March On It's Way Out...

 Can't believe it's almost April already! Each year that passes just seems to fly by. March has had some interesting finds, so here's what came in...

This adorable plush rubber face lamb, I won online and she just needed a bit of a fix. Her neck was wonky, and she had a black mark on her cheek. I really didn't even have to wash her. She just needed a good brushing and satin bow. I'm so glad how she turned out. No markings or tag. So I believe she is a knock off of a Rushton lamb. Her body is made in a similar pattern. Perhaps a Reliable Toy Co. knock off of Mexican brand. She is still lovely in her own way and she has sleeps eyes too!

Next, I bought these two adorable brooches from Etsy. I love the kitty with pink bow and the Flower with blue oval. Both adorable additions to my pin collection. The blue one I believe is made in Japan. I was also able to adopt 2 Goebel dolls 4201 from a fellow collector! She reached out to me, knowing I collected them and we did a trade. I am so pleased with them. I now have a girl in black hair and auburn from the trade. They each are impeccable in condition and perfect with my blonde gal. Both still have their tags!

Then, I found this adorable celluloid rattle head kitty by Krueger. Love his silly face. Just needed a bit of cleaning and I added him to my Etsy shop! A sweet addition to any rattle toy collection for sure! Adorable flat head lamb also a new addition. I love her so very much! I even found this adorable pink plush Easter bunny. The bunny is all original and I also added her to my Etsy shop! Be sure to check it out!

 

This sweet pink Rocking Horse is a great addition to my rattle toy collection. I love the colored beads you can slide. It is interesting to find new to me cute rattles and toys! A few days ago I began making these adorable vintage rubber face duck heads into something... In 2 days time, I made a lovely duck roly poly rattle doll. In three versions. The first one was a blue and pink Rushton fabric rattle doll. The second is a pink with blue fabric Rushton rattle doll and the third is a yellow with blue fabric cute animals rattle doll. All with the cute rubber face duck head and bonnet. Each bonnet has satin bow and little pink daisy on top. Designed with the "Web Deb" by Rushton in mind. Listed in my Etsy shop!!

Each were fun to create and to see them come to a finish as well!! I also found this adorable Accordion rubber squeak! I couldn't help but get him. He is now displayed next to my Miss Pots squeak on my dresser and lovely to look at too! I definitely thought he was quite unique!

Next, I won and restored this adorable xylophone baby battery operated toy! He needed a lot of help. His key was missing one, lots of rust, and his drum stick. I was able to replace his keys and added the drum stick from a donor toy. Now, he looks way better. Does he work? I have not tried as I need 2 "C" batteries. Still he has been on my ISO list for years, so to find one in decent condition, was awesome! Yay! Displayed on my dresser as well.

Last, this adorable ceramic bunny made in Japan. I've had her several times before. But this one is not a coin bank but a smaller version and just a figurine! In amazing condition too! She has been added to my shop! Definitely a busy month for finds and lots of unique ones as well.

Happy hunting guys!

Thank you for stopping by! ~ ggsdolls

Interview with KaylaSunshine!!

  Interview with a Collector - A ggsdolls blog Series

A monthly series on my blog where I feature some of the most amazing collectors, sellers, and content creators that have become really good friends of mine and what they collect and why? Read on to learn more...

    For the month of March, my blog interview is with an awesome squeak toy collector, talented IG seller and 1/3 owner of the FaceBook shop Three Daisies Vintage also known as Kayla M. or kaylasunshine32 on Instagram!

Born and raised in Arizona, Kayla and her family moved to Aurora, Oregon, and own a family run business there called, Three Daisies Vintage. Okay, let me have Kayla tell you all about her collecting world... 

My family and I started collecting vintage all at around the same time in about 2014. I actually started collecting old TV show memorabilia first, before I got into collecting squeak toys. My favorites were "The Monkees" and "The Partridge Family". I started with watching all the episodes of the TV shows, then I went on to collect things like comic books, trading cards, posters, toys, and more.

 

The next kitschy thing I collected during that time was 'Dream Pets' as well. I had quite a few of them, and I still do. It was actually my mom who bought the first squeak toy we found. She started a collection of them first, and then that’s when I decided to start my collection with squeak toys!

It hasn’t always been with vintage, I’ve always been a collector even since I was little. Whenever a certain toy came out that I liked, I wouldn’t sleep until I “collected them all”. So if they came in a different color, a different shape/size, some kind of different variant, I HAD to have them all.

The main thing with me, to keep me interested in something, or to keep me going with ANYTHING, there always has to be more... There always has to be something I haven’t seen yet to keep me excited about what I’m doing or what I’m collecting. So with squeaks, and with vintage in general, it’s not only the thrill of the hunt in finding these toys, it’s knowing there’s still more out there to explore, there’s still more out there to see that you haven’t seen already.

When people ask me questions about squeaks or certain toys, they assume I know it or assume I have it, and that’s not always the case... I’m seeing new squeaks weekly, that I’ve never seen. So that’s what keeps it interesting, knowing there’s always more that you could discover with squeaks, with toys, or with anything vintage. 

I’ve always liked happy things and seeing happy things, and wanting to be around happy things. Not just with people, but my surroundings as well. Being happy is what I’m all about, that’s why my name is Kayla Sunshine on Instagram and my favorite color is yellow. I like sunshine and happiness.

And the moment I saw squeaks and as silly as it sounds, I thought “these are such happy little toys”. And I think they are so different from other toys and novelties because of how happy they are and how different each and everyone are.

My collection has always looked like a collection. Even when I first started collecting, I kept finding squeaks when we would go out vintage shopping, so my collection accumulated quite quickly to be honest. I’ve posted my progression with squeaks for quite awhile on Instagram, sharing new ones I’ve found or discovered.

Back in 2019, my family and I were featured in Flea Market Style magazine, showcasing our home in Arizona right before we moved here to Oregon. It showed my collection, my moms collection, my sisters collection, and several other neat pieces in our family’s collection. Back when they interviewed us for the magazine, they asked what my squeak count was... at the time it was at over 500 squeaks. Now 3, almost 4, years later, I have not counted since, but I’m sure I’m probably getting up to the 700s now for my squeak collection.

I’m always looking for squeaks of course, different ones I don’t have and ones that I already have too. Again, lots of people assume I have them all, but truth is, I don’t! So I’m always scouring the local antique shop, flea markets, online, and even in different states when we travel, for one I don’t have.

Besides squeaks, 3 other major things I collect are; vintage rubber face animals, vintage greeting cards and vintage figurines. Not as big as the squeak collection, but I also have quite big collections of these 3, I mentioned. I haven’t counted, but if I had to guess, I think I have around 150 or so rubber face animals, LOTS of figurine, planters and salt and pepper shakers, and probably close to around a few hundred greeting cards. So while going out shopping, I don’t just keep my eye out for squeaks, but also rubber face animals, greeting cards and figurines that catch my eye as well! And of course while shopping, we’re always looking and buying merchandise for our store as well.

My family is very supportive of my collections, because they collect vintage as well. They weren’t really surprised when I started collecting vintage because I have always collected something, but this is for sure the longest collection I’ve stuck with.

 I get asked this a lot actually. Which is my favorite or which one is the most special to me, and honestly I probably couldn’t pick out just one. I really like my collection as a whole, I like how it looks altogether.

My family and I started selling at antique malls and vintage shops in Arizona starting in about 2015, I believe. We had both and eventually my sister and I worked at one of the malls. I was a cashier and my sister was the manager of the mall. The mall had over 250 dealers and is one of the largest antique malls in Arizona.

The experiences at the malls have all been very different... I’ve learned so much working at an antique mall. What sells good, how the customers are, how they act, and how to work in retail. Since opening our store in 2020, we’ve learned even more being owners of the business and not just that, but owning an antique store in a different state, which is totally different.

I could go on and on about stories of what we’ve seen and experienced working in the vintage industry in the last 9 years, but there are way too many...

I would describe the items as kitschy cute. I’ve always thought of the word 'kitsch' as meaning something is cute or something adorable or lovable. But if you actually look up the word 'kitsch', it actually defines as “art, objects, or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garnish-ness or sentimentally”. Also referred to as “tasteless, showy, gaudy, tacky or retro”. So it’s interesting what the word actually means, compared how you hear it on Instagram when people refer to the things we collect like squeaks or rubber faces. 

I would refer the things we sell at our shop different than kitschy, even though we do sell stuff like I collect here as well, we mainly sell vintage advertising, primitive, chippy, we’ve got a real mixture of vintage things at Three Daisies Vintage. We look all over to be honest. We look at flea markets, estate sales, garage sales, thrift stores, vintage shops, I shop for me personally online as well.

We look for things to sell in the shop that are something we think others will like too. The almost 3 years we’ve been open (we opened on June of 2020), we’ve kinda have gotten to know what our customers like and what they buy. So we also keep that in mind when we shop.

Lots of different things sell right away when they hit the shop. We post pretty much everything new we get in. And we get loads of messages about things when we post them, right away. Every year we’ve been open, we have a huge vintage Christmas show, where we take out our everyday merchandise and fill the shop up with only vintage Christmas, and when I say fill, we FILL it... So vintage holiday merchandise is always very popular. What’s also been pretty popular here is vintage tins. Like old candy tins, marshmallow tins, cracker tins. Not just tins, but anything with good graphic or images on it, sells very good and very fast.

 The most unique or unusual items we’ve came across has probably been for our personal collections at home. We have things like old clown heads from amusement parks, old animatronic store displays, flying elephants, you name it, we have lots of different things at home.

For me personally, my holy grail has been a Rushton octopus for quite awhile. I’ve never been one to spend oodles of money on one toy, so I could never pull the trigger on a toy worth almost $2,000. We are truly bargain hunters when it comes to vintage. Sure it would be nice to have one, but I’d be even more excited to find one for $5 at a flea market, than to buy one for a $1,000 online. So the Rushton octopus is the item that I’d like to land in my lap.

I have definitely noticed the increase in popularity with not only vintage but specifically vintage toys like squeaks and rubber face animals. Squeaks have always been pretty affordable for the most part. There are a few worth a couple hundred dollars each, but for the most part, affordable. But, figurines and rubber face animals more so, I can’t believe how much money these are starting to cost now. Never in a million years will I understand the price or the popularity to make these toys that price. Don’t get me wrong, I love rubber faces and figurines, but I can’t believe how much they are worth now to people. 

I love vintage and buying and reselling, and I’d like to do it for as long as I can as a profession. But I also have a major love for film and television as well. My dream job was to be able to work behind the scenes on a TV or movie set. I’ve always been so fascinated with television and movie history. My favorite decade as far as movies, TV shows, music, fashion, hairstyle, and so much more, is the 1980s. I so wish I could go back in time and take a trip back to the 1980s, specifically 1985, if I had a choice. My favorite 80s films are; "Back to the Future", "The Lost Boys", "St, Elmo's Fire", "Pretty in Pink", to name a few.... 

I also like some TV shows and movies from “more current times”. My two favorites being the TV show “Chuck” starring one of my favorite people, Zachary Levi. And my second favorite is a little show called “Stranger Things”. I especially like “Stranger Things” because it’s based in the 1980s.

So besides vintage toys, I’m all about old television shows, film and music. So go ahead and test me on some 80s songs or music!

 Oh my goodness Kayla!! Love a collector that is into the 80s dear! I grew up as a teen then and I for sure miss those days!! It has been a pleasure getting to know Kayla, her amazing collection and shop with her Mom and Sister! Thank you so very much for sharing your story with us dear!

It has been one full year since I've started this awesome blog interview series! Thank you for an awesome year guys!! Until next month when we'll meet another collector in the good ole' USA!! Until then, Happy Hunting!

Thank you for stopping by! ~ ggsdolls

1960s Doll Factory Videos!

 More vintage doll factory history! Take a look! ~ ggsdolls

A Peek Into Rubber Toy History...

Enjoy! ~ ggsdolls

Secrets of The Rushton Company by KewtQween!!

