TheBzine 2010-02 English

This publication is not associated with Mattel Inc.

inGallery

Photo: Tattoo Photo: Täti Monika

Photo: Caracal

theBdoll eZine 2/2010 3

Probably the biggest news this month is the eZine itself. After the first issue, I was so ecstatic about all the positive feedback I received, that I felt I was floating in the air. I have taken part in several similar projects before, but never have I received the feedback the same way—not to mention the fact how difficult it can be to get people to take part in the projects. This time, I got more volunteers that I have the need for, and in addition the people who I specifically asked to contribute something I knew they’d excel at; they all said they’d be happy to. That having said, the communal spirit of the Bdoll is no big news. We’ve all known that we’re in this together and friends, but you members still surprise me again and again. So, in this issue I will be introducing two of our members who have volunteered into the project; Täti Monika and Adalia. In the next issue, I will be introducing another two members of the team. When I was writing the last issue, I was merely thinking of writing a normal email greeting to everyone, but a lengthy one at that. As our site works in two different languages, I thought it was going to be too much of a bother to joggle between the two, so I decided to write it separately in a downloadable file... And it turned into a magazine... (Yes, it’s so much easier this way!) So it got instantly bigger than intended, and today, it got even bigger. For the next issue... I’m predicting the same thing happens—I have one more photo column in store for you guys, but that’ll remain a surprise! While I was working on this issue, I thought it might be fun to have a real name for the eZine. So I will be asking you for name suggestions. The English version will/may be named separately, so don’t be shy! The name doesn’t have to directly refer to Barbie-dolls, but on the other hand I wouldn’t want a name referring to all ”fashion dolls” in general. I still maintain my position on the fact that this site and eZine is a publication aimed to Barbie collectors, even though we talk about other dolls as well. Of course, legal issues will keep us from using the word ”Barbie” in the name. The person who comes up with the name will be rewarded with our points system, which, at the end of the year will be calculated and the person with most points will receive a gift bought together by a voluntarily participating group of ”secret Santas”. The reward will be at least 500 points. If I can’t decide on the best name myself, I will have to conduct a poll on the site. That remains to be seen. Please do enjoy your reading dear ladies and gentlemen,

Best Regards, Sebastyne

Greetings and Salutations

Cover Photo by KiteCat

4 This publication is not associated with Mattel Inc.

theBdoll: How did you become a Barbie collector? Adalia: I saw the Pink Jubilee Barbie, the one I had when I was a little girl, in a second hand store. I bought it for nostalgic reasons. Then I started to buy other Barbies and (clone) fashion dolls. Later on I decided to give up the other dolls and focus only on Barbie. theBdoll: How long have you been a

collector? Adalia: Since the summer of 2002, so it's been almost 8 years(!) theBdoll: How come do you keep coming back to entertain us on theBdoll.com? Adalia: You entertain me. This is a very nice place.

Adalia may be the most famous Finnish Barbie-collector, and is probably

the one to ”blame” for the recent growth of theBdoll-forums. You see,

she has been interviewed several times in the media especially during the

anniversary year. Should you have seen her on telly, her name is Heidi

Veräjäntausta, of Lahti, Finland. (Thinking of you English speaking expats in

Finland I know are out there.)


TheBdoll: You’ve been interviewed about your Barbie-hobby in many different media, what do you consider was the most fun to take part in? What about the scariest? Adalia: Both the most fun and the scariest was the Aamu-tv (a morning show) live show, I was talking about my Barbies and collecting. theBdoll: I knew it! It would have made me a nerve wreck—it’s an influential show. Adalia: I was there with Matleena, who does Barbie-tuning. There were two different ways of collecting presented. One gathers Collector dolls, the other makes her own OOAK-dolls. theBdoll: Are you aware of the number of dolls you have in your collection? As far as I know, your collection is one of the largest, if not the largest of all Bdollers. Adalia: Yesterday I broke 280. I have an Excel-sheet for keeping track and I add up the new buys as soon as I get them, so I'm well aware of the size of my collection. My collection includes only Barbies by Mattel, no MyScenes or Flavas dolls. My collection has grown like weed since I broke the number of one hundred. theBdoll: Phew, quite a collection! I have about 70 and I feel I’m drowning in them! Tell us a bit about your very first Barbie. Adalia: The first one in my childhood was maybe the Day to Night Barbie that I used to call City Barbie. It was beautiful and lovely! I liked the changing clothes: from business suit to evening wear. I think it was the Santa Claus that gave it to me. The doll's year is 1984 so that would mean I was 8 years old. theBdoll: You are the most active poster on our forum, (including the admin, yours truly), do you keep an eye on the statistics in case someone might steal your lead? Adalia: Before I broke the one hundred, I was keeping an eye on my lead, now I have posted so much that I doubt the record will

