Dolls  carry  the  news  of  the  day  

By  Jenny  Stepanski  jennyw@wdtimes.com When Diane Allen, East Troy, formerly of Watertown, cleaned her mother's attic in the early 1970s, she found something that would create a spark inside her. That day Allen discovered four of her childhood dolls, as well as doll outfits, which evoked a sense of nostalgia that has yet to fade.

As a member of the South Eastern Wisconsin Doll Club, Allen has been collecting dolls for over 40 years, but she doesn't settle for just collecting, she also customizes her collection. "When my husband was alive, I used to sew outfits for my dolls using vintage fabrics," she said, "but after his passing, I haven't felt much like sewing." For two years, Allen thought she was done designing doll clothes but then she found a new inspiration. In December 2013, she read an article in the New York Times that would challenge her to reignite her passion for design. "I read about a woman who created dresses for herself out of paper and I thought, 'I would like to try that, it's something different.' Only I wanted to do it on a smaller scale," said Allen. Shortly after reading the article, Allen began teaching herself how to make doll outfits out of the newspapers, mainly the Watertown Daily Times and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. When Allen learned that February would be her turn to host the South Eastern Wisconsin Doll Club meeting, she was inspired to host it around the theme "Barbie in the news," with the idea that she could create newspaper outfits to give as favors. She asked each member to collect articles of Barbie being mentioned in the news to share at the meeting. Then she began constructing a dresses made from newspapers to present to each member at the meeting. "Each dress was made for a specific person, to match her interest," She said. For example, one friend really enjoys cowboy-themed items, so that lady received a cowgirl. Another woman loves Target, so Allen used Target ads to construct the outfit, even pasting the store's logo on the dress. Allen said she loves using newspaper to produce outfits because "so much detail is there, but you don't notice it -- all you see is a big picture," she said. Each doll outfit takes her about a week to make, because the glue needs time to dry in between layers. She has produced 14 doll outfits since the beginning of the year, using patterns and glue. "At first I thought I would sew the paper dresses, but then the paper catches or the machine punches holes in it, so I switched to gluing. Now I use rubber cement or even school glue," she said. She describes the process of making the paper dresses as "cutting and pasting giddily." Although sometimes the paper would rip or patterns would not work out, she never let that discourage her from creating. "So yeah, I ruined quite a bit. It was a labor of love." She said referencing the fact that she was motivated by wanting to give the dolls and dresses to her friends in the club. After the outfit is completed, she stores it on the doll in a dark place, such as a closet, to keep the paper out of the sunlight and prevent fading. The dolls she used as the favors for the meeting were inexpensive, modern Barbies. Although she designed dresses in the past using fabrics, she said using newspaper presented a new type of thrill. "It's a thrill to search for the right articles and then envision what they will become," she said, then she gestured to a picture in the paper in front of her, "That would be such a great skirt! Even upside down, because you don't have to see the picture, it becomes something new." Then she pointed at a picture of two ladies wearing pink shirts and said, "And you see this, right here -- these ladies -- they will become the bodice. And you won't even know they are there!" Allen's collection includes over 300 dolls, many of which are Barbies. Although she also has some non-Barbie dolls, she considers herself mainly to be a Barbie person. "However," she said, "it's difficult when you start collecting to stick to just one thing. Barbie collectors can't just collect Barbies -- everyone has to take their collection in a different direction." Allen's other collecting interests include paper dolls, children's books, vintage clothing, nun dolls, Halloween-themed dolls, "Gone With the Wind" and "Mad Men" dolls, Madame Alexander dolls and Vogue dolls. Creating and collecting are therapeutic to Allen. "Collecting is good therapy and good motivations for those

who need to keep occupied and gives you purpose," she said. Collecting dolls and restoring them provides Allen with a sense of accomplishment as well as brings her happiness. "I love doll collecting because of the memories. Good feelings it evokes. It brings out happy moments and puts a smile on your face." The only thing Allen dislikes about collecting is seeing a decline in the number of children who play with dolls. When she was a child she remembers making up stories with her dolls and playing for hours. She also recalls working hard and saving her allowance to purchase a new doll outfit. But she says she doesn't see children doing that anymore. "We as doll lovers grieve because the love of dolls is not where it was when we were growing up. Now dolls are geared toward adults and collectors." Allen describes her collection as being on the small side compared to other collectors but she feels she had individualized it well. She said she loves to take thrift store dolls and restore them. One of her favorite parts about collecting is seeing the dolls come to life as she works with them and finds the correct outfit and hairstyle to match her vision for the doll. She said that after she does that, the doll becomes not just a part of her collection but also a little part of her. Allen joined the South Eastern Wisconsin Doll Club in the early 1970s shortly after the group began. The club include 10 members who take turns hosting the club's monthly meeting. Besides holding programs, the doll club also raises funds for charities such as Toys for Tots and the humane society. "We all have in common a love of dolls and we're giggly girls when we get together," Allen said, "But we are a club and have business to conduct. We make sure to keep that focus." She explains several times per year the group holds auctions, where a percentage of the sales goes to the club, which in turn supports charities. A Watertown native, Allen is the daughter of Georgene Fredrich, a resident at Homestead Apartments in Watertown. Allen was born at St. Mary's Hospital and is a 1966 graduate of Watertown High School. She worked at Lindberg Heavy-Duti Electric on Water Street, where she met her husband. After they were married, they moved to Elkhorn and then to East Troy in 1996. Allen retired from a career in banking from US Banks in Milwaukee. Although she has not lived in Watertown for many years, she keeps up with the local news through her friends and family and by reading the Watertown Daily Times.

                                             

JENNY STEPANSKI/Daily Times Diane Allen arranges one of the dolls in her collection. Allen's collection includes over 300 dolls, most of which are Barbies.

 

JENNY STEPANSKI/Daily Times These "Gone with the Wind" dolls are part of Diane Allen's doll collection. The Black Widow, dressed in all black, wears an outfit Allen sewed using all vintage fabrics.  

JENNY STEPANSKI/Daily Times This doll dress created by Diane Allen is made entirely of newsprint. Allen titled her creation "I'm Puzzled."