Doll Shop Profile: Dollsville Dolls

I (Cheryl McBride), the owner of Dollsville) started taking doll making classes and eventually went on to make my own line of porcelain reproduction dolls. John, who at the time was in the restaurant business, decided to take some time off to help me catch up and move me into a store. He was going to pour molds, fire some heads but then before he knew it everything continued to grow and he never went back. I have since stopped making my own line and we gradually carried other doll makers.

This started 25 years ago! We’ve always been located on Palm Canyon Drive in downtown Palm Springs, which is a wonderful location known by many and very much a tourist locale. Palm Springs is about two hours from Los Angeles and many of our customers drive into town just to visit us. About 7 years ago, we (John and Cheryl) actually bought one of the few corner buildings available in town and that’s where we’ve been located ever since.

Our store is smaller now than what it has been in other Palm Canyon locations but our office spaces and warehouse are much, much bigger as most of our business is now mail order and Internet. We ship much more to our Internet customers than we get to see our store customers. We miss that part of the business but it seems to suit most people much better these days being able to shop in the comfort of their home at their convenience.

Dolls are still just as beautiful but we notice more trends. Retro/vintage dolls are really popular, vinyl dolls in general have improved dramatically, almost everything now is produced overseas. There seems to be much more ethnic diversity now in dolls that we only recall in the past being found in international dolls collected abroad. Part of the advances in "technology" of vinyl has also helped make this possible.

Still the same lovely doll collectors...mostly ladies, many still enjoying their childhood or collecting what they weren't able to as children. Everyone is still happy to see the special faces smiling at them when they get home each day.

We carry over 40 collectible lines of dolls and bears including Madame Alexander, Robert Tonner, Berdine Creedy, Heidi Plusczok, Annette Himstedt, Helen Kish, Adora, Lee Middleton, Ashton Drake, Barbie, Ginny, Gene, Effanbee, Terri Lee and Wendy Lawton.

Almost everything in our store is behind glass and kept mint. Our store has large, tall custom-made glass display cabinets throughout the entire length of the store. For our mail order customers, it is very important that dolls have not been displayed and are still mint in box and so we have a large warehouse area. However, our store customers love to experience their dolls and so we have glass gondola displays through the length of the store where we rotate dolls for that purpose.

It is always like Christmas here. Every day we receive deliveries with something new. It is always so much fun. How can you not love going to work somewhere where everything smiles back at you! Another difference being in the doll business as opposed to other retail shops is the constantly changing product. With all the limited editions there is a good chance a particular doll will never come in the store again. That keeps the interest for us fresh as everything is always new.

There are no reason we hate having a doll store but there are some aspects of the business that are tricky. It's always hard to explain, especially to new collectors, why information is released in January and they need to order now but the item won't be here until Fall or later depending on the doll artist.

I have to be madly in love with a doll as I have seen everything...and all my favorites at home are truly special presents from my family, so they have immense emotional rather than collector value, but I have all kinds of dolls from French Fashion to Madame Alexander Olivia The Pig in my home, as part of the living area-( not displayed together as Olivia might be affronted), with pride of place going to childhood dolls from different countries that my darling grandmother bought for me, plus the very first doll (still truly beloved but in sad shape) John bought for me when we were "courting"(aah) in the 1960s and the very first doll I made in dollmaking class in 1979 (a dreadful thing), to remind me where my roots are!

The dolls are all over the house, sitting in chairs, standing in groups in corners, gossiping amongst themselves and reclining in Victorian buggies (another collection) with each doll holding her own cherished English Teddy Bear. When guests visit, a group of dolls sighs but moves over to make room for them. Newcomers are suspiciously watched for a long while, for any signs of pretentiousness. Dolls, that is, not guests...