The Tonner Sale

Yesterday my husband, dog and I traveled to Kingston, NY. We checked into the Hampton Inn and then met our daughter for a bite. On the way back to the hotel I suggested that we drive past the Tonner building on Wall St. to find out when the parade was taking place. Guess what? We arrived 10 minutes before the parade. That was a surprise and also the reason I didn't have my camera as it was back at the hotel. It was raining and very cold but we saw costumed Tonner staff leading the parade to the sound of bagpipes which scared the living daylights out of Rudy (the loud bagpipes scared him, not the Tonner staff.)  And when he saw the Cat in Hat in front of the store today, he wasn't too happy either.

The one smiling is my husband. Look at Rudy and the way he's looking at the costumed guy. Too funny.

Back to the sale.

This morning was the big sale at the Holiday Inn. The usual suspects were in attendance...those of us collectors from the tri-state area and now, Pennsylvania, a few Canadians and I guess the rest were locals. The ballroom had big round tables piled high with bagged, dressed dolls. In cartons around the room were bagged outfits and some boxed props. Those in the know practiced the grab and look later technique. One collector actually had her entire family outfitted with large bags into which they were instructed to take everything they could. It was fun and I am very happy with my gets. There were a few things I was disappointed to find out wouldn't fit any of my dolls - such as DeeAnna Denton's outfits, but I can sell those.
One doll I was happy to find was Neo Tokyo. I went knowing that I would be looking for him. I guess he wasn't that popular because there were many of him available.

I also got a beautiful Antoinette. I didn't even know she was Antoinette at first. I love her.

I've redressed her in one of the outfits I got.

In the background you can see one of my older Antoinettes wearing another new fashion.
I found a 13" Simone Rouge who is very pretty in person and will be the only other 13" companion my Bana Migdal has.

I picked up a bunch of Tyler Boutique tops and a bunch of NuMood tops and skirts.

Back at the store after the sale, collectors were invited to have Robert (as handsome as ever) sign their dolls and view the new Dr. Seuss dolls.  The rest of the Tonner staff was there to chat and help collectors in their pursuit of wonderful dolls.

I took a few pictures of the displays while Rudy was licking as many faces as possible.
There were many willing victims.

 I want the Reflections of Beauty Mirror. Please send me one.

 Woefully Romantic Ellowyne. Love her outfit!!!

 Have you seen the new bed in the Ellowyne line? It's divine and called Ennui Dreams. 

One of the packages waiting for me when I arrived home contained the Bugged collection from Superfrock.

 

A good dolly weekend? Yes. 

Happy Hanukkah!

 

Pomp & Circumstance Tulabelle

This is the new FR16 doll from Integrity Toys. She will be available for pre-order from your favorite dealer.  Information on pricing is not available until January, 2013.
Her name is Pomp & Circumstance Tulabelle. What her name has to do with the actual doll is a mystery to me. Tulabelle? Okay. Whatever.  The definition of Pomp and Circumstance is "formal ceremony." It is also the name of a famous march, part of which is often played at graduation ceremonies. The designers must have had a private thing going on with this doll to have named her thus.
With that little pinched nose and puckered lips, she must be a cousin of Poppy Parker. P&S T looks very young - almost child-like, as in a 10-year-old with make-up and mommy's clothes. Mommy's clothes are very cute.

On another FR16 note, it was revealed that having blended facial screening has become too expensive for Integrity Toys to use on it's dolls. David Butt posted information in a thread in which a few people expressed their preference for a softer, more blended look. He stated that "Airbrushing (the blended look you speak of) has become cost and labor prohibitive, so we no longer can do this on our dolls." 

The face on the left is that of Goldmine, an early edition Avantguard doll. The one on the right is the recently offered W Club doll, Saskia Tate. You can see the difference in screening styles. Many prefer the earlier airbrushed look including yours truly. These may be the same sculpt but the results are profoundly different. I don't collect their 16" dolls anymore.

The W Club is really changing. There is a big variety of dolls being offered now as opposed to when it started. It was all Fashion Royalty at that time. Pretty much every doll offered was a keeper and extremely special. Now there are lines offered that many do not collect at all. It certainly makes sense for IT to cater to all of it's collectors. But some of us are still waiting for the truly special ones to show up.

Believe it or not, not everyone collects Poppy Parker. GASP. We don't want all of our dolls to look like her.

Happy Holidays Sale at Cherished Friends

 
Just in case you need more dolls, both the PA and NJ branches of Cherished Friends are having sales:

PA store sale:

http://www.cherishedfriends.com/WeeklySaleHappyHolidays.html

NJ store sale:

http://www.cherishedfriends.com/ClearanceSaleNJ.html

The Epitome of Barbie-ness

I ordered this doll back in August and she is finally here. The Blonds Blond Diamond Barbie Doll is the epitome of Barbie-ness. The hair, the smile, the rhinestones, the body and the bling. It almost hurts to look at her. :P

I'm really surprised that I'm thinking about keeping her. The entire box came well tissued. It had a solid cover which opened to reveal a plastic lid, perfect for displaying the doll in the box.
She has nice applied lashes and her hair looks beautiful - that's a surprise. Why can't they get Silkstone doll hair to look like that?

If you are considering buying - do it now. She is a knockout. Just change the body to an articulated one and she's good to go.