Blush Beauty Making Her Entrance
The Barbie Fan Club announced a Silkstone exclusive being offered up to members next Wednesday, October 7th. We saw sketches of her back in February and Rogier of Dutch Barbie Word shared a photo a couple weeks ago of a production doll that Mattel auctioned off for Charity. Mattel is finally sharing the promo shots and I think she is a winner.
I love the silver surprise under the coat!! I was wondering why they were not showing the dress under the coat in the sketch. I am thrilled with the silver topped sheath underneath the pale pink coat. I also adore the brunette ponytail with braid. I believe this one will redress well but am not sure how quickly I will change out this fabulous pink outfit. Let’s hope Mattel has fixed their irregular eyeliner issue from Boucle Beauty or there will be more unhappy campers on this one. Also, The Barbie Collection has announced that they are instituting the “Waiting Room” for this sale. There are instructions about the “waiting room” and what you can do to ensure a smoother purchase here. The starting gates will open to BFC members only at 9:00AM PST on Wednesday, October 7th. They are allowing 2 dolls per membership and ,according to Mattel, they are producing 4,400.
After trying to do research on this doll for the article, I am left with absolute bewilderment over this new Barbie Collection website. This new site is SLOW to respond, it has so many broken links and dead ends that I am honestly scared to click on pretty much anything because I am never sure where it will take me. I get sent to the login screen with alarming regularity. I am recognized as a logged in member one moment and when I advance to a new screen, all of the sudden, I am no longer recognized….and am asked to login AGAIN!! If this website were a person, I would be sending it to therapy and hoping there were some antipsychotic meds available. Here is my story today…at the time of this post, I went to the Barbie Collection website to grab the link for their waiting room protocol. You can’t get to the product page but you can get to a “waiting room” page complete with countdown clock. How did I get to the waiting room page you ask? Well…not through clicking the active link on the BC Buzz page. Here is the Buzz page. I have highlighted the Blush Beauty active link that you would click on.
If you click on that product link, you will find quickly enough that it is a broken link.
This is the message I got when I tried to click on the link. Notice the highlighted error message…”make sure the web address http://http is correct. Well…I have limited programing experience but I can tell you that is not appropriate protocol for a link. Somebody didn’t check the link for errors before putting it on the website. This is programming 101 people. If this were a class in high school or college, you just missed an easy one on the test. The CORRECT link is here. Your best bet to find the sales page right now is to Bing or Google it LOL…you won’t find it on the actual site until they fix the link. I hope Mattel ends up with happy collectors feeling the first blush of love with this new Silkstone. I hope they don’t experience the heated blush of embarrassment over a poorly functioning website on sale day.
Homecoming and The Wizard of OZ
The title sounds like an interesting Indie movie doesn’t it? Mattel finally released photos for two new offerings coming soon to Barbiecollector. First up is the 2nd edition to Bill Greening’s popular Willows, WI. collection….a frothy homecoming queen.
Homecoming Queen™ Barbie® Doll
Designed by: Bill Greening
Release Date: 7/8/2015
Product Code: CJF57
No more than 5500 units produced worldwide.
Retail: $75.00
BFC exclusive! This means you have to be in the BFC to get one. You can join the BFC here.
She is cute! Love the Silkie face on this collection as well. Beautifully done Mr. Greening.
Next up is the annual installment of Mattel’s Wizard of Oz obsession. I never thought of WOZ dolls as “cash cows” but apparently they are. If you ever missed out on these no worries, just wait until next year’s installment. Don’t get me wrong, I like the Wizard of OZ….just not THIS much. That being said, this one I would put in the higher end as far as concept and design. She is very nice.
THE WIZARD OF OZ™ Fantasy Glamour GLINDA™ Doll
Release Date: 6/11/2015
Product Code: CJF31
No more than 5500 units produced worldwide.
Retail: Wait for it….$100.00
You can buy her now but she won’t ship until 8/6/2015. This one is a direct exclusive which means she is only available through www.barbiecollector.com
She is pretty…just don’t know if she is $100 pretty. If I collected fantasy dolls…I might be considering this one.
