Hi Everyone its time for the next instalment in the From Childhood to Sasha profiles.
Please give a warm welcome to the wonderful Susanna Lewis.

Susanna and granddaughter Anya, at Sasha Festival 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas.

 Dear fellow Sashaphiles,

My name is Susanna Lewis, I am working up to four-score years, and I am thoroughly an American. Most of my ancestors arrived here in the 1600s and 1700s from England and Scotland, seeking religious freedom, economic opportunity, and adventure. They settled in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and gradually moved westward with every generation as America expanded. During the 18th and 19th centuries, every war fought in the American north and midwest included at least one of my English or Scottish ancestors in battle.

Then there was my Danish great-grandfather. In the early 1860s in Copenhagen he lost his wife and three children to a plague. Shortly thereafter he converted to Mormonism and came to America, trekking across the prairies and through the mountains to Salt Lake City with other Mormon pioneers. Eventually he settled in southern Idaho, became a successful farmer, and married three times, plural marriages. He built a cabin for each wife and they lived side by side, rearing seven children to adulthood among them. My grandfather’s mother was his last wife. He eventually spent time in jail for his polygamist practices, but he was a devout Mormon and locally well known for his lengthy sermons delivered in a loud voice. He was also a firm believer in the value of education, and insisted that all his sons go to school and pass their examinations, then earn  the neccessary money to go on to university. He wanted them to become pioneers in whatever field of endeavour they chose to enter. I am telling you about him because this pioneering attitude has persisted in subsequent generationsof my family, mostly in the teaching profession, although adherence to Mormonism has long since faded. It has colored my life, and is a family tradition with daunting responsibilities.

My growing-up years were spent bouncing around from one place to another, I went to eight schools in twelve years. My father, a university professor in the field of experimental psychology, did research work for the military in addition to his university work, necessitating frequent moves all over the country. Changing schools so often was difficult of course, both for me and my three younger brothers, but my family was adventurous and embraced every chance to explore a new area of our country with camping trips and visits to our many far-flung relatives. It was fun and stimulating, and I remember it with great fondness. When I went to university I was determined to carry on with my family’s tradition and become a teacher. I majored in both biology and art, with a minor in music. After I graduated from university I taught art in a junior high school, then married Tim Lewis, my college sweetheart. We lived in Okinawa at first, while he did his Army service. I was teaching biology in the dependent high school, and we both fell in love with Asian cultures. We travelled around Asia as much as we could while we had the chance. Back in America with Army service finished, we loaded our few belongings and Tim’s portfolio (he was a budding artist-illustrator) onto a Greyhound bus and went to New York City to seek our fortunes.

I was a little girl who loved teddies, dolls, and kitties, right from the start. A great many of my childhood photos picture me with one of the three. In the left photo I am age twenty months, in Fayetteville Arkansas, holding my very worn constant companion. In the right photo I am age four in Kirkwood Missouri, with my first brother and a newer teddy constant companion.

In these two photos I am age six, at the left in the early summer sun of San Antonio Texas, holding our neighbor’s cat, Boots. On the right it is Christmas in Kalamazoo Michigan, and I was given my mother’s childhood baby doll, a Bye-Lo baby with a wardrobe made by my grandmother and great-grandmother. I still have the doll and clothes, and I treasure them.

Two years later we are now in Nashville Tennessee, in the left photo at Christmas I was given a longed-for popular doll, Sparkle Plenty, from the comic strip Li’l Abner. My best friend also got one, and we were in doll-heaven together for months. The right photo, a year later, pictures two cloth dolls in Dutch costumes my father purchased from a Pennsylvania hospital for mentally ill patients. I still have these two dolls but don’t know much about them. They are a distinctive style, and beautifully sewn with a lot of details on both dolls and clothing.

Now in New York City, Tim and I camped in a cheap hotel room, cooked our meals in an electric frying pan and kept our perishables in an ice bag in the bathtub. I found a job teaching in an elementary school on Long Island. Tim enrolled in the School of Visual Arts, where he met Milton Glaser and Seymour Chwast as instructors, and soon they hired him to join their Push Pin Studios. His career launched, in the next few years Tim became a very successful illustrator. As soon as we had enough money we moved into a fourth floor walk-up over a bakery on West 72nd Street, two blocks from Central Park, and thankfully it had a tiny kitchen with refrigerator and stove. Life in the big city was full of discovery and adventure and we took advantage of every opportunity to sample anything that was free-of-charge – museums, concerts, street fairs, ethnic neighborhoods. We loved it, as did our new circle of artist friends. Because I grew up without a home town, New York City became my home town. I am from the Big Apple and lived there for forty years.

In the second year of our life in the city I became pregnant with our first daughter. I was very happy to become a mother, but also very happy to have time at home to pursue my own interests. The first thing I did was to enroll in the Master’s Degree program at Columbia University Teacher’s College, so I could become permanently certified for teaching in New York State. I also wanted to spend home time to perfect my sewing skills and explore other needlework techniques as techniques for art forms. I wanted to develop my own art work using needle work, not paint and paper like my husband. I was motivated by the work of many European artists using lacemaking, knitting, embroidery, fabric pleating, quilting, macramé, crochet, weaving and other well-known traditional needlework and fabric techniques, to produce museum-quality works of art. I needed home time to perfect my skills and techniques in order to express myself in any kind of museum-quality sort of way. It was during this time that I first saw the work of Sasha Morgenthaler, in an article in Graphis magazine from Switzerland. I am quite sure that it was the same article that John and Sara Doggart saw that inspired them to produce serie Sasha dolls. It was my first acquaintance with Sasha dolls and I remember being very favorably impressed. Here was a woman artist, using her talents to produce her art work in an unconventional medium, museum-quality dolls.