be broken (unless I stay away for a really long time...) Sometimes I'm a bit embarrassed of my lead... theBdoll: You better keep an eye out on one of our latest members, Siáma, our second active male member. Now there’s a talkative lad! Adalia: I'm going to post Siáma out of the ring! Well, not really, it's only nice that others that are as talkative as I am. theBdoll: Ah, healthy competition! Recently someone mentioned your infectious enthusiasm, which I remember mentioning to you just a few days ago - how do you manage being so happy and excited at all times? Adalia: I’m not, not all the time... But Barbies cheer you up! Usually visiting my Barbie-room helps: with all those smiley-faces around you just can't be upset! This hobby gives you so much: new friends, new information. theBdoll: Oh yes, your nationally famous Barbie-room! We asked for a photo of it and you, and got one: people have made pilgrimages to your Barbie room from around the country (Finland) and it’s been on the TV, too. Thank you for the interview, this marks our first celebrity interview, maybe it’ll remain the only one - we’ll have to ask Krisse Salminen (A Finnish comedienne who uses Barbies in her comedy) for the next one I think. Adalia is one of the backbones of our forum, who will make everyone’s day a bit better with her positive and gutsy attitude. If something needs doing, ask Adalia! The other thing that is wonderful about Adalia is that she won’t shy away from expressing admiration to others and their creations, and is the warmest person ever. Adalia is the news editor in this magazine, and her first column will be seen in this issue.

”Last night, when I was looking at my doll display cases, something that should be rather obvious to a doll collector occured to me; I like my dolls.” Mariza, January 02, 2010, 08:21:54


In January’s burning freeze we’re

Getting Woolled: Barbie Basics

The previous woolling wave is still sending swells in the form of a new knee mechanism, rumoured to replace the current Fashionistas knee. By now, everyone willing has probably gotten their own flexible Sassy, Cutie, Artsy, Wild, Girly or Glam. In the footsteps of Marie Antoinette they often end up decapitated and having their over-sized noggins replaced with a suitably coloured head. The colour match –information is shared when a member finds a match through trial and error or finds a match posted into the unlimited treasures of Flickr. Especially the Naughty Barbie –division has embraced these dolls, featuring modifications. The bravest are welcome to have a look. Even Mattel was celebrating the good sales of the Fashionistas dolls - way to go us! The new winds, more powerful than the previous, are already shaking the dominating position of the Fashionistas. LBD, as in the little black dress has finally found its way on Barbie. No glitter, no frills, nothing extra, just a different cut, an outfit that in all of its simplicity allows the star, Barbie, to shine. There are 12 different face sculpts, and the body is the ever popular model muse. On theBdoll, a joint order has already been dispatched, and the part takers are jumping up and down impatiently, some already

considering adding to the previous order. Yours Truly woke up a little too late to the Basics and all the dolls I wanted had already sold out. The early bird catches the worm, but in this case the whole flock of birds swarmed over these juicy ones, in Finland as well as overseas. More of this! Someone has already heard rumours of a new wave of Basics, even though we just got the first photos into the gallery to tempt us slow learners! In the creative side of things, the needles are whisking and ideas flying. A discussion topic started as early as last August about doll wigs got new wings with a bunch of new photos. In addition a set of instructions that gives a new use for old socks. An excitedly received tutorial promises a set of new photos of fabulous homemade sweaters. Try it yourself: http://www.dolldivas.net/Boutique/dolldivas-SockSweater.html Who will be woolling us next month? And with what? Who was the woolling queen of last year? Whose discoveries will we be following in February? - Milli (Yours truly confesses to ordering two Basics-ladies after writing the first version of this article.)

Verb: to get woolled (a new expression that we decided should also exist in English). Definition: getting overly excited and urged to buy something another person has, based on their photos or description of the item. ”I need, I want, I lack”. See: to wool


Mattel reports that Barbie pre-Christmas sales have boomed. The reason for this is their new doll line, the Fashionistas. The Fashionistas Barbie was the big Christmas hit in toy market, and at some stores the dolls even got sold out. The Bratz dolls, now out of production as Mattel won the big copyright case against the company, were more popular than Barbie for a long time, but now the situation has reversed. Earlier this year Barbie and the Bratz were once again compared to each other, this time in Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. They were compared as role models and Barbie is now seen as the better role model for girls. Barbie is a decent, middle-aged(!) housewife and the Bratz are, well, brats with a bad reputation. We'll see how MGA's new Bratz-replacement, the Moxie dolls, is received in future. Mattel is planning a new career for Barbie and the choice is now in the hands of the customers. By typing in the net address http://www.barbie.com/vote you can vote for the new occupation with certain/specific options. Is Barbie's next career a news anchor, a computer nerd or maybe a surgeon? Reporting: Adalia Sources: ESS, Helsingin Sanomat, Mattel.com

Täti MonikaOn the forum, I asked people who

they wanted to be interviewed for

the member introductions, and on

the top of the list was a

comparatively new member, Täti

Monika (Auntie Monika). She joined

us less than a year ago by blasting

our laughing gear into full motion

with her hilarious story about the

viral retirees of the modern times.