Valium Wasn’t Enough
Nope…Can’t touch this
Classic Evening Gown Barbie® Doll
Apparently even Valium wasn’t enough to carry the day for Mattel’s latest scheduled platinum sale. According to Mattel, a server error before the sale even started was enough to cancel the entire thing for that day and no date has been named for its release as of this posting. I have experienced Mattel and Barbiecollector system issues for years (YEARS!) before this hence my previous blog post “Get your Valium Ready” but even I did not anticipate a complete customer fail.
Customer Fail = to fall short of success or achievement in something expected, attempted, desired, or approved.
What?!!! This begs the question, if one server error was enough to bring this sale down, exactly how many servers were allotted to this event? I am thinking….2. Come on people. It is a platinum sale. You hold it once a year. You know…I can believe that weird system things happen. Believe me, I have experienced just such a thing. The system issues that Mattel and BC experience at these platinum sales are consistent not just a “one-off” thing. To come in two minutes before kick-off and say “We are sorry, but we have a system problem”, just comes off as poor planning to me.
Don’t want to arm chair quarterback here but, if you don’t have the server capacity or you have had problems previously with the capacity, one would think you would have a back up plan…perhaps RENT some additional server space or start to question the ability of your system to handle the load you place on it during these high volume sales. There are companies like Amazon and Microsoft that offer up services to handle and solve such issues each and every day. If you can’t diagnose and treat the issue, perhaps it is time to seek outside help. Just a thought. In the meantime, Mattel and the BFC have left their most avid and loyal collector customers with a decidedly sour taste in their mouths. I have no idea if it is the IT staff at Barbie collector who plan poorly or Mattel Inc. itself that simply has not allocated the funding and resources necessary to handle these sales. It is entirely possible that Mattel has told Barbie Collector and its IT staff they must make bricks with no straw on this one. If that is the case, I feel for them. Either way, it leaves the collectors questioning whether they want to purchase the product or not. Not a positive customer experience. Not a good day for Mattel and the BarbieCollector brand.
As of this posting, no available date of sale has been given by Mattel or Barbiecollector for this doll.
Get Your Valium Ready
Mattel is serving up their first platinum edition doll of 2015 to BFC members next week. You have to be a BFC member to have a chance at this doll and you have to be a prepared and ready BFC member to have a chance at her. I highly recommend valium while doing this LOL! There will be system delays ( cough…crashes…cough), there will be frustrated collectors, there will be disappointed collectors and there will be euphoric “ I made it through the obstacles and got it” collectors. There will also be, I suspect, a fair number of scalpers in there just trying to score a doll they know they will be able to make a profit on later. It is the nature of the beast when you have low supply and high demand. So what is all this fuss about you ask…..let me show you.
Classic Evening Gown Barbie® Doll
Designed by Linda Kyaw
Release Date: 5/13/2015
Product Code: CGT31
No more than 1000 units produced worldwide.
Retail: $85.00
Doll Details
Body Type:
ModelMuse
Skin Tone:
Neutra
Facial Sculpt:
Aphrodite
Fashion Sewn On?:
No
Eyelashes:
Painted
Included with doll:
Shoes, Earrings, Bracelet, Doll Stand
I have to admit…she is pretty. I would not expect anything less from Linda and her beautiful and classic sense of style. The jury is still out in my mind if I will enter the shark tank for this one but I wish luck to everyone who wants to try for her. May the force, fast internet connection and the healthy spirit of the hunt be with you.
Little Red Dress
My fabulous dealer Barb of Windy City Dolls sent this lovely lady to me last week and I finally had a moment to get her out of the box and in front of the camera. She does not disappoint. The fabric of the dress is nice and soft. Very feminine.