After our daughter was born I was very busy working on my degree, and enjoying my baby. An architect friend commissioned me to sew a wall hanging for a restaurant he was designing, and I was to design the hanging. It was fun, and I earned some money. One commission led to another, and soon I had an income designing and sewing wall hangings for businesses. But I was not satisfied, I wanted more than sewing on a machine. One day while walking down Fifth Avenue on my way to do some shopping at Macy’s, I passed by a sewing machine shop that had a curious machine in the window, it was a knitting machine. I had never before seen one. I went into the shop to inquire, and was given a demonstration. When I saw what it could do, my imagination exploded with design possibilities for my wall hangings. A week later I had put together enough cash to buy one, and then spent three frustrating months learning how to use it. Once I had enough technical skill I began using the knitting machine to make my wall hangings, very pleased that now I had a unique technique and tool to produce my artwork.

Our second daughter was on the way. We adopted an eight-month-old baby from South Korea, satisfying the strong desire to have Asia in our family ever since our days in Okinawa. While awaiting her arrival, we gave up our fourth floor walkup on West 72nd Street and made a down payment on a fixer-upper brownstone row house in Brooklyn’s Park Slope. At first, living conditions were not much better than our first months in the hotel room, but at least there was ample space for two little girls to run and grow, and studio space for both my husband and me. We lived in our wonderful brownstone for thirty-one years. It was early in this period that I made my second acquaintance with Sasha dolls. I saw the photos of Blonde Gingham and Gregor Denims in the Fall 1968 Creative Playthings catalog. I remembered the article in Graphis I had seen, and how impressed I was by Sasha Morgenthaler’s work. I wanted one of her dolls, and promptly ordered a gingham girl. I did not tell my husband what I had done, as we could not afford the $15.75 price tag for an expensive doll our girls were too young to play with. She stayed hidden in a closet, secretly looked at from time to time, until the girls were older and the doll came out to play. She is the doll pictured on the cover of our book, Sasha Dolls: Serie Identification.

My babysitters were college girls from nearby Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, studying in the Fine Arts program. There were several of them interchangeably, madly knitting or crocheting on something sculptural every time they came to care for my girls. Some of them were making their fiber sculptures into wearable garments – this time period was at the beginning of the Art-to-Wear movement. I was impressed by their use of traditional needlework techniques for creating fine art. They in turn, were impressed with the machine-knitted wall hangings I was making. At their urging, I put together a portfolio of my work and took it to Julie Schaffler Dale, who owned a high-end wearable art gallery on Madison Avenue, called Julie: Artisans’ Gallery. Some of my babysitters were showing and selling their work there, and after seeing my portfolio, Julie promised to show my work, too. I was elated, no more wall hangings for commercial spaces, now it would be wearable art, as soon as I could figure out how to make my wall hangings wearable!

Three examples of my wearable art creations: Left, “Off We Go into the Wild Blue Yonder,” 1977, made to honor my father’s service in the Army Air Corps during WW-II. Center, “Shakespeare Dream Coat,” 1977, with a Shakespeare quote knitted into the interior of the coat. Right, “Oz Socks,” 1978, made for an invitational show at the American Crafts Museum in New York City, called The Great American Foot. I am pleased that all three are now in museum or private collections. Much of my art work, together with Julie’s other artists, was documented and published in Julie’s book, Art to Wear, Abbeville Press, 1986, ISBN 0-89659-664-8. The three photos above, are from Julie’s book.

My love affair with wearable art continued to the end of the 1980s. Many of my pieces were sold to individuals in the public eye, and once in a while I would see one of my wearables on the back of a person in a television newscast, or in the case of Elton John, worn for a few numbers in one of his televised concerts. It was very gratifying to see others enjoying and displaying my work, and to know that I was able to contribute to an important period in the fine arts.

But the teacher, educator, researcher in me was also at work, restless for a change of pace from the constant output of imaginative combinations of images. By now my techniques on the knitting machine were well-honed, and I began teaching workshops, writing articles and designing garments for several knitting magazines in the UK and USA. I had also written two books, one on the technical aspects of producing patterned fabrics on the knitting machine, and a second one on the hand knitting of lace-patterned fabrics. The second book, Knitting Lace, was the result of my work for several years at The Brooklyn Museum of Arts, deciphering and documenting an antique knitted lace sampler in their collection. Ann Coleman, curator of the Costumes and Textiles department at the time, not only made the sampler available to me, but also taught me much of what I know about the conservation and restoration of textiles, and how to mount and document a major exhibition. If you the reader, are a doll collector, you might know about Elizabeth Ann Coleman in another way, the collaboration with her mother Dorothy and sister Jane, to produce the volumes called, The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Dolls.

