by Michael Canadas - Carmel Doll Shop

Barbara and Jim Fernandotake a break from work,during the UFDC RegionalConference their doll clubhosted. Both Jim andBarbara gave wholeheartedlyto the hobby theyloved and “Easter Fantasy”was a great success.“Jolly Jammy” was one ofBarbara’s last creations andone that she enjoyedcreating the most. With abisque head and arms on acloth body, this doll wasvery popular. Collectorsloved the smiling face andthe cuddly body. Jammyoriginally sold for threehundred dollars at a timewhen most artists wereselling dolls for muchmore. Barbara had to bevery careful with the costsof materials to be able tosell at those prices.Only three of the Jolly Fairies were ever made. The five-piece body wasmade of latex poured in a mold, but to create the bent legs, Barbara sculptedthis leg model by hand. The wings incorporate real fairy dust!she did have dolls for sale. Jim scheduledan appointment to meet her and look atthe dolls. Having never met previously,Barbara and Jim soon discovered theyhad many friends in common. The twobecame inseparable. In time, they becamea couple, married, and then went aboutthe business of merging their households,children and doll collections!Jim has always held a deep love forBebe Bru dolls and noticed that Barbaradid not have a single example in hercollection. He just assumed that shedidn’t like them. Barbara instantlycorrected him; of course she liked them— she could never afford to keep them!Working together as a team, Jim andBarbara comprised a perfect couple, forin the late 1970s and early 1980s, thehobby of doll collecting was just hittingfull stride. Both brought their uniquetalents to the business of dolls and for thefirst time in many years Barbara didn’tfeel the weight of the world on hershoulders. She enjoyed life throughnumerous trips to Europe to buy forboth their combined collection and forbusiness reasons as well. Barbara alsofound time to return to the art thatshe loved.Some may find it hard to believe, butat some point, even the most perfect dollwill need repair. Through their business,Jim and Barbara were stockpiling quite alot of dolls that needed work, in order tomake them presentable. Many of thetouches the dolls required, Barbarathought beyond her skill, so upon seeingan ad for a course on doll repair, sheimmediately signed up for the class. Shesoon discovered the course was notlimited to doll repair; she would learnhow to make a bisque doll from start tofinish! Barbara learned to sculpt a doll,make a plaster mold and while becomingentirely fascinated with the doll makingprocess — forgot all about the aspect ofdoll repair!Both Barbara and Jim had alwaysloved the Palmer Cox Brownies andtogether, accumulated a fantasticcollection. Just for fun, Barbara decidedto make some dolls inspired by theBrownies, but uniquely BarbaraFernando creations.4