 WATCH NOW!! 

~ ggsdolls

Lovely Finds!

 So many good things are abound! And I'm am just so blessed to have amazing dear friends like you to stop by and read my little blog. So thank you all so very much. I haven't done a giveaway in ages... So, I hope to do one very soon guys!! Stay tuned!

Now onto the recent finds...

These adorable ceramic Arnart birds, I was thrilled to find and sold on Etsy fast too. These are not the flat ceramic animals we normally see. These bow tie birds came in lovely colors too. So I paired them up and sold them as a set of 2 birds. Next, I was watching a live sale on IG and snagged this adorable vintage tin baby xylophone toy. He needs a lot of TLC for sure. But was so worth it because I have been wanting one for awhile now.

This adorable and weird vintage rubber faced plush below, I am not sure of the company who made them, and I've searched too. Hopefully someone with a tag on theirs may know... I won through an online auction. She needed some help, mostly her neck was not steady and flopped left to right. So I added some vintage cotton batting, and TADA! She was back to gorgeousness. I did not wash her nor did I add any blush or face paint touch ups. She was all naturally beautiful and even her fur was so soft still too! Just a gentle good brushing with a plastic doll brush, and that did the trick! I did add the bow and vtg daisies! Ha!

Just a 360 view of her. She is made similar to Rushton's Lamb, but with sleep eyes and a mold similar to that of Gund. I believe she may be by Bijou or Columbia Toys. Below, Mattel's 'Captain Kangaroo' rag doll or talking doll. He came in a lot I won and have listed him in my shop. I remember watching the kids TV show as a child. Loved watching Captain Kangaroo. He is available in my Etsy shop!

Next, this adorable Fujika flockie above, missing a lot of her flocking. So I cleaned her up and changed out her rubber stopper and painted her white. I wanted to match her hair and coloring to a little flockie ornament I also have from the same company. I then added a vtg pink rose for her to hold. Now, she is ready to be loved. I have already added her to my Etsy shop!!

This sweet 50s squeak toy pup has fur around his body and squeaks nice and loud, was also found in the same lot I won with Captain Kangaroo. He is also listed in my Etsy shop and is available for adoption! I also added this adorable pink and cream Swimmer brand telephone in my Etsy shop. Great for decor or to use as a prop in your collection photos!! Love the coloring too and it has blinged out dials too!! Haha!

Last for today, is this adorable wind up cat and ball with its original box. I just could not resist! She has the same tin mold as my white Yo-Yo bunny! Love this face style for sure. When she is winded up, her tail swings around to move her so flip as she rolls around with the ball. Just too cute!! Definitely a lovely addition to my little collection. I hope to add more goodies to my Etsy shop as I am trying to thin out my hoard!! LOL So be sure to keep an eye out on Etsy and notifications!

Thank you so much for looking! ~ ggsdolls

Mary Rushton VS Bijou and Woolworth!!

 Watch Now!!

Love, ggsdolls

Interview with KitschyFlower!!

 Interview with a Collector - A ggsdolls blog Series

A monthly series on my blog where I feature some of the most amazing collectors, sellers, and content creators that have become really good friends of mine and what they collect and why?

    For the month of February, my blog interview is with a talented artist and Tiktoker who was raised thrifting all his life. The 70s style fashionista, Cole of kitschyflower on Instagram!

     His name is Cole Eugine and he hails from the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. At a tender of 25, he has definitely made a name for himself.  Now on to the interview...

    Where were you originally from Cole? "I am originally from a small town about 13 hours outside Moscow Russia! Now, I live in the suburbs of Atlanta Georgia." 

    What do you do for a living? "I’ve dabbled in many of things over the years but currently, I'm full-time vintage reseller!"

    When did you first encounter a Rushton or rubber faced plushie and do you collect anything else?

"Well for starters, I absolutely adore this question! It all goes back for me originally to the first rubber face plush, I ever saw was in the antique store my parents had while growing up! I think I picked up my first one when I was around 14 or 15! Then around the same time, I found one of my absolute favorite artists of all time the wonderful Mark Ryden!  I’m sure everyone knows he has a huge collection and inspiration of the vintage rubber face plush, so the rest was history!"

