You are invited to the 15th Annual Facets BBQ!

Hi all -

Are you ready for another fabulous Facets BBQ??  Number 15 this year!  Where does the time go? 

I'm inviting area doll collectors (and any traveling ones) to come to my house in Matawan, NJ for a BBQ and doll party on Sunday September 17th starting at noon. 

Matawan is in central NJ, near exit 117a of the Garden State Parkway. It is easily accessible by NJ Transit trains from NYC or Newark. 

It will be like the previous BBQ's with lots of people, food, dolls, sales, and more, but there are a few changes, so please read on...

I'll provide all of the food, and there is a cover charge of $18 per person and it must be paid in advance by PayPal (to applefrien@aol.com) or you can send me a check or give me cash if you see me beforehand.  Payment is required no later than Wednesday, September 7th in order to get an accurate head counting for food shopping.

I'll have a sales area set up in my basement - space is on a first come basis and is limited. If you are planning to bring things to sell, please let me know so I can estimate how much space is needed per person and try to get enough shelving/tables to accommodate. If you've been here before, you know the set-up. If you haven't been here before and want to sell, email me for more info. Of course, Facets will be set up for shopping, too :-)

In addition to shopping, we'll have door prizes, the infamous "free table", and lots of dolls to look at.

The "free table" is a table of doll related items that are extras, slightly used, unwanted, etc... It's a good way to get rid of those items that you think someone might want and you don't feel like putting on Ebay. If you have some things you'd like to put in, bring them. However, if no one takes them, you have to take them back or throw them out - they can't stay here! If you want to mail donations, LMK and I'll give you the address. I've already gotten some amazing things mailed to me!

If you want to see what the Free Table is like, check out pictures and Paul's video from last year:

http://facetsbymarcia.com/BBQ2016.htm

Feel free to bring a doll for display. I don't have a theme - bring a favorite, a new acquisition, something you want to show off, whatever.

Contributions to the door prizes are appreciated.

If you need a place to stay in this area, I recommend the Apa Woodbridge (formerly Woodbridge Hotel/Woodbridge Hilton). It's about 20 minutes north of here and is more reasonably priced and nicer than the few hotels in the immediate area. If you are looking for travel mates or roommates, LMK and I'll try to help.

I hope you can make it to the party - it's a day of great fun, great dolls and great people :-) Email me to RSVP or ask questions. When you email me, I would appreciate it if you could put "BBQ" somewhere in the subject so I can sort out those emails.

Marcia

www.facetsbymarcia.com

P.S. If you know someone who might like to come to the BBQ and that hasn't gotten an invitation, please let me know and I'll invite them.

Beautiful Studio Piece from Superdoll

I think there was only one. It disappeared very fast. Congratulations to the person who grabbed it.

BLOSSOM PARKE

Venus is excited to be Walking on Sunshine today!

Photograph colours are 99.9 percent true to actual colour. 

Please bear in mind your monitor may be set differently.

PHOTOGRAPHS ARE ACTUAL DESCRIPTIONS

DOLL AND DOLL STAND NOT INCL 

OUT OF STOCK

Price: £455.00 (Excluding VAT at 20%)

Quantity:   1

New Superdoll DD_0127

Venus was sweet as could be in her white bonnet and guipure lace dress, but just guessing by her gladiator boots.... She just not the type of girl you invite to your wedding!From the top. A gorgeous bonnet of satin and organza trimmed in petals and spike white flowers. Delicately hiding a row of pearl centres.Her exceptional long multitone platinum hair in a waist length braid and swirling long fringe... fabulous!Her eyeshadows in the spectrum of the heavens surround her eyes of pale putty and grey. Lips of pale pastel pink.Her dress is that of any scene stealer... forcing wedding guests to wonder 'just who is the bride?'It has always been said it's rude to wear white to a wedding (unless you the bride), but Venus giggled when she chose this frock bearing turtle doves and butterflies.Adding insult to injury, its a very short dress, shamelessly flaunting her hold up lace edged hose and suspender belts. A cute white bow and pearl trimmed vintage style picnic purse was her accessory this day and a delicate pair of white organza ruffle gloves.Upon her feet... high heel white Gladiator sandals.Venus has no matrimonial plans, so why not steal someone else's big day?

Clone: 1000 Venus d'RoyceSkintone: COSMETIQUE

Of course she comes with the following standard accessories:-manic_cure hands (see booklet for hand change instructions)-booklet-stand

PRODUCTION MAY VARY FROM PROTOTYPE SHOWN.