My first two books. Left: first published in 1986 by Lark Books, it went through three publishers and at least five printings. I was the author, and my friend Julia was the editor; she taught me how to write a book. Right: first published in 1992 by Taunton Books, it had at least two printings. A few years ago it was republished by Schoolhouse Press and is currently in print, ISBN: 978-0-942018-31-8.

When my girls’ interests eventually turned away from playing with dolls, our first Sasha became totally mine to play with, and I used her to model quarter-scale prototype garments that I was designing for knitting magazines. At left, Sasha and her sister Marina model hand and machine knit versions of a garment I was designing for a 1990s issue of Knitter’s magazine. The center photo is the adult-size finished garment as it appeared in the magazine. The right photo is another hand knit version I made for the Children’s Fund Auction at the 2015 Sasha Festival in Fort Worth, Texas.

In 1993 I discovered that Sasha dolls had a collecting community, and I attended my first festival that year. It was hosted by Sherry Foggan in New Jersey, and the theme was Sasha Morgenthaler’s 100th birthday party. Prior to that festival, I had no idea that so many wonderful adults were as enthusiastic about Sasha dolls as I was, and were using the dolls in so many different ways. After the festival, I was on fire with Sasha dolls. The first thing I did was to purchase a few more dolls. Next, I began using them as teaching aids in my weekly machine knitting classes at Parsons School of Design in New York City, and three-day hands-on machine knitting workshops that I was teaching in the spring and fall each year across the USA and Canada, England, Scotland, and Australia. Two Sasha girls would travel with me to each workshop and model simple garments made from fabrics that were being taught in the workshops. The girls were very popular, they lightened the mood created by the intense course of study in the workshop, and acquainted my students with Sashas and their quarter-scale bodies. Some students had never before seen Sasha, while others either had one as a child, or had wished for one during childhood. Nearly everyone did not know that a Sasha collecting community existed, or that dolls could even be obtained. Of course, this was during the days when the internet was just getting started.

A photo collage of my Sasha girls attending knitting machine workshops. The first photo shows a typical set-up for a workshop – a room big enough for up to twenty machines, plus people, computers and cones of yarn. Since the machines are electronic, most of the fabric design is done on a computer. After the machine is programmed and swatches are knitted, my girls help with critique, but mostly they want to play. Sometimes a doll visitor (belonging to one of the students) would generate a lot of curiosity with my Sashas. The final photo pictures them in their travel bag, tired and ready to go home for a few days before the next workshop.

I was using Sashas in my own work, but as I became more acquainted with the two (at that time) productions, I also became intrigued with all the differences in the dolls. I carried on correspondence with Dorisanne Osborn, who was publishing Friends of Sasha at that time, and asked her a great many very detailed questions. Dorisanne was publishing everything she knew or could observe about the dolls, but finally, she wrote and said that in order to answer my many questions, I would have to help and do my own research. That was all I needed to give me the motivation to start a new research project, to document and date the progression of style changes in the dolls and clothing during the two productions. In order to do this I needed to examine and document a great many dolls. I contacted my collecting friends in the USA and England, and photographed and documented all the details about the dolls in their collections. I began a Sasha repair service, so that I could examine and document more and more dolls. I published my research in the Sasha Dolls Charts, updated every two or three years as I was able to draw more conclusions. I started a website, www.sashadoll.com, launched in January 1997, in order to have exhibits about the dolls, sell knitting patterns, the Charts, and a few dolls, so I could fund my research. Remember that there were no digital cameras at that time, and film and processing cost money!

The New York City Toy Fair in February 1995, was especially exciting because of the launch of the new Götz Sasha dolls. Dorisanne Osborn, Yvonne French (owner of the New York City toy store dollsanddreams) and myself, met at the Götz toy fair showroom to see the display of Gregor, Angela and Maria, and the prototype for LE Marianne (she has warm brown eyes, not the turquoise of the final production doll). Later in the day, we three travelled by subway to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, to compare their very early Dungarees doll, donated by FAO Schwarz toy store, to our own examples of the same doll. L-R: Dorisanne holding her Dungarees, Susanna holding her Dungarees, and Yvonne holding the museum’s Dungarees. All three are 1967 with original clothing and no-philtrum heads.

The tragic events to the World Trade Center on September 11 2001, which I witnessed from the windows of my brownstone studio, brought an abrupt end to my travelling and workshops for the fall season. Within a week, I decided to permanently retire and remove myself from the city. The brownstone was sold, and I moved to a quiet rural place in the Hudson Valley where I could be near our daughters and their families. Now, I could put the horrible tragedy and its aftermath behind me, focus fully on finishing my research of the serie Sasha dolls, and begin work on several other projects that were on my “bucket list.”

Fellow Sashaphiles Ann Chandler and Anne Votaw, and myself made the decision to work together to produce a book about Sasha dolls where we could combine our research on Sasha history, clothing, body and painting styles. We wanted to make a comprehensive volume covering everything we knew about Sasha dolls to date, knowing full well that more information would come to light in the future, especially detailed variations in the dolls. Both Ann and Anne have written to you in their profiles on this blog, about the trials we had getting the book put together, and the final decision to make three books instead of one. These three books are a very large accomplishment for all three of us, as they represent twenty-plus years of research and development for each of us, hard work, a large financial investment, and a dream come true. Many of you helped by contributing your dolls for research or photos, and many others have written to say how helpful the books are to you, and that you are enjoying them. We fully appreciate your contributions and kind words, they make the years of work and effort very worthwhile. Thank you, thank you!