The retirees have become quite the

hit since then. The over-enthusiastic

but under-informed uncles make us

roar of laughter, and the photo

shoot sets and costumes make us

gasp with admiration. Now that we

have Täti Monika with us, let’s not

waste one more moment but start

asking questions!


a Tells Fables theBdoll: How did you become a Barbie-hobbyist? Täti Monika: I am fairly green as a hobbyist, even though I’m otherwise pretty ripe. It all started a little over a year ago, even though it has been in the back of my mind for some time longer. I bought my first adult life dolls already in the 90’s, Skiing Fun Midge, Totally Hair Ken and the Nut Cracker ballerina Barbie. For years before buying those, I had been admiring the Barbie-selection at supermarkets, but it never really occurred to me you could buy them just for yourself. Unfortunately I only have one of my childhood dolls left, Tutti, and some of the clothing my grandmother sewed for her in the 70’s. In my childhood and early teen years in the 70’s Barbie’s were the definite In-thing, and I had nearly 20 of them myself; to mention a few, Sweet 16, Quick Curl, Free Movin Barbie and so forth. Building the plays with them lasted for days and I remember that often the name of the game was ”Abba”. The thing that set the ball rolling for my hobby was an article I read in a magazine, mentioning adult Barbie collectors. The final nail in the coffin was finding theBdoll.com. There was no return or exit from there, as I got completely sucked in. I still remember the shivers I got when I first got there, I felt amazing, as if I had found all my childhood play mates again!! And in a way, I think I have. :) TheBdoll: It was a lucky strike for us you found us, what motivates you to return to entertain us? Täti Monika: The answer is connected to what I just said; TheBdoll has my current play mates there, a lot of kinder spirited people. Sometimes it’s confounding reading their stories, thoughts and opinions—often what I read could have been written by me.

Mutual Hobby theBdoll: Your husband helps you to build stuff for Barbie, sometimes from the start to finish—how did you talk him into that? Täti Monika: That might be the coolest things about this whole hobby that my best Barbie-mate lives in the same house with me. That would be my husband of 22 years. His personality is combined from a suitable amount of boyish sense of humour, creativity and practical skills of a handy man, which makes him the best possible friend for a Barbie play. To my great joy I can say it has resulted into a mutual hobby. The ”division of labour” in the Barbie-business is generally such that I’m the one with all these ideas and my hubby builds whatever we need. The setups of my scenes are largely made in My Husbands Shed. ;) For example, that Kuudesosateatteri (One Sixth Theatre), in which the Uncles performed the traditional Christmas play Tiernapojat (~Christmas Star Boys, a Finnish traditional musical play that tells the story of the birth of the Christ, traditionally performed by four adolescent boys). I don’t think I ever asked him to make anything, I think I was just thinking aloud about where to find a few pairs of nordic sticks, and I think he offered to make them. After that, he’s always found the excitement to make whatever I think up. I have been amazed at how he got into it as well, but I think partly it’s due to our decision to live a simple life without a large income. We can’t and won’t buy everything, and since we don’t have a telly, we have to entertain ourselves. :) Täti Monika is a story teller theBdoll: Where do you get all your ideas for your Barbie stories? Täti Monika: I really can’t answer that.


They appear... From everywhere, life? I have always been a creative person and my ”artist-identity” is most definitely that of a storyteller, regardless of the form of the story; theatre, photography or these Barbie photo stories. In my youth, I have been studying theatre for a couple of years and specializing in comedy and namely unspoken comedy, clownery, if you will—I think it may have had a more profound effect in my attitude in life; I often see things in a comic light, even myself. My idols in comedy are the old masters from Chaplin to Buster Keaton, but at the top of the list Laurel and Hardy, who were unbeatable. I love comedy that moves in the area between tears and laughter, the kind that grins warmly about and at everything. ;) theBdoll: Are you always this funny, even ”live”? Täti Monika: As far as I know, I’m not especially funny ”live”, and definitely I’m not hilarious. theBdoll: Clearly, Barbies make a channel for creative expression for you—what is your favourite part in the process of telling a story? Täti Monika: I can’t answer that either for sure. I would say the whole process. Everything is fun from the idea to the finish. I think my least favourite part is the transferring photos from one place to another—I am very much not a technology wonder child! theBdoll: We all know the Uncles and Aunties; do you have many other dolls in your collection? Täti Monika: I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I don’t refer to myself using the word ”collector” but ”a hobbyist”. To me it bears no importance how many dolls I have or how complete the collection is, in actual fact it would be against my values in life. The hobby has definitely opened a new channel for creativity and I buy dolls in a slow pace and completely upon how I feel about a certain doll. I haven’t counted them, but let’s just say there’s too many for one person regardless. (This topic calls for internal battle of values sometimes.) theBdoll: Thank you Täti Monika for your creativity and productivity. They have been given to you as a birth right, but we get to