I had heard some concerns from other collectors regarding her hair. The promo shots showed an elaborate updo. The question was…how will this translate to actual production ? Will the hair look like the promo shot or will it be “one hot mess” when it arrives? I opened the box and am happy to report that the hair does in fact closely mimic the promo shot, or at least mine does. I also love the honey highlights in this hair.
And really the best side of this coiffure…
I am not going to lie, I had to make one little adjustment to the hair. One of the curls in the back was not as tight as it could have been and it stood up too high for me. I solved it with some hair gel and a pin. If I were braver, I would give her a little bit of a bang trim too. There are visible rubber bands in this coiffure …not a particular favorite of mine… but given the ornateness of the design, I am willing to live with it.
The grey eyes with a hint of yellow are fabulous! The smoky eye liner goes very well with the red lipstick, hat and gown. I ADORE the fact that there are earrings with this one. Perhaps the last set of earrings we will see on a Silkstone ( or so it would seem by the promo shots)
I am very pleased with this latest BFMC effort by Robert Best. I mean come on…how can I not love a Silkstone in a Dior inspired dress . Photos below are both 1950’s Dior dresses. 
source: http://hellomydearblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/j-dior.html
source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/110197522106507198/
-Rebecca
2015 BFMC Revealed to BFC
Wow!!! Today the Barbie Fan Club released a video of the 2015 Barbie Fashion Model Collection. Real life photos of 5 dolls are shown. If you are a BFC member, sign in and go to link below to get access to the video. You have to be a BFC member to see this. If you are not a member, you will not be asked to join to see content. Note**If you are a BFC member, please do not share the Youtube link with non members as it is disrespectful to the paying members of the club and in violation of your contract to do so.**
http://www.barbiecollector.com/news/2015-bfmc-collection-debut
Fashionably Floral and Boucle Beauty photos have been released.
source: www.barbiecollector.com
source: www.barbiecollector.com
The remaining dolls in the collection are a ball gown, an AA doll and the pink beauty we saw in a sketch with BFC membership signup.
source: www.barbiecollector.com
Now…all I need are some release dates, some Mattel sanctioned photos and some prices and I can start budgeting. 
Barbie Fan Club Membership Renewal Starts Today
If you were a member last year, you can renew your membership starting today 1/7/2015. If you want to sign up as a first time member, you will need to wait until 1/14/2015. The BFC has sold out for the last couple years but it has taken a while to do it so don’t know if you need to rush for this one. It looks like there will not be an “official” club doll this year. There are, however, a number of club exclusives that make it worth my interest.
Here are some of the fun perks of the club this year.
source: www.Barbiecollector.com
Adorable redheaded St Paddy’s day doll!! I will be adding this one to the collection.
source: www.Barbiecollector.com
This may be another platinum offering like the previous black and white collection offerings but don’t quote me on it. If this will be a platinum offering, I predict this one will go fast like the others. I may actually enter the shark tank for this one 
source: www.Barbiecollector.com
Aaaaahhhhh! Do my eyes deceive me??!! A pink Silkstone offering for 2015?!!! Ummm…no brainer…I’m in. Please oh please don’t make this a platinum offering. If it is, I would not only enter the shark tank…I would bring a honkin’ harpoon with me. Just sayin’ it up front people.
source: www.Barbiecollector.com
This would be the adorable preview we saw at convention this year I believe. I will be adding this one to the collection too. I mean come on…the picnic basket alone is worth it.
source: www.Barbiecollector.com
Added to these exclusive goodies you also get:
-Up to $80 in BarbieCollector.com Online Shop rewards – $20 per calendar quarter*
-Quarterly “Designer Videos,” sneak peeks at upcoming releases, downloadable goodies, and access to the exclusive Barbie™ Bulletin Board
-First access to audio interviews, collector spotlights, Fun Facts, and looks “behind the glam” with the passionate people on the Barbie® Collector team
If you are a current member and want to renew, you can click on any of the official Mattel photos above and it should take you to the membership renewal purchase page. I don’t know when they will open the links today but I am betting it will be sometime between 9AM and noon PST.
Inside the Fashion Doll Studio 