In stock and ready to be delivered.        Price: £279.16 (Excluding VAT at 20%) 

 ______________________

Text above from Superdoll website.
_______________________

Currency exchange on the British Pound brings the cost of the doll to about $363.44 US. 
Postage to the US will put her over $400 by about $17.

I think she is very pretty. I love the fabrics, the big hat and her wig. She's a summer's delight!

http://www.superdollonline.co.uk/acatalog/SYB-0127-490.html#SID=45

New Barbie Website is Full of Toys

I had a chance to prowl through the new website this morning and my opinion is that it's a success in that it works. Everything has been thrown into what was called Barbie Collector and is now called Barbie.mattel.com.  The inclusion of playline Barbies including playsets, cheap fashion packs, party supplies, and more toy-like products as opposed to collectibles is a turn-off. I'm not in the market for a Barbie backpack or a little Escalade for a child.

Power Wheels Barbie Cadillac Escalade $400. 

If you want to see Silkstone Dolls, use this link:

 http://barbie.mattel.com/shop/en-us/ba/silkstone-dolls#facet:&productBeginIndex:0&orderBy:&pageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:&contentPageSize:&

If you want to see more fashion dolls for adults, click on: 

http://barbie.mattel.com/shop/en-us/ba/fashion-dolls-collection#facet:11510197114991049710310197100117108116&productBeginIndex:0&orderBy:&pageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:&contentPageSize:&

The other big change is that there are going to be three membership levels - pink, gold and platinum. Read very carefully as rewards have requirements such as spending $80 or $100 before you can use one. 

Signature Membership FAQs

At the highest level, you would have to spend $400 over four quarters to get your full $120 benefit. Plus you would get free shipping all year. It could be worth the $34.xx and maybe not. 

You can still do the $19.95 membership fee and get the usual rewards although now you have to spend $80 per order to get $20 off.  That kind of sucks. 

If you don't buy either the gold or the platinum status, you can have a Pink Status membership for free but no access to the forum.

I may just stop buying Silkstone dolls now. 

Everything changes and Mattel is in business to make money, of course. I wish them and this website the best of luck. I am very interested in hearing what my fashion doll collector friends think.

What do you all think about these changes to the website and the membership?

New Barbie Collector site is Launching July 17th, 2017.

Hoping someone other than the last web designing crew designed this new site or it's going to crash and be dysfunctional - again.

If you cannot read the text, click on the photo to enlarge.

Will you be joining this time around?

Gene Marshall Doll Line History

I have seen Anne Monday's preliminary pages of this book and you are going to want it! 

Gene: Dolls, Outfits & Accessories, 1995-2017

By Anne Monday | Foreword by Mel Odom

In 1995 Gene Marshall burst into the doll collecting world. She stood a glamorous 15 ½ inches tall at a time dominated by the 11 ½ inch Barbie. Created by artist Mel Odom, Gene was presented as a doll for the adult collector, to be redressed and played with by her owners. Gene was so successful that within five years many manufacturers copied her size, launching the era of the 16-inch fashion doll.

Gene is a Hollywood star whose career ran from the 1940s until her retirement in 1961. As such, her wardrobe is replete with outfits from such highly recognized designers as Dior, Charles James, and Valentino as well as costumes from her movie roles, both contemporary and historic, complete with coordinated hats, shoes, gloves, purses, jewelry, and more.

This volume presents a year-by-year photographic chronicle of every Gene release from her debut in 1995 with Ashton-Drake Galleries through JAMIEshow’s latest incarnations in the first half of 2017. In these pages, you will find photos of:

-- Every dressed doll depicting Gene and her friends, from the major editions numbering in the thousands to special limited editions of as little as five dolls.
-- Every outfit and accessory released separately, including closeups of smaller items such as shoes and jewelry.
-- More than 470 pages of full-color photos make this the most comprehensive guide to Gene ever made — an ideal guide for collectors!

This book is on pre-order through September 15. 

ALL PREORDERS will receive a BOOK SIGNED BY MEL ODOM.

• Free Shipping during the Preorder (U.S. only, and for this item only)
• Please order this book by itself, since it has to be shipped later. Purchase other items in a separate transaction
• This book will be printed and shipped in late November or early December (in time for Christmas). The preorder sales will determine the print run.
• Order here: http://shop.dollsmagazine.com/gene-marshall-fashion-dolls-book.html

The cover: