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Pretty In Pink: Dolls Today and Tomorrow
By Rita Cook
March
1, 2003
Dolls
have been part of human society since ancient times. Often used
to depict religious figures, the earliest dolls were made from mud,
clay and fur and have been found in graves and tombs in ancient
Egypt and Greece. In Roman times, girls dedicated their wooden dolls
to goddesses after they were too ‘grown-up’ to play
with them.
Chelsea and Chaucer |
Today,
the color pink might come to mind when thinking of dolls; however,
it's still normal for dolls to be treated with a certain admiration,
be it due to the treasured childhood memories they contain, or just
as a learning tool for ongoing education. Wendy Lawton, President
and Designer of The Lawton Doll Company, says to
expect a more sophisticated market on the rise. "When times
get tougher I have observed that people buy less, but what they
do purchase is quality," Lawton said. "When the world
becomes frightening, it seems as if consumers crave things of high
craftsmanship and beauty."
Steve
Feldman, President of Totsy Manufacturing Co., Inc.,
sees his business rise in better times. "A wealthier population
is therefore willing to spend more money on higher price dolls."
Case in point: the new interactive dolls that contain electronic
chips. "They do songs and language and they are able to teach,
and children are able to learn from it," Feldman said. "People
are able to afford to buy the doll and the accessories that go with
it."
The
Internet has changed doll manufacturing as well. "With our
web presence, including an active listserv," Lawton said, "we
are able to be involved with our collectors much more directly.
We find ourselves romancing the dolls directly to the collector
and sending them to the stores, ready to purchase."
Lawton
says her company cut back on print advertising in 2002 and still
experienced their best year in 10 years. "We are cutting back
even further in 2003 and plan to put our dollars into promotion--like
our collectors club and our convention.”
While
the future is guided by the past, Lawton believes that the market
is limited. "Ten years ago, most manufacturers believed the
sky was the limit as far as potential collector base," Lawton
said. "Now we see the market as finite. We dropped our brief
foray into offshore manufacturing and committed to staying small
and creating quality."
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