second hand to bring them home and give them a second chance. Sometimes I can simply clean and restore, other times it takes a little bit more than that with reroots and repainting. But either way, the dolls I bring home do get a new lease on life.
Tune in for the next edition of my most influential dolls!
--Angela
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