These are the three Sasha doll books, resulting from years and years of research and collecting, and a collaborative effort by Ann Chandler, Susanna Lewis, and Anne Votaw. If you want a copy, or to print out a copy of the errata, visit my website, www.sashadoll.com.

Now that the books are finished I can really enjoy play time with my Sashas. One thing I love to do is design knitting patterns for Sasha. Being a teacher at heart, I can continue to teach knitting techniques through my patterns. They are available for sale on my website, www.sashadoll.com.

Since I love knitting, most years I try to make an outfit for the Children’s Fund Auction at the annual festival. Here are a few examples.

Now you are up-to-date with my story “From Childhood to Sasha.” My last paragraph is to tell you how much I appreciate the wonderful friendships and acquaintances I have made through the years with my fellow Sasha collectors. In common, we share Sasha Morgenthaler’s values and ideals that she presented through her dolls. May we continue our play, our coming together at festivals and local events, the Yahoo and Facebook groups, and persevere in our work toward a better world through Sasha dolls. A big thank you to Theresa O’Neill, for inviting me to share my story with all you fellow Sashaphiles on her blog!

All good wishes to you all, Susanna.

FootNote:

Thank you so much for taking part Susanna, your knitting skills are incredible. Once again everyone please do not copy or upload any of Susanna’s photos without her permission.

Hi Everyone
so sorry for keeping you waiting so long for this Profile,but i am sure that it will be worth the wait.
Profile number 8 comes from from a truly original man with a great big heart. I give you Steve Kingaby.

My name is Steve and I was born at St Nicholas’s Hospital in Plumstead South
East London on the 14th of February 1959 ( two weeks early) according to my mum.
I weighed 6lb 1oz. I am the oldest of three children.
At the age of two and a half ( just after the birth of my brother) my parents
moved us from rented rooms and brought a three bedroomed house in welling, Kent.

(Above Steves Mum and Dad on their wedding day April 1958)

My Dad was a policeman and worked shifts, so most of the parenting was done by
my Mum.
My Mum said I always had a teddy or soft toy tucked under my arm, unlike my
brother who preferred to play with his toy cars.
I remember having a Popeye doll, who had a soft body but vinyl arms and legs who
was my constant companion. Over the years I have spent many an hour looking on
eBay for one just like him.
For some reason most of the kids on our street were girls who loved playing mums
and dads, so us boys were always brought into play. I spent many a happy hour
walking up and down our road pushing the girls Silver cross dolls prams, playing
jacks, skipping and playing elastic’s.

(Above a Popeye doll similar to the one Steve owned)

(Above a photo of young steve with his Mum.)

When I was about seven I remember staying the odd weekend with my Nanny Maud and
Granddad Bert ( my Dads parents). We used to take a bucket up to bed with us, as
their toilet was outside. It’s funny the things you remember.
My Nan was a knitter and sometimes she would get hold of old hard plastic
pedigree dolls and knit them clothes. I loved playing with the dolls and so my
Nan would give me the odd one to take home with me.
When we returned home my Dad would take the doll from me and put it straight in
the dustbin. So my Nan used to keep them at her house for me to play with along
with an old dolls pushchair so I could push them round her garden. My Dad wasn’t
at all happy with this and I can still hear him arguing with Nan and saying I
was not to play with the dolls or the pushchair when we stayed.
Of course once my dad had left us, my Nan would go and get the dolls and
pushchair for me to play with, she also taught me to sew and knit.

(Above a photo of Steve with his Nanny Maud)

When I was eight, my sister Lindsay was born and after her birth I don’t
remember staying at my Nan and Granddads anymore, although will still used to
visit. I am not sure what happened to my dolls or the pushchair, I think my Nan
must have given them away as I don’t remember ever playing with them again.
I was around nine or ten when I first saw my first Sasha doll. My brother Iain
and I were at our junior school summer fair and I can remember being mesmerised
by this redheaded doll that was a raffle prize. I had never seen anything like
her before. I asked the lady running the stall what kind of doll she was and she
told me she was a Sasha, I just couldn’t stop looking at her. I remember buying
raffle tickets but alas I never won her or saw another Sasha again during my
childhood.
It was around this time that my Dad decided that my brother and I should have a
clear out of our bedroom and get rid of some of our toys. All our bears, soft
toys and my much loved Popeye where were put into bags and thrown into the
dustbin. I can remember my parents arguing over this but as usual my Dad got his
way.

(Above My mum and I. I must have been around eight and if you look down my mum is
holding my doll.)

It was when I started secondary school I began to realise I was different to
most of the boys, I think I had always known but it was around this time it all
started to fall into place. I didn’t act on any of these feeling but suppressed
them and tried to get on with my life. I free wheeled through secondary school,
bunking off when ever I got the chance. I hated everything about school,
lessons, football, cricket or any kind of PE.

(Above Steves school photo and he is in the second row, eighth along from the left.)

