Blessed Memories Baby Boutique & More

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Doll collecting as a hobby took off in the mid 1800s when French and German doll makers began making high-end limited edition dolls for the children of wealthy patrons. Collectors took an interest in these finely crafted dolls, and by the 1900s, many manufacturers were marketing dolls with adult collectors in mind as well. Today, there are bustling collectors; markets for china dolls, French bisque dolls, as well as American Girl and Barbie dolls, though these latter two were originally intended as toys for young girls. Though dolls representing adults have been used as toys since antiquity, dolls representing semi-realistic babies were not mainstream until the mid 1800s. But even generations later, these baby dolls were not highly sought after by collectors. It wasn't until the late 1900s when baby doll craftsmanship was revitalized. A then obscure practice called reborning became more and more popular. Reborn artists started using doll parts with true to life features, and pioneered painting techniques that resulted in dolls with the look and feel of real newborns. Along with this new niche in doll making came a new kind of doll collector as well. Today, most women who collect, or adopt reborn babies are older women who view them as surrogates for children missing in their lives. Additionally, some owners use the dolls as part of cuddle therapy" to help grieving women cope with a lost child. Women who collect reborn dolls do not typically maintain vast collections of other types of dolls. Though reborn dolls are cherished by their doll mothers, many people outside this collecting phenomenon view the dolls as creepy and macabre.