Yana- Zennie Dollz

I finally purchased one of the Zennie Dollz.

I was hesitant to buy because I did not like the glass eyes on and her head was a little bigger than I wanted.  I had seen this doll for the last several years at Toy Fair and her look soften a bit from the first doll.  They were offering a discount on the doll and I decided to buy because I like the theme, Saving the Planet and dolls were made from made from recyclable materials.

Her name is Yana.  She is the Protector of the Oceans. She is from the Dominican Republic.  "She is a born leader and very kindhearted person.  I always have enjoyed waling around the beach and collecting samples of different shells to  study.  I know about every fish out there in the deep blue sea and I am fascinated by other creatures that live underwater."  I rescued my dolphin friend Serena, from a tangled fishing line and that is what made me interested in becoming an eco-warrior.  Now I get to help protect all of the sea creatures from overfishing , pollution and more!

She reminds me of the Mattel dolls that were created called "Diva Starz"

Happy Easter

HAPPY EASTER

Celebrating the Women of the Harlem Renaissance

Women's History Month

Celebrating the Women of the Harlem Renaissance

Mattel has created a  series of dolls, Claudette  and Madame  L   that pays tribute to the Harlem Renaissance Era.

The "Harlem Renaissance, of the New Negro Movement as it was called, was on of the richest and most complex artistic eras in American History.  Characterized by an explosive energy, the artistic, literary, and philosophical movements taking place among African Americans during the 1920"s took Harlem as a center.  The neighbor hood, consisting of some two square miles in Manhattan, was both a literal and metaphoric African American national capital, the hub of political, social, creative and intellectual activities.  The unprecedented numbers of men and women who migrated to Harlem from all over the country in the first decades of the twentieth century included artists and writers, musicians and dancers, intellectuals and activists."*

"Talent began to overflow within this newfound culture of the black community in Harlem, as prominent figures such as Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday, Zora Neil Hurston, Ella Fitzgerald, and Bessie Smith pushed art to its limit as a form of expression and representation."**

*http://brbl-archive.library.yale.edu/exhibitions/awia/eshar.html
**http://www.biography.com/people/groups/movement-harlem-renaissance

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month

Celebrate the Achievements of Women during this month

Celebrating Women behind the Scenes in Hollywood.  They have created and directed big and small screens television shows and movies.  Two that are featured today are Ava DuVernay and Chris Nee.

Ava DuVernay- " As an African American women who was the first to win Best Director at Sundance, the first to be nominated for a Golden Globe for directing and the second invited to join the prestigious director's branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences." * She created and/or directed Queen Sugar, Selma, 13th, and I Will Follow to name a few.


Chris Nee- is a Peabody Award and Humanitas Prize-winning Irish-American Children's television screen writer and producer.  She created "Doc McStuffins- a story about an African American girl who is a doctor to the stuff animals that need medical care.  She "created the character for her sonn who had asthma. But I made the character an African American girl.  It never occured to me that it wouldn't resonate with him.  Truthfully, I'm proud of the choice- it was a bold one to make".** The series debut in 2012.

*Essence March 2017
** Kidscreen February/March 2017

Happy Birthday Barbie

Happy Birthday Barbie

I am a little late, but still wanted to celebrate her birthday.

Day 28- Black History

February 28, 2017
Black History Month





A look at two companies and their dolls that brought different themes to their dolls.





In 2005, YNU Group Inc. created the Mixis dolls.  The company introduced multicultural dolls. The Mixis Brand was developed to offer dolls for the  multi-racial and diverse market.  Their mission was to celebrate the collective strengths, the blended beauty and diverse perspectives, cultures and traditions of individuals of a multi-racial heritage.   They created four dolls.  Two of them are Emerald Okada (Black American/Native American/Japanese) and Opal Nkrumah (Ghanian and British).     I was excited about Mixis and hoping that more dolls would be produced.  No male dolls.





Dasia was created in 1995 by the Big Beautiful Dolls.  The company was founded by two African American Women, Georgette Taylor and Audrey Bell-Kearney.  She was the first full -figure fashion doll. She came with the one dress and cape.  It was fun trying to find clothes to fit her size.  Some of the Manhattan Doll Co clothes could fit her.  At one point the toy store FAO Schwartz was selling individual pieces of clothing and some of the clothes could fit.  See future post.



These dolls were a higher price than other mass produced fashion dolls.The price may have prevented them from growing to a wider audience.

Emerald and Opal

Dasia