 

     How would you describe your relationship with your collection, what is the magical thing about your collection that keeps you wanting more? 

"I’ve always been a fan of all the things cute and kitschy, it definitely runs in my family, I have always collected vintage toys, anything from 60s! Troll dolls to big eyed pose dolls anything that evokes sweetness and joy, I like to pick up! I think it’s awesome anyone can start collecting or recollecting at any point! Many moons ago I ended up selling all of the rubber face plush I owned when I was around 17, and then recently started recollecting in the past two-years."

 

    What is it about the kitsch aesthetic that distinguishes it from other things of the same era? 

"In my opinion certainly the expressions and faces on some of the vintage kitsch, there just certainly isn’t anything like it! With the large round eyes with wispy feathered lashes to the rosy cheeks just the emphasis on cute!!

     Tell me a bit about your collection, how it started, your first item and how it has grown? 

"I’ve always been a collector of sorts like, both of my parents growing up had antique stores, so from an early age I developed a taste for Kitsch! I’ve always been super big  into big eyed Art. The ones done by Margaret Keane. Who happens to be one of my favorites! So I really started collecting anything with big eyes from the 60s! Once I discovered Blythe dolls when I was around 13 that’s when the floodgates surely opened!" 

 

"From there, I really got into vintage fashion dolls from the 60s. I’ve always been super into vintage clothing so being able to see tiny versions on these tiny plastic ladies were always such a cool treat for me! And honestly over the years it just snowballed, where honestly I wanted everything I own to be vintage! I certainly collect a little bit of this and a little bit of that anything from my vintage ceramic mermaid bathroom to my full wardrobe of vintage clothing from the 60s and 70s, to antique wardrobe where they currently reside!  Obviously, vintage toys are my sweet spot of happiness! There’s something so magical about a vintage toy being 50+ years old still being around and being able to be enjoyed for years to come!  I typically only collect vintage toys from the 70s and earlier I would certainly say my favorite sweet spot of vintage toys would be from the 50s through 70s!"

 

    What has been the reaction to your collection from family, friends, etc.?  "It’s been nothing but wonderful. Both my parents really enjoy the fact that I carry on the tradition of loving vintage! And honestly, I’ve even gotten my mom into becoming a Kitsch lover herself!"

    Tell me about your favorite item in your collection and why is it so special to you? "Oh that’s a really hard one, haha, definitely any rubber faced bunnies always has a huge tug on my heartstrings, But I think that who might go on the top spot is my rubber face Gund Devil! Which just so happens to be my logo! He was the first one that got me into collecting them again about two years ago! A close second would be my Kamar doll collection"

    I see you run a shop as well, when did that start and how have your experiences in selling been? Any surprises? 

"I have off and on sold vintage throughout the years since high school and it was certainly a different market for rubber face plush. Throughout the years they’ve definitely grown in popularity which honestly I really love! Granted they might’ve gone up in price a bit, but the fact that there are so many people who really love and enjoy these old guys bring me a lot of happiness! And I’ve certainly come across lots of surprises, especially when fixing old rubber face plush. I’m not gonna lie you never know what you’re going to find inside of one.  As for letting them go it depends, it can definitely be a little bit harder and pull on your heartstrings. When I find a new one at home, but I’m also super happy that I get to share the love of vintage plush with someone else. So it really makes up for it in the end!"

 

    If someone didn't have internet to see your online shop, how would you describe it? "I would definitely say the items I sell are full of sweetness that evoke happiness! No old forgotten toy left behind!"

    How do you source and what are the characteristics that help you to find the items for your shop? "I honestly find them all over! Whether that’s online, estate sales, antique stores and even sometimes thrift stores! At this point, I have made a lot of great friends who have also help keep an eye on vintage items, I might be interested in! And of course I am always looking for anything Kitschy! I mean it is in my name after all, Haha!"

