NBDCC 2019- The OOAK Parties
Many collectors show up days in advance of the actual start of convention to take part in room shopping and to participate in the One of A Kind (OOAK) parties by various artists. There is a rich and varied pool of artists that repaint and redress Barbie in haute couture. It’s one of my favorite parts of convention to be honest and I was honored to be allowed to photograph many of the shows. I apologize in advance for the shows I did not cover…namely Ninimomo. There were simply not enough hours in the day and too many amazing artists to photograph. I encourage you to scrounge the internet to find images of Nick and Marie’s amazing creations. They are not to be missed.
I have put the full set of images on my Flickr ( you can find the link on my sidebar…too the right on your screen) I have included a few of my favorite shots here.
The collection was sublime as always. Such a pleasure to see and be able to photograph these lovely pieces of art.
This year the talented duo of Mario Paglino and Gianni Grossi payed tribute to the history of Barbie. They reimagined all the famous and popular looks of Barbie from her 1959 beginnings up through the current day. It was a thorough and imaginative collection with some truly stellar examples of couture Barbie.
Madame du Barbie interpretation
And the original…
Malibu Barbie interpretation
and the original…
Roman Holiday interpretation
and the original…
Every piece was a work of art!!! And lucky me…my number was chosen early and I got to come home with this lovely!!
Evening Splendor interpretation
and the original…
Another show that many collectors will show up early to ensure they won’t miss these works of art.
So many artist dolls to enjoy and photograph!! My cup runneth over 
Again, if you want to see the full set of images, head over to my flickr. All photos from the OOAK parties will be there by end of the day.
–Rebecca
NBDCC 2019–Let It Begin!!!
I have just returned from the National Barbie Doll Collector Convention which was held in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a big year this year as it is Barbie’s 60th birthday. The actual convention began on Wednesday, July31st but most avid collectors show up as early as the Sunday before to take advantage of amazing room shopping. Hilda Westervelt of Bellissima Couture and I opened on Monday for room sales. Here are a few of the shots of what we had available in our room.
Hilda’s exclusives for room shopping and sales room
And some fun eyewear and neck scarves from me….
Needless to say, we hit the ground running upon landing in Kansas City on Sunday 
Stay tuned….more blog posts on ooak designer parties and convention events coming up!!
–Rebecca
NBDCC 2012 Day 4 …..Viva La Roma!
The last day of convention is always a little bittersweet. Exhaustion has usually taken up permanent residence in most convention attendees by this time but no one seems to care. I am posting this after the event has long ended ( family vacation got in the way of posting) but I decided to go ahead and continue. The last event of the convention was a dinner in Rome. The convention doll was unveiled to great applause. I had the extreme pleasure of sitting with some of the best people at convention this year. My table host Jim was fantastic and each and every person at the table made it a pleasure to go to an event. Thank you Jim and table #73!
The centerpiece was fabulous as always with a roman temple and two OOAK dolls ( nope…didn’t win either of em….I am 0 for 4 years of convention attending on centerpieces..I don’t sound bitter do I? LOL!).
I have to put in a note here to say that the food for the entire convention was THE BEST. I have never had food this wonderful at a large organized event ever…and I have been to a few. Here is our menu card for the final dinner
It was so good I had to drop my fork to take a picture…and folks that just doesn’t happen every day LOL! Yes, the food was phenomenal but the real expectation of the evening was the unveiling of the convention doll. Our table host Jim was waiting along with the rest of us for the big reveal….
And here she is…Rome Eternal by the talented duo Magia2000
The doll itself is gorgeous…the dress needs to be cinched a bit more in the back so as to avoid the problem with all empire waisted gowns….looking a bit pregnant. I am looking forward to photographing her in the studio.
One other exciting item to mention, our table mate Kathy won a big award for he Barbie quilt in the competition room. Congratulations Kathy!!! This is one talented woman folks. She had numerous entries in the competition room and all of them were fantastic. The quilt really was out of this world brilliant though and the convention attendees agreed.
The quilt
Kathy with her ribbon and in her amazing pink steam punk ensemble
It was a glorious convention beautifully put on by the host doll club and steering committee. Loved it! The National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention for 2013 will be in New Orleans. For more info on that and how to register, please go to http://barbieconvention.com/
NBDCC 2011–The Official Convention Doll
Typically, the last evening of convention there is a final dinner and you receive the official convention doll. At this years convention, as it was Ken’s 50th anniversary, we received a doll set. A beautifully designed and crafted Barbie and Ken set designed by the very talented Matt Sutton and Matt Trujillo. I just can’t say enough about this pair of gentleman….LOVE YOU GUYS!
Here is a quote from Matt Sutton about the inspiration and ideas behind the dolls….