During my last year at secondary school, my parents were called in, as I had
been kicked out of some of my CSE options as I hadn’t done enough course work.
My Dad went mad, our relationship went from bad to worse.
It was suggested by the school domestic science teacher ( to my parents) that I
had a flair for cooking, so it was decided that I should go to catering college
to train as a chef.
I loved college and after a two year course I left with five city in guilds, an
RSH in hygiene and a college diploma.
I started working at the Bank of England as a chef two weeks after leaving
college. I hated it. We catered from anything from 1000 to 1200 people
everyday.

(Above a Photo of the Bank of England)

The good thing about having a job was you got paid at the end of the week.
Things at home were getting worse between my parents and I. During the later
teenage years my dad and I argued, he didn’t like my clothes, my hair my friends
and I am sure he sensed that I didn’t like him much either. The next few years
were hard, I finally plucked up the courage to tell my mum that I was gay when I
was nineteen and she was devastated. Our relationship has never been the same
again, she also made me swear not to tell my Dad as she knew I would be banished
from the family home. These were dark years, I slept on friends sofas and
partied hard, I only went home to change my cloths and to have a bath I barely
spoke to my parents. I went missing for days on end and thinking back now my
parents must have been worried sick.

(Above a photo of Steve aged about 18 years old)
When I was around twenty three, I left catering at the Bank of England and home.
I got a job working in a day centre with adults with physical disabilities.
Three yeas later I moved job again, this time as a support officer working with
adults with learning disabilities.
I loved my job and I was the happiest I had been in years.
I met James my partner, two years later after he joined our staff team and a
year later he moved in with me and we became a couple.

(Above a photo of Steve and James)

My Dad died on October the 17th 1999 after undergoing a triple bypass at St
Thomas’s hospital, ( he had two heart attacks a year or so before his opp) he
never came round from the anaesthetic. He was 63. I do regret we never got a
chance to reconcile our differences. I would like to think he would now be proud
of me and my family.

Over the next twenty five years James and I battled with local authorities and
adoption agencies to become parents to our three very special children. We
adopted our eldest daughter at the high court in London at the end of June 1992
after she had lived with us for nearly three years. Everyone was expecting a
back lash from the press, as we were later told by our social worker that we
were the first openly gay male couple to get to court. I adopted Jenny in court
and a few weeks later, James went back to court to become her legal guardian.
This has happened with all three of our children.
Whilst the kids were at school I started looking for and collecting old teddy
bears and old blue and white China, I still do.
Then in 2001 James and I thought it might be a good idea to buy a computer to
help me with my searching. It was during one of these searches on line that I
remembered the Sasha doll I had seen as a child and decided to start looking for
her. At first I was disappointed as I had typed in Sacha doll and hardly
anything came up. So I decided to try again by changing my spelling of Sacha to
Sasha. Suddenly all these Sasha’s started to appear on my screen and I fell in
love with her all over again.
It became very addictive all this Sasha buying on line. I didn’t have a clue
what I was buying back then, but gradually I began to see subtle differences in
some of the dolls eye paint.
Whilst buying on eBay, I had started to make a few friends to. I came across
Brenda Walton selling original cloths, Shelly and Marie Morgan who were both
selling Sasha’s.

(Above some of Steve’s doll collection)

Fast forward to now, I count myself very lucky to have lots of great Sasha
friends who I chat and email with. I have also attended many gatherings and I am
now able to put faces to names.
My collection of Sasha’s have evolved over the years and I am pleased to say I
now think I have a nice collection. My other half James has been a real support
over the years, although he says he still can’t understand the differences in
the eye styles. He still thinks they look like the children from film, (the
village of the dammed.) I still love collecting and still get a buzz when a new
Sasha or Gregor comes to join my ever growing family.
I was never able to track down that Sasha I had seen in my childhood, but I am
pleased to say, I now own three just like her.

(Above a photo One of my favourite Sasha’s. Single fringe tiny eyed girl)

( Above Another two favourites. Two NPs. The girl on the left, her eyes were painted by
Kristina ( the art student) and the girl on the right eyes Were painted by Sara
Doggart )

Thank you Steve for sharing your story with us.Once again please do not copy any of the photos on here without Steve’s permission.

Hi Everyone the next profile in the series from Childhood to Sasha, comes from Jackie Kraemer.So without further ado here is Jackies’ story.

I was born in Cleveland, Ohio on August 25, 1948. I had an older sister and brother, and then a younger brother and sister, so I am the middle child. I had a normal, happy childhood, living in the inner city of Cleveland, Ohio. I walked to school, the grocery store, church, and library and during the summer, spent most of my childhood roller skating, reading, and playing with my friends and my cousins. We loved playing with our dolls and dressing up. We had an old “Brownie” camera on a tripod, and one of us was the photographer and the all of us others were the models. We made a makeshift runway in the garage and dressed up in mom’s and my aunt’s hand me downs! The winter was long in Cleveland and most times, too cold to stay outside to play. We spent many of our playtime hours in the basement. My dad had turned one side of the basement into a recreation room, and it had a bar in the corner, some old couches, and lots of book cases. We had lots of old books, so playing library was a main attraction. Mom had an old, large gray baby buggy in the basement, and our dolls spent lots of time in that buggy going round and round that basement. I always had a doll to play with and loved playing dolls, mostly with my younger sister and my cousins. My older sister thought dolls were creepy and had nothing to do with them. We recently were going through old pictures with my mom, and almost every picture of me with my siblings, shows me holding a doll. Mostly baby dolls, I loved being the mommy! My paternal grandma also collected dolls! I remember going to her house as a child, and at the end of the hall was the “parlour”, and of the parlour was a small room that had my granny’s doll case, sewing machine, and stacks of old dolls, fabric, and knitting yarns. Grandma would scour the thrift stores for old dolls, mostly hard plastic from the 50’s, and fix them up and make them new clothes. She either sewed them wardrobes, or knitted or crocheted them something new. Often times, she would give them back to the charities at Christmas time so they could be given to children that didn’t get new toys for Christmas. I was allowed to play with most anything in that room, the only thing I was not to touch were her antique and special dolls that were in the curved glass doll cabinet. One time, Grandma dressed over 40 different dolls in costumes of different countries and these were displayed in the window of a Travel Agency in the neighborhood. Grandma did lots of research to make sure each doll was dressed in authentic clothing. My heritage is Slovenien and Croatian from Yugoslavia. Both sets of grandparents came over on boats to America in the early 1900’s, and went through Ellis Island. They were so happy to be Americans! Lots of my dolls came from my grandma as she knew that I loved dolls.

