In a stunning verdict, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today overturned the 2008 verdict that gave Mattel rights to MGA's Bratz dolls. In December 2008, a jury found that Carter Bryant, the designer who created the Bratz Dolls was working for Mattel when he conceived of the idea and the names and made the initial drawings for Bratz. For more information on this breaking news, read Mattel Loses Bratz Doll Appeals Court Ruling to MGA by Bloomberg. It looks like Mattel will be forced to retry the entire case due to this ruling.

China dolls are popular not only with antique doll collectors, but also with decorators and others who don't necessarily collect dolls, but like the immediately recogonizable "antiqueness" of china dolls. One of my favorite types of china dolls are those with alpahabet-printed bodies. These dolls are hard to find, especially with bodies that are bright and unworn. Unlike most other china dolls, alphabet body china dolls are preferably displayed without clothing, to better show off the doll's body. The doll pictured at left also features numbered dominoes; the polychrome cotton prints used on the dolls' bodies were considered educational for children of the time period (approximately 1890s to early 1900s).

It's not too late to see Toy Story 3! Absolutely the best movie featuring dolls ever. Really, ever. There's Ken and Barbie, of course Woody and Jessie, and the oddly creepy but very important Big Baby. And, I will admit it...the movie made me cry. The movie really understands connections that children and parents have with childhood toys, in a way that doll collectors will recognize and relate to. It's still in theaters; don't miss it!

I was playing with some new doll photography backgrounds today, and I sort of absentmindedly picked up a Kestner JDK Baby Doll, and plunked her down just to take some test shots. When I sat down at my computer to take a look at how the photos came out, I really noticed the baby doll..the modeling and painting on this doll is quite lovely! I immediately felt bad about ignoring that baby, and I think many collectors do. Antique baby dolls are finely made, espcially some of the baby dolls made by Kestner. Find out more about Kestner in my new Kestner Dolls article.