“They weren’t designed as “formal”– the thought expressed to us was that they were a young couple in 1961 in Ft Lauderdale, went to a lovely dinner, and found themselves taking a long romantic walk on the beach at night. It’s dinner jacket and party dress, not tux and ballgown. Matching ties and/or a cummerbund seemed too “formal” and “prom”, which wasn’t the esthetic we were going for. Plus we loved the idea that she was dressing in “his” color (the aqua) as a tribute to him, vs the matchy matchy…
We actually did a TON of research for the era, and made sure things were as accurate as possible, and still within our design sense. Ken’s jacket– did you notice his little gold cufflinks? (another subtle homage to the 50th) Her dress is very much of the era, and the sash is sort of a signature of mine– again, the aqua is Barbie paying tribute to her main squeeze. ^_^”
Still in the box…..
And…..out of the box and in the studio………..
NBDCC 2011– The Raffle Room
Many people may not be aware that the NBDCC raises tens of thousands of dollars for designated charities each year. The money is raised through three functions. 1) The silent auction event where amazing items are generously donated( see blog post Beach Party and Silent Auction) 2) The live auction where doll artist like Magia2000, Matt Sutton, Artist Creations and Steven Frasier of Dressmaker Details donate some exquisite pieces of work that are auctioned off. 3) The raffle room where fantastic donations from Barbie lovers from every corner of the world are displayed and you put a ticket in the box in front of any item you hope to win. You can buy your raffle tickets in advance or they can be purchased at convention. Many conventioneers buy hundreds of tickets and help support the designated non profit charities of the convention. This years charities were The Children’s Home Society of Florida and The Poverello Center. Here are just a few of some of the amazing things you could dream of winning in the Raffle Room.
And the room was full with these amazing gift baskets!
To all those generous collectors who donated to the raffle room a big round of applause. To the lucky individuals who won something, “Congratulations”. A big personal “Thank You” to everyone who was in the raffle room when I shot these photos. I was constantly in the way with my big camera and monopod but everyone was so nice and patient letting me get the shot before depositing their tickets.
NBDCC 2011–The Competition Room
There is so much to do at the National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention. We had 6 main events over 4 days that people attend plus a multitude of workshops and “talks”. One of the most popular “extra” events is the Competition Room. Every year the convention has a theme and that theme typically drives the competition ideas. This year the theme were Ken and Spring Break 1961. Here are a few examples of what you could see in the competition room.
The Dioramas…………………………
The detail these competitors go into is absolutely amazing!
The Dolls…………
To all the people who participated in competition this year, You are simply amazing! There was so much talent in that competition room it was ridiculous. Let’s also not forget that to put this competition room together and keep it properly supervised during viewing, you need many volunteers. A big thank you to the many, many volunteers who gave up some of their precious convention shopping and visiting time to volunteer. 
NBDCC 2011 Day Three–Ninimomo
The second stop on my OOAK photo trip was the Ninimomo party. They had amazing displays of the most jaw dropping creations.
They did a trio of dolls for their live auction entry and they are simply stunning.
NBDCC Day Three–The Magia2000 party
For many collectors, the Magia2000 party is a must see. They are truly artists and it is a pure pleasure to photograph these beauties.
The crowd gathered and waited with great anticipation!
There was even a press release!
Then the doors opened and mad buying ensued
It was an amazing event!
NBDCC Day two continued…..
Barb ( Barbaddicted ), Jenny ( JennyM) and Cheryl(proopschick)
Magia2000 – Mario and Gianni with friends
The venue is just beautiful. Here are a few snaps of the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort and Spa
The buy a Matt Sutton then go get a cocktail club meeting
Last year a group of us who purchased Matt Sutton’s work started the “ Buy a Matt Sutton then go get a cocktail” club. We had our second annual meeting!
The club members all had fun doing show and tell with their new Matt purchases.
Oh, and I managed to walk away with some goodies too….
These beauties are “ Le Cirque” and “Black Diamond”
NBDCC Day Two
The official convention has not even begun yet but the room shopping is in full swing. We were given a bonus today in that there was an extra early registration announced and we could receive our registration packets between 5 and 7 PM this evening. The big event today, besides the amazing room shopping, was Matt Sutton’s and Matt Trujillo’s room opening for sales. The line started around 4:00 PM and by 5:00PM the hall was rowdy and ready to see the amazing works of art by Matt and Matt.
Waiting for Matt and Matt’s room to open
Sheree and Peter ( PeterVermont) waiting for Matt Sutton’s room to open
The line grew and grew throughout the 1 hour wait from 4pm – 5pm
Matt and Matt had the most amazing group of dolls for sale! Yes I walked away with a Matt Sutton and photos of her will be up soon.
NBDCC Day one
Hello everyone from the NBDCC in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. It is midnight and I have just finished my first round of room shopping. There are quite a few rooms open for shopping and many people arrived today. I met Sheree for dinner and we had fun shopping in Randall Craig’s room as well as Steven Frasier’s Dressmaker Details room. Here are a few photos to share. I will share more tomorrow but it is late and have to go to bed.
Sales board on one of the room floors
Dressmaker Details room
The adorable Steven Frasier of Dressmaker Details
Wonderful new Dressmaker Details fashions available at convention
Rob and Steven’s live auction collaboration
Randall Craig’s convention collection….I believe I left with a few items….LOL!
My dessert after dinner – a key lime dessert martini and the reason I need to go to bed! More to come tomorrow……
Inside the Fashion Doll Studio 