( I am on the left, of course, holding my baby doll.)

I went to an all-girls Catholic high school during the 60’s and graduated in 1966. Our high school closed in our junior year but us seniors were allowed to stay and finish out our education as the last graduating class of St. Francis High School. We did not have to wear uniforms to school, but we did have to wear skirts or dresses. I remember wearing patterened stockings, most had a lacy design or polka dots and my friends and I would roll up our skirt bands to have mini skirts while walking to school. As soon as we would turn the corner and see the school, we would have to roll those waistbands down because mini skirts were not allowed by the nuns! My high school was mostly a business major and we learned typing and shorthand, and book keeping skills. I wanted a car and nice designer clothes, so I immediately found a job after high school to attain these things. My parents had enrolled me in an airline training school and I took the classes through the mail and when I was 18, went off to Kansas City, Missouri for 8 weeks to complete the course. I decided to become a reservation agent, since I was not coordinated enough to become a stewardess. We would have to practice carrying trays of drinks in a make shift airplane, and I was always spilling and came away with lots of bruises all over my arms and legs. I graduated from the school with honors, but alas, could not work for the airlines, as they had a strict policy of only hiring people over the age of 20. While in Kansas City I lived in a huge old mansion on the top floor with 12 other girls. We frequently snuck out of the house on the weekends and took a taxi to Kansas where you could go to clubs and drink as the legal limit was 18 in that state. I met another good friend from Chicago when going to this school, and after we both went home, we continued to stay in touch and I frequently would hop a flight to Chicago for the weekend, or she would come to Cleveland, and we would have a fun time, mostly dancing and going to the beaches off Lake Erie or Lake Michigan. I found a great job in downtown Cleveland in an office, and on lunch hours, would walk to Halle Brothers or Higbee’s department store, or one of the ladies boutiques, and find a new dress or outfit to wear on the weekends. I got my drivers’ license and with my dad’s help, bought my first car, a 69 Oldsmobile, F85! I called him Ollie, the Olds. Every weekend, my girlfriends and I would head out to the many dance clubs and follow our favorite band. We would dance until the clubs closed at 2, and then go downtown to one of the diners for coffee and then go to 5 a.m. mass at the cathedral downtown. Then we would go home and sleep all day on Sunday and get ready to do it all again the next weekend.

I met my husband in 1966 at my girlfriend’s wedding. Many of my girl friends graduated from high school and then immediately got married. Not me though, I wanted to party for awhile! We married in March of 1971. Later that year, my daughter Kim was born. In late 1973 I became pregnant with my son and after he was born, became a stay at home mom. My husband was working full time, and then going to school in the evenings, so I was home a lot with the kids by myself. I spent lots of times with my neighbors who were also in the same situation as I was. One of my neighbors had lots of dolls for her daughter’s. When Kim was still a baby, I wanted her to have dolls like I did when I was young, so my girlfriend Bernie opened my eyes to Madame Alexander dolls. We would frequently walk to the grocery store, and next door to that was a small doll hospital. Bernie would have an antique doll in layaway most every time, and we would stop in on the way home so she could make her payment, and I would love going in that shop, looking at all those dolls. We would frequently go to the Mall to May’s or Higbees, and go to the doll department and put our name on a list to be called when the new Madame Alexander dolls would come in. That Christmas, my husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I told him that I wanted any one of those Madame Alexander baby dolls. So, not only did Kim get her first Madame Alexander doll, but I did too! I kept her in her box in my bedroom and most every day take her out to touch her. We were on a very limited budget during those years, and dolls were expensive to buy, so I would save up my Eagle green stamps and save money from the grocery budget and bought Kim a Madame Alexander doll every year for her birthday and Christmas. In 1977, we took a car trip and drove to Phoenix, AZ to check out the city. My son was diagnosed with severe asthma and we needed to find a warmer, dryer climate for him to live in to stay well. So, we moved to Phoenix in November of 1977 and bought a brand new house and moved into it in April of 1978. When Kim was about 7, she came to me and told me that she really didn’t like those dolls I was buying her, and she only liked Barbie! So, I told her well, guess what, Mommy really loves those dolls and she can have her Barbie’s and I would keep the Madame Alexanders. I had placed the kids in a Catholic grade school and one day, a flyer came home listing all the different activities you could join. And there was a doll club listed! So, I called the number and joined my first doll club. Through the doll club, I went to the doll shows that they had in Phoenix and met many wonderful women that loved dolls as much as I did.

