Most of my collection is now housed in two of these built-in closets. Only a fraction of my dolls are on display. I haven't posted a blog entry in over a month. That's because I've spent almost every waking moment (when I'm not working) hauling my things to the newly renovated home that I now share with my partner.
We carried in a lot of furniture, household items, clothes and other personal effects. I also had to transport my Barbie collection. It's a modest collection by the standards of some long term collectors I've encountered online--some have amassed hundreds of dolls. My latest official count is 132 dolls with their original boxes and about 20 loose dolls (no boxes). I also have a lot of doll accoutrements--fashion, 1:6 scale furniture, and accessories. Packing, transporting, and unpacking these is no easy task!
In my previous Barbie den, I didn't have a proper place to store dolls that weren't on display. Most of my dolls were in their boxes, which I stored in clear plastic tote bins piled floor-to-ceiling. I kept the Silkstone Barbie dolls together, and the rest were arranged by the tiered labeling system created by Mattel (Pink, Black, Gold, Platinum). I believe that the best place to store these vinyl beauties is in the basement, which stays relatively cool throughout the year--no large temperature swings. Very little sunlight filters in, so there's virtually no risk of damage from exposure to harsh natural light.
Knowing that the basement would be my Barbie den (and our TV den), my partner kindly commissioned a huge built-in closet for my collection--two double-door closets with motion activated lighting. Each has three shelves, which gives me four tiers of storage space. I'm guessing there's close to 100 square feet of doll real estate in there.
How did I pull off the move? It took several days to get all the dolls and doll-related things into the new space. I carefully placed all the dolls back in their respective boxes. I already had enough bins to transport most of them at once, but I took my time and brought in 4 or so bins at a time. Then, as I was removing them from the bins and arranging them inside the closets, I used the Collectors app by Sort It to start an official inventory of my collection by scanning barcodes on the boxes with my iPhone.
After I had moved all the dolls and props into the cabinets, my partner and I transported my two glass display cabinets. He installed LED lighting pucks into them, then I began doing my displays. The Barbie den is not complete. I haven't finished setting up my displays, but I'd say it's about 80% there. When I'm happy with it, I will take more photos and post an update here.
Knowing that the basement would be my Barbie den (and our TV den), my partner kindly commissioned a huge built-in closet for my collection--two double-door closets with motion activated lighting. Each has three shelves, which gives me four tiers of storage space. I'm guessing there's close to 100 square feet of doll real estate in there.
How did I pull off the move? It took several days to get all the dolls and doll-related things into the new space. I carefully placed all the dolls back in their respective boxes. I already had enough bins to transport most of them at once, but I took my time and brought in 4 or so bins at a time. Then, as I was removing them from the bins and arranging them inside the closets, I used the Collectors app by Sort It to start an official inventory of my collection by scanning barcodes on the boxes with my iPhone.
After I had moved all the dolls and props into the cabinets, my partner and I transported my two glass display cabinets. He installed LED lighting pucks into them, then I began doing my displays. The Barbie den is not complete. I haven't finished setting up my displays, but I'd say it's about 80% there. When I'm happy with it, I will take more photos and post an update here.
How do you store and display your dolls? Have you ever had to move your collection?
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