Doll magazines have all but disappeared in 2022. Yes, you can find one or two on the market, but half the time, they’re mostly just press releases and advertisements. It’s rare to find a magazine with actual articles. Truthfully, I had given up on finding a magazine that was worth my subscription money. That is, until I was sponsored to join the United Federation of Doll Clubs.

I’ve spoken about the United Federation of Doll Clubs, also known as the UFDC, before. What is the UFDC, you ask? In short, it’s a worldwide group of doll collectors. Many of the members are part of doll clubs, but there are also members, like myself, who are members at large, with no club affiliation. I joined during the pandemic, when clubs and region leaders were moving their meetings to Zoom. How it will be for members at large once meetings go back to being in person is yet to be seen, but their exclusive doll journal DOLL NEWS is well worth the price of yearly dues!

DOLL NEWS is a full color doll magazine that actually contains articles! Not just ads and slightly doctored press releases. It’s second only to Barbie Bazaar with well researched, interesting articles. Now, I do think they need to add more modern dolls to what they cover. Admittedly, there have been issues in the past that I mostly skimmed, because the dolls were way outside my interests. But, that still doesn’t mean it’s not a fantastic magazine.

Read All About It

Why the preamble? Well, because, ladies and gents, I’m published in this issue! Not once, but twice! Originally, I was supposed to have an article in the last issue, but that got pushed. Having also submitted an article for this issues theme (boy dolls), I ended up with two articles. The first article is a history of the Pullip themed one day fan convention PUDDLE, the Pullip and Dal Doll Lovers Event.

PUDDLE Style: 13 Years and Counting

I so wish people outside of the UFDC could read this piece. I used my experience going to the show, the show’s website, as well as first hand knowledge from the show’s original brainchild, Jane Easterly, to put together a retrospective of the past 13 years of PUDDLE. It’s a long read, but a good one, if I do say so myself. (In my defense, I 100% expected the editors to ask it to be paired down a bit!)

For me, I enjoyed the challenge of putting a more ‘scholarly’ tone to my writing. It’s definitely not written in the same voice my blog posts are. I have written PUDDLE coverage before, but generally it’s the same old thing. It was refreshing to think outside the box a bit for this article. I hope people enjoy it.

Skipper’s Many Loves

The Winter editions theme of male dolls inspired my second article. My passion for Skipper inspired me to shed some light on the past boy friends of Skipper Roberts. After all, she’s gotten a lot more action than Barbie between Ricky, Scott and Kevin. This was a great opportunity to not only talk about the classic boy next door Ricky, but also the more modern 90’s doll Kevin. I tried my best to tread carefully when it came to Scott, who you may know from past posts is not my favorite of Skipper’s male companions. He’s cool, hip and totally of his time, but I can’t say I see what Skipper saw in this sporty sidekick.

The Doll News Winter 2022 article was also a chance for me to use a voice more similar to what I usually write in. Admittedly, I could have done better on the photos, but cut me some slack- I had a newborn I was learning to take care of!

A Name In Print Lasts Forever

I’m a bit nervous, as my interests and styles don’t always align with the majority of what people seem to collect in the UFDC, from what I can tell, but am happy to have been able to talk about two of my favorite things! I have ideas for future articles. I would love to talk about Monster High and Ever After High, especially with the reboot on the way this year and maybe do a spotlight on some other doll brands that I think deserve more attention than they get. We’ll see what Lena (my 4 month old) will let me accomplish!

While I can’t share the articles here due to the submission guidelines, I hope those who receive DOLL NEWS Winter 2022 issue enjoy the articles. My goal was to entertain and inspire, while growing in my craft. Because I genuinely enjoy writing and truly hope that this isn’t the last time my name appears in print.

Do you get DOLL NEWS? What do you think of the magazine? Did you get a chance to read the articles I wrote? Share your thoughts in the comment area!

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