I was introduced to Sasha dolls sometime in 1978 or 1979. I had seen them in the doll and toy shops and at the doll shows, although I had never touched one in person. I thought they were strange looking, as they had dark skin and wore standard clothing, nothing like my fancy little Madame Alexander dolls! One day, I went into my favorite toy and doll shop at the mall, and there were 3 Sasha dolls out of the case and on the doll counter. Gregor was standing on his head, and the other two were posed looking at him. They looked so much like real children! I finally was able to hold one in my hands, and was impressed by the weight of it, the quality and of course, the wonderful hair Sasha had. My daughter always had fine, fly away hair that would never grow long. She loved playing with Barbie because Barbie always had long hair, and she loved styling the hair on her. After holding that Sasha, I realized that this would make a wonderful doll for Kim as she had great hair! Money was very tight at that time, I was not working full time as my son was still getting sick, so buying a Sasha was not in my budget. That year my husband again asked what I wanted for my birthday, and I told him I wanted a Sasha doll. I wanted white dress red head Sasha! On my birthday, I found a present wrapped like a Sasha doll box and instead of getting my red head, he had gotten me Marina, a brunette. I was a little disappointed, but loved her just the same. I was fortunate enough that year to get money from my sisters and mom for my birthday and with that money, I went back to the toy store and bought my red head. I did try to give her to Kim to play with, but she just never bonded with any of my dolls and still, to this doll, cannot understand her mom’s passion for dolls. She is just not a doll person, nor is my son or unfortunately, anyone else in my family, grandkids included! I was also fortunate that most of these doll stores had layaway, so every couple of months, I would go into the store and buy a Sasha and put it on layaway!

In 1990, I went to my first Sasha festival! It was held in Mesa, Arizona. At that time it was only on a Friday and a Saturday. I could not go on Friday, but spent that Saturday in Sasha heaven! I remember seeing a display of Sasha dolls through the years, and that was the first time I had seen a Gotz Sasha in person, and many early Sasha dolls. I learned so much about Sasha M, and her dolls and was so impressed with everything Sasha. At the luncheon that day, I won the centerpiece which was a very cute dungarees outfit for either a boy or girl, plus received a T-shirt, a pair of cowboy boots, and a lasso and some other small things as the souvenir. I went to my first sales room and met Mary Glenn and saw her wonderful smocked creations. Everyone was so friendly and outgoing, and I really was impressed with the entire Sasha community. That was it! I made up my mind that no longer would I buy Madame Alexander or other dolls, I would only buy Sasha dolls! I started doing the doll shows, and over the years sold all of my Madame Alexander dolls, and all the others that I had, and only bought Sasha dolls and certain modern artist dolls. I subscribed to a national doll magazine called Collectors United, and bought many Sasha dolls through that magazine. In fact, I bought a brunette Sasha NP from a Collectors United subscriber in upstate NY and got her for $125! I remember calling the lady to ask if the dolls hair was falling and what color elastic the doll had, and the lady said, I’m an old lady, and can’t hardly see, so I don’t know. She had bought the doll which was in a red dress at a flea market. So, I sent her a check and when I opened the box and saw this Sasha, I was completely shocked! I wasn’t even sure it was a no philtrum as I had really never seen one in person. At the next doll show, I took her to the doll show, and Laura Lindberg was there and I showed her the doll and she said, it’s a NP! Buying Sasha dolls through these publications was an adventure, unless the doll was a later one with its box, you just never knew what you were going to get. I think my favorite Sasha is #107 blonde gingham. At every doll show, with every ad I read posting one for sale, I would buy it. At that time, I was back at work and had extra income to buy and with selling all my other dolls, I had a doll account to buy the dolls that I really wanted. With these wonderful dolls, I learned more and more about side parts, full center parts, deep bangs, fringe girls, color of elastics, and met more and more people in Arizona that loved Sasha as much as I did.

I went back to work when the children were a little older, finding work in a school that hosted the Harley Davidson motorcycles, and then going to a field office as an administrative assistant. I had always wanted to work with children, so in the early 90’s, changed careers and became a teacher’s aide working with disabled, autistic children. An opportunity arose in the Vision department, so I switched and became a Braille Technician. I am certified in literary Braille and even though I am rusty, could still read it. I retired about 5 years ago, and have spent more time selling my vast collection of dolls and doll related things. After 43 years of collecting, it is time to downsize! However, that doesn’t seem to stop me from acquiring a new Sasha, one just speaks to me and says she wants to come and live with me! I am fortunate that my children and grandchildren live close, and I really enjoy spending time with my family.

(Above some of Jackies’ Sasha doll collection)

(Above The following pictures are of my studio dolls and a table in my hall with some of my Sasha’s redressed in some of their special clothes!)

