A small step to defining my collection

I had an epiphany of sorts the other day while sorting and organizing for IFDC. The thought that came to my mind was, “Why did I start collecting dolls in the first place?” Well, the answer to that was easy--assemble the Barbie collection I had as a child. So now I have managed to define a small aspect of my current collection, and this definition is two-fold.

1. Identify what to keep of my current vintage Barbie collection and 
2. Deciding what to add to the collection in the future. 

As for the first part of the definition, I will part with most of my vintage Barbie collection that does not relate back to what I had as a child.

Now, for you vintage Barbie collectors, don’t gasp a collective, “Noooooo!” I really don’t think this will be a painful experience. The items that I’m really attached to are the ones from my childhood; after all, they’re the ones that evoke wonderful memories from my past. The other vintage items I own are just cool to have. And really, what joy do I get from items that stay in plastic baggies, stored in boxes, on shelves inside a closed cabinet--or worse yet, in the garage? The only time I ever lay eyes on these items is when I’m shifting things around to make space for more stuff I’ll probably never really appreciate. So, anything I didn’t actually own as a child or wasn’t purchased to replace something I owned as a child will be headed to IFDC to sell or trade.

The second part to this definition is, “Going forward, what will I add to my vintage Barbie collection?” The answer is easy, I’ll only acquire items that complete outfits or structures that I had as a child or are an improvement to what I currently own. Examples of this are finding a missing mitten to Skate Mates and finding a minty hot pink shell to Special Sparkle to replace my thoroughly trashed original. While the answer to this second part may be easy, I’m sure that putting it into practice will cause me some difficulty.

And, of course, this definition does not take into account all of the other types of dolls in my collection. But that’s another story!