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Restoration Of Toy Dolls A Labor Of Love

photo by provided

photo by provided

photo by provided

Tuesday January 30, 2018

By Cookie Steponaitis

Growing up many of us had a favorite toy we played with over time as part of our daily rituals. Some of these beloved childhood partners survived to be passed on to our children and many simply almost disintegrated from use. If we look back at images of our childhood this toy was often in the picture in our arms and a part of play and dreaming. In the world of modern disposable toys it is often easier to go out and replace the toy with a new one than deal with repair, renovation or rejuvenation of the old one. For some people that is acceptable, but for Addison County resident Lynda Cobb that simply should not be.
    Lynda had Ginny Dolls as a young girl in the 1950’s. “My mother used to make the clothing for the dolls because we could not afford the store bought ones,” shared Cobb. “I had a little wooden box that I kept my dolls in and would keep all my clothes and would bring them over to my friend’s house to play. We would spend hours at a time playing with the dolls and we would take very good care of our dolls.” Cobb, with her own children and now grandchildren has always made sure that there were loved toys to be played with and treasured. As a career nurse Cobb witnessed the love and comfort a toy would bring to children and even adults alike in hospital situations. Whether being there for the person before a surgery, helping in recovery or being a connection to getting ready to go home, the toy occupied a special and often therapeutic role in the life of its owner.
    Ginny dolls story originally began as the Ye Olde Vogue Doll Shoppe in the Somverville, Massachusetts home of Jennie Adler Grave in 1922. The seamstress turned doll maker began by dressing and selling imported German dolls to stores in Boston and with the continued success of sales, Graves introduced an eight inch plastic doll named after her daughter Virginia and launched Ginny in 1951. The doll was so successful that Graves moved to a warehouse and employed fifty workers, plus 200 home seamstresses and by 1957 Ginny dolls were a fixture in most American homes. While most Americans tend to associate dolls with the iconic Barbie doll, created in 1959, it was in fact the earlier Ginny dolls that began the American love affair with dolls. Ruth Handler was a mother and eventual co-founder of Mattel Toys. She saw her daughter engaged in play with paper dolls and decided to create a 3-D doll that would have no career limits and allow young girls to dream of endless careers and dreams. While Barbie is today an American icon in the toy industry, the doll got off to a slow start and had it not been for Handler’s determination would not have been continued in production.
    Just over a year and a half ago Cobb turned her attention to refurbishing and saving older dolls for a new life of play and love with a child. Learning on YouTube and through a painstaking process of trial and error, Cobb learned to restring them, take them apart and replace parts and bring to life a doll that still had a role to play in the life of a child. Today she works on dolls of her childhood and current dolls and brings them back to life for people of all ages. It is a labor of love for Cobb who speaks out against the prevailing ideology of throwing things away and just buying new ones. Dolls are collectibles for some people but for Cobb they are about a celebration of the bond between children and toys. “In my head I see what the doll can be again and then I just help it get there,” grins Cobb. “While my granddaughter continues to be able to add to her collection of dolls, others I have refurbished have found their way to New Zealand, England, Germany, Florida, California, New York and many other destinations. What may surprise the readers is that many of my people are adults who either never had a certain doll they wanted as a child or to have again one they had and loved in childhood. My greatest joy is seeing the photos they send of where the doll is who is playing with it or just knowing it is again being cherished and bringing joy.”
    Cobb definitely encourages people to explore refurbishing items and start with their own interests. “I work with dolls because that is what I love,” concludes Cobb, “but it can be furniture, clothing or hundreds of other ideas. The goal is to bring back to use something and have joy from it.” Those looking for ideas or information on how to start the process of refurbishing dolls can reach her at [email protected] or see her finished works on Ebay. While they are old and slightly used dolls to others, for Cobb they are a joy and one that brings smiles to the people they work with in their second life as a toy.

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