enjoy them too! A new story will make any day brighter and the story you published before Christmas is still making me giggle. I’m only wish people here would understand why the phrase ”hippies don’t lie” makes me giggle. (Word-play Täti Monika used in one of her Finnish language stories.) Täti Monika: *Laughs* theBdoll: Will you also express our thanks to ”Uncle Monika”, who I bet a lot of our spouses and boyfriends hate for the fact he makes them look bad! They’ll have to listen to complaints such as: ”Why won’t you peel yourself off that sofa and get to the shed to make me this and that, like Täti Monika’s husband does!” Täti Monika is also a part of our eZine team with the help of the retirees; they will be sharing life lessons for us youngsters. In this issue, they will start dishing out the advice and from there on continue in every second issue. Do take the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the legendary retirees on the next turn of page.

Setä Monika, nukkepajan ihmemies.

theBdoll eZine 2/2010 11 Gossip columnist: KiteCat


Out of request, my retiree-quartet will start dishing out life lessons and advice in

this monthly eZine. And that is well suited, it is the most becoming role for them,

like we all know that the elderly are best suited for delivering advice and

instructions in all aspects of life based on their vast experience—whether we like it

or not, really.

In this first instalment, my Uncle-dolls have their finger steadily on the pulse of the times. As you’ve all heard from the news we here in Europe, and Finland have enjoyed a good old fashioned winter. It has made the winter sport shops sales boom as many has longed to take a cross country skiing trip through the glittering snow covered forests. I personally believe that there would be plenty more people in there, skiing, if preparing your skis correctly would not be so terribly difficult, complicated and requiring of expertise. And this is where the Uncles come in. Nothing would be more pleasant for them, than to lock themselves into the Holiest of all buildings; the shed, and surround themselves with the latest and greatest in the ski-slipperyfying ointments.


There we go! A little bit of grip in the middle and glide in both ends... Followed by melting the lotions with an iron... And maybe another coat in the middle and a brush of glide to boot. There we have the skis are ready to be taken out! All is needed is a suitable outdoor outfit and we are ready to go cross country!

As we can see of the photo, the sliding factor is up to par! Let’s see how they do in the grip department.


Like many things in life, it’s revealed by the uphill... Followed by downhill and then uphill again...

And in no time at all, the Aunties are returning from the trip with rosy cheeks and refreshed minds from this Sunday cross country skiing trip.


Just the simple candle wax trick, the mother of all ski lotions! Therefor the moral of the story is:

An old trick is (often) better than a bag full of new ones! (Old Finnish proverb.)

The Uncles are returning as well, but a couple of hours later. They too have rosy cheek, but they don’t seem quite as refreshed.

All that fuss and it doesn’t seem their waxing went all that great! :( Wonder what was the secret of the Aunties?


Next Issue To send material to theBdoll Newsletter, please do the following: For articles: Send in email body, no formatting is required but can be helpful. There are no length restrictions; the newsletter is in e-form so it will be made to fit the content, not the other way around. I might edit the articles in order to streamline them a bit though. For photos: Send the original size file, if editing is needed (for cartoon-bubbles for example) please do that before resizing the photo for the web, and send the bigger version of the photo. I may do some additional editing to get the photo colours balanced and the like. If you are confident that your editing is spot on, please let me know and I won’t touch it! To become a team member: Send me your idea for your column, pages or whatever you want to call them in an email or as a private message through our forum. Contact: [email protected] Deadline: Sunday 28.2.

News: Did you find a news article about Mattel or Barbie? Let Adalia know. Gossip: What are your dolls up to when the lights go out (or the cameras are flashing)? Tell KiteCat! Off the forum: Did you read something funny or poignant on the forum? Let Sebastyne know. Introductions: Has one of the members tweaked your interest so that you’d like to learn more about them? PM Sebastyne. Gallery: Did you find an unusually fabulous photo on the Gallery? Send the link to Sebastyne. (Shown below the photo, not on address bar.) Name for the eZine: Come up with a name for the eZine and tell Sebastyne.

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