Mary Glenn and I had decided to host a Sasha festival here in Phoenix in 1999. So in 1997, we went to Iowa to the Sasha festival with was a Country Fair theme! What fun we had! The following year, Mary and I went to Cincinnati and again had a wonderful time with all of the Sasha community. I have hosted two more festivals, again in 2006 and is 2014 with Marti Murphy. This is what I love the most about collecting and loving Sasha dolls. I have made so many friends through this doll and our love for it, that it just makes me feel blessed to be in it all and part of it. Plus, I absolutely still love the doll! Finding a new one and opening the box when she comes in, whether mint in box, or a waif, taking her out, giving her a spa treatment, redressing her in something special, it just gives me a thrill every time! I usually take a few Sasha dolls with me to sell at the festivals. Most of the money that I make from the sales, pays for a new Sasha doll. I never thought I would be able to buy a studio doll, but after meeting Marie Morgan after she came to our festival in 1999, and then helping her host the 2000 festival in Huddersfield, I realized that I could have a studio doll. If I sold some of the dolls that I already had, I could trade-up! Most of my Sasha’s are in a glass enclosed doll case, and on a few tables in my living room. I have Sashas’ wardrobes separated by seasons in bins, and every season, almost all the dolls get something new to wear or a changed outfit. I am so lucky to know all these creative sewers out there, my Sasha’s have the best possible fashions available! There is a special shelf in the doll case where I keep my most special Sasha dolls. If there is a new special Sasha coming, I pull a doll out of that special shelf and trade her for the new one. I love finding special accessories for Sasha. I always check the key chains displayed in stores, and especially Christmas ornaments. Seems there is always something that is just the perfect size, the perfect toy just for our Sasha’s. I really don’t think I could own just one Sasha doll, plus I don’t think that I have an extra special favorite! They are all pretty special and unique and that is another reason to love Sasha!
Footnote:
A big thank you to Jackie for taking part and sharing her story. I first met Jackie at the 2012 Festival when i was an extreme newby and she took me under her wing and made me feel very welcome. Please do not copy any of Jackies’ photos without her permission.

by twizeltheresa ^Pro @ 2015-07-06 – 13:51:29

Hi Everyone, welcome back to part 2, Dawn’s Lunch.
This was my first visit to Dawns home as i previously mentioned. Dawn lives in a beautiful farm house surrounded by over 100 acres of land. Please see the photos below.

 

I think you will agree that you would never get tired of looking out of your window to such beautiful views.

 

 

(Above some more photos including Dawn’s great herb garden.)

 

Around the lake there were a pair of Swans with their signet, i didn’t want to intrude too closely on them as previous interactions with large feathered birds have taught me to be a bit cautious!

(Above the lake and swans)

 

Dawns garden was full of life with a water feature pond and brightly coloured flowers.

 

When i arrived at Dawns, Tim was not there and Dawn explained that he was out on the motor bike bringing in the ponies. I must have been looking a bit baffled and then Dawn explained that when the ponies hear the motor bike they follw Tim back to the paddock, and they did just that, it was amazing.

 

Everyone started to arrive and Dawns home was filled with the chatter of old and and new friends and of course some sasha dolls.

 

As i mentioned before sasha dolls were enjoying a bit of mingling too.

 

(Above is my little tribute to the sasha Festival in Texas this year as I cannot attend. The two young rooting, tooting men on horse back are none other than my caleb wearing a horse themed jacket that was made by Ginny lee Myres from the 2012 Festival and my raffle boy who is wearing some suede chaps that I made for the occasion. Their weapon of mass distuction was sent over form the USA by Marti murphy.)

 

(Above is Pippin proudly showing off her pram and litle baby that was a gift from Rosie Shortell.)

(Above is a little group that I believe belong to Judith of dolly doodles, but please correct me if I am wrong)

(Above is a striking young lady who belongs to Jocelyn rose)

(Above this lovely group belongs to Dee Owen with Hattie standing at the front.)

(Above these three beauties belong to Sarah Price.)

(Above we have a mixed group)

(Above another mixed group of lovely sasha and Gregors.)

(Above is Harlequin, owned by Tricia and created by Janet, just wonderful)

 

Now did someone mention prams. I must say that i was in pram heaven.

 

Dawns sasha family definately have lots of toys to keep them amused.

 

Next it was off to visit Dawns special doll room that is only accessable by ladder. I got up the ladder fine, the getting down was a bit more difficult though.
I have taken photos of the dolls in the room but the flash on the camera has caused too much reflection on them to be published. However, I must say that if ever Dawn can’t get back down the ladder, she will have plenty to keep her occupied.

 

(Above is a photo of Petrana who had suddenly developed a maternal bump after visiting the doll room mmmmm)

 

Back inside the house to meet Dawns studio dolls.

(Above Dawns beautiful studio girl in gingham)

(Above Dawns studio bebe’ in red duffle coat with very expressive eyes.)

(Above Janet has fallen in love with Dawns little bebe’)

 

(Above is a lovely early studio doll)

I asked Dawn if she had to choose one of her dolls which one would it be and she chose this one.

I quite agree she is a beautful bebe’ studio doll and as soon as I held her I felt the urge to sing her a lullaby, ( I didn’t though as my singing is not that good)

It seems i was not the only one who fell in love with this little bebe’

 

Finally Dawns studio toddler, very rare and handsome too.

I almost forgot to add Dawn’s car

Well thats all from me, except to say a huge thank you to Dawn for sharing her story, her home and her wonderful collection with us.

Thanks for looking………………