    Describe some of your best selling items in your shop?  "Hands-down are going to be some of my rubber face plush especially the Rushtons and I actually have a pretty decent following of vintage 60s Barbie collectors. Who always seem to grab them as soon as I make them available!"

    Tell me about the most unique and unusual items you have come across?  "Oh my goodness this is quite the loaded question anything from shrunken heads to 'one of a kind' prototype dolls!! My little piece of advice is always be open to learn something new and do some research! That’s why I think I’ve always just been such a fan of being on the hunt for Vintage is it’s truly like a treasure hunt!"

    If any item could just land on your lap or be free of charge what would that be and why? "Oh hands down, I would Love a Rushton Rubber face lamb! I have yet to find one out and about at a price I am down to pay!"

    Have you notice an increase in popularity over vintage rubber faced plush and the kitsch aesthetic? Why do you think that is so? "I’ve certainly seen an influx of popularity towards the rubber face plush, especially the Rushtons in the last few years! Like I had mentioned when I started picking them up here and there in my teens, people really just didn’t know too much about them, and you could really pick them up for 10 bucks randomly! That is a little bit harder nowadays. 

When you do find them out in the wild at least in antique stores and such, they can certainly be marked up! Like in the recent years, I know the artist Melanie Martinez has been a big fan of the Rushton dolls and have even featured them in music videos and such which has definitely skyrocketed their popularity to different levels! I really love seeing the younger generations become fans of vintage, it keeps the legacy alive and it makes me quite happy!" 

    Would you like to add anything else? "I am very very fortunate to have been able to meet so many wonderful people through the community, such as yourself GG! I've been able to make some truly wonderful friends throughout the world over the love of vintage and everything Kitschy cute things and I will always be grateful for that!!"

Thank you so much Cole for sharing your collection with us and your story! We truly enjoyed learning more about you and your love of vintage!

Thank you all for reading my latest interview with Kitschyflower! You can find him on Youtube, Tiktok, Whatnot, and on Etsy! Until next month, "Same time, same 'bat' channel!" LOL

Thank you for stopping by! ~ ggsdolls

February Finds...

 Oh my goodness, I can't believe how fast February has gone, before you know it, it will be March!! Here are some of the finds for February thus far...

I bought this adorable Ado M. lady vase via Japan. She is actually an incense vase, I believe. she has a short type vase area on the right side of her head. She reminds me of the movie "Boxing Helena". I've never watched it myself though. I also received a lovely gift of treats from a dear friend for my birthday too! Alvina in Canada, thank you dear for the yummies!! We are enjoying them!

Below some celluloid dollies I got from KitschandKawaii shop on IG. She had a box full of them and I was able to snag two!! Yay! This adorable Humpty Dumpty ceramic ornament, I found while searching felt ornaments. I love his retro look and style. A sweet cutie to decorate my dresser with!

Next, I preordered the new Ken Elephant roly poly dolls above and Sanrio cases below. They are new colors for the dolls above. I definitely wanted a blue one and also the green one, but it is not in the photo. The Sanrio case are similar to the Rune Naito ones, but in Sanrio characters instead. How cute! I have both sets available in my shop now!!

This adorable baby duck, I won with a Lot of 8 plushies and dolls. I fixed her up first and will work on the rest this week. Now, that she is done, I'm having a hard time letting her go. Oh boy! Haha! Just too cute for words and I'm not sure the brand, perhaps My Toy Co.?

Got another adorable pink telephone above, and it doubles as a coin bank too! Purchased from the amazing shop LepetitCherie on Etsy. Always love vintage finds by Alvina!! Be sure to check out her shop for awesome ceramics too!! Below, I found this lovely vintage Rushton Diaper baby as well, and she needed major cleaning. I didn't do too much and she still has her original stuffing, diaper, and bonnet. She will stay with me for a bit...

Last, some adorable tan girls, the large one above has already been adopted and is on its way to her new owner. She is definitely too cute and so big too! The ones below, I adopted for a fellow collector. The different styles that came from Japan are just too cute not to want them!! LOL

Well, I hope you have a wonderful rest of your February and happy hunting!!

Thank you for looking! ~ ggsdolls