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Discover Mid-America — May 2010
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Dolls and beer signs
From the moment I stepped into the Doll Hospital and More in Shawnee, KS, all eyes were upon me. No, it had nothing to do with my tall, stunning good looks, deep tan, broad shoulders, pearly white teeth and thick, salt and pepper hair. (Disclaimer: the previous description pertains to my online avatar only.)
But, alas, those eyes did not beckon. They did not track my movement across the room. They glistened, catching the light, but were empty. They were the eyes of dolls, some of them former “patients” of doll doctor and owner of the “hospital,” Patti Joyce.
As I waited for Patti to finish talking with a customer, a “Chucky” feeling slowly moved in me. Remember Chucky? The demented doll in a series of horror films in the late 1980s and ‘90s. Chucky really did give dolls a bad name.
I avoided relaying my brief bout of anxiety to Patti once we introduced ourselves. I was there because she was interested in advertising but I soon started asking questions about her work with dolls and their repair. She knew her subject well.
Dolls, to Patti, were more than inanimate objects. Maybe it was because of the human form or the maternal draw. Whatever it was, it was both esoteric and familiar, particularly to women. I was impressed by Patti’s passion in what she did.
The result of our conversation is the cover story in this issue by Melissa Cowan. I had decided I didn’t have the right gender — or experience — to do a story on doll doctors. I had never owned a doll though when my son took a liking to a stuffed lamb when he was very young, I had no objections. He’s nearly 20 years old and still has that lamb, appropriately named “Lambie.”
Melissa, a young writer in her 20s, delivered a good story, one she learned from while admitting that she never knew there were such people as doll doctors. Neither did I. Chalk that revelation up as yet another new bit of knowledge found by owning an antique/collectible publication. I’ve lost count.
That’s the thing about this job of publisher, editor and sometime delivery guy in a so-called “niche” trade. Nothing comes up stale, or if it does, it’s not for long. I continue to learn and will likely keep on as long as I’m doing this.
Besides having confidence in Melissa to deliver a story, I wanted the young woman to begin to think about this business of antiques. While I believe some in the younger generations will gravitate toward antiques and collectibles because of our innate attraction to human history, I want to nudge it along when I can. But sometimes it happens anyway.
Consider Adam and Hanh McNeil. The twenty-something couple opened Vintage Village Antique Mall in Lincoln, NE in December. (See Mid-America News, page 14) Talk about courage in a down economy! Adam told me he started collecting at 17 — beer signs. It got him hooked into the trade.
Me at 17? I knew nothing of doll doctors and beer signs only made me count how long I had until I was legal.
Bruce Rodgers can be contacted at publisher@discoverypub.com.
> Refurnished Thoughts Archive — past columns
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