The Doll Podcast

Stuart Holbrook, president of Theriault’s auction house, joins  host Louisa Maxwell to  discuss  the legacy of Rosalie Whyel,  the founder of 'The Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art' in Seattle Washington. 
 
 Rosalie Whyel wanted dolls to teach and inspire new generations and she shared that dream with thousand of visitors for 25 years. Stuart Holbrook knew Rosalie very well and tells the story of how she created a...

Madame Alexander has been making dolls for over 100 years - the key to her success was innovation and quality.  

Curator  Sara Woodbury joins host Louisa Maxwell for Part  2 of the podcast  discussing the The Barry Art Museum's exhibition Fashioning Innovation Madame Alexander at 100  celebrating the centenary of The Madame Alexander Doll company and its founder Beatrice Alexander. 
In 1955 Beatrice Alexander introduced he...

The  Madame Alexander  doll company  has been making dolls for over 100 years - and the key to their success is innovation and quality. 

Museum Curator Sara Woodbury joins host Louisa Maxwell to discuss  a new exhibition at The Barry Art Museum entitled  Fashioning Innovation, Madame Alexander at 100 . The exhibition celebrates the centenary of The Madame Alexander  doll company and its founder Beatrice Alexander. 

The Bar...

Madame Alexander had a dream to educate through dolls and 100 years later, Madame’s legacy is still inspiring new generations of children.   Designer and author Bruce A. de Armond joins host Louisa Maxwell to discuss the life and work of Beatrice Alexander. 
 
 Madame was born Bertha (Beatrice) Alexander, in New York’s lower East side where her father had a doll shop and hospital. Beatrice trained and worked as a bookkeeper...

Doll Podcast host Louisa Maxwell charts the journey of Barbie from pop culture icon to movie star.

Barbie is the girl that has it all: a hit movie, a dream house and then there is Ken  - Barbie’s favourite accessory. In her over 60 years she has been immortalised by Andy Warhol  and dressed by a rota of top fashion designers including: Oscar de la Renta, Bob Mackie, Yves Saint Laurent, Escada, Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang, Vivi...

The Doll Podcast is back in November 2023 for a new season.  Fashion dolls have been in the news this year as Barbie is not only queen of the doll aisle but a Hollywood star too. Bradley Justice Yarbrough joins host Louisa Maxwell to review the effect that 'Barbie, the Movie' has had on doll collectors and collecting.
 
 Madame Alexander is celebrating 100 years of doll making and author and designer Bruce DeArmon...

Stuart Holbrook president of Theriault’s auction house joins host Louisa Maxwell to  celebrate the legacy of Rosalie Whyel,  founder of The Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art in Seattle Washington.

Rosalie Whyel wanted dolls to teach and inspire new generations and she shared that dream with thousand of visitors for 25 years. Stuart Holbrook knew Rosalie very well and tells the story of how she created a collection to insp...

The Barry Art Museum at Old Dominion University in Virginia USA,  features three major collections: Fine Art Paintings, Glass, Historic Dolls and Automata.  The Barry Museum’s doll collection spans three centuries of fashion and culture, the dolls are exhibited alongside great works of art challenging the viewer to see the doll in terms of art and the society that created them. 

The Barry Art  Museum's guest Cura...

World Doll Day is June 10, 2023 this year and  in an episode from our archive we share the history of World Doll Day and how you can celebrate this year.

Michael Canadas of the Grovian Doll Museum joins host Louisa Maxwell to discuss the origins of World Doll Day and how it has grown into a worldwide celebration of dolls

This year we will celebrate World Doll Day on June 11, 2022. World Doll Day is not just for doll enthusi...

Valerie Fogel joins host Louisa Maxwell to explore the history of  Maison Huret,  famous for creating luxury French fashion dolls with the finest fashions and accessories. In 1844 Mademoiselle Calixté Huret was inspired to create a doll with an idealised view of a young lady with an elaborate lifestyle. Calixté worked with her sister Leopoldine creating a family business that celebrated innovation, in the art of the doll.

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On our last episode Bradley Justice Yarbrough shared the story of Barbie and her career selling the dream lifestyle on film and TV. 

This time in an episode from our archive Bradley relates the story of the team of talented artists, fashion designers and engineers it took to bring Ruth Handler’s vision of Barbie doll into being.

In the 1950’s toymaker Ruth Handler watched her daughter playing with paper dolls and was inspi...

Bradley Justice Yarbrough author and expert on all things Barbie doll joins host Louisa Maxwell to explore how Barbie captivated generations of children through the medium of television advertising.

Bradley has amassed an impressive archive of first hand interviews and accounts of the story behind the creation of this pop culture legend. He traces the trends Barbie has followed in her over sixty years and how she reflects our fashio...

Award winning artist and illustrator Mel Odom joins host Louisa Maxwell on The Doll Podcast.

Mel Odom’s work  has graced magazine covers for: Time, Omni, The New York Times , Rolling Stone, Blue Boy and Play Boy. He has created artwork for numerous best selling books and album  covers for CBS records. 

Mel’s art deco influenced portraits are reminiscent of dramatically lit Hollywood film stills, his love of film and beauty ...

Tamara Casey is the creative force behind Designs by Jude a design house offering over nine hundred sewing patterns for dolls.  Tamara joins fellow sewing enthusiast Louisa Maxwell to share her journey as a designer.  Sewing new outfits  is one of the most creative parts of doll collecting and Tamara’s pattern collection offers designs for over sixty types of dolls. Her Youtube channel has over 4,000 subscribers where she gives ste...

Stuart Holbrook president of Theriault’s auction house joins host Louisa Maxwell in Vienna, Austria, to discuss his travels in 2022 searching for unique and precious dolls.

In part two Stuart and Louisa discuss how the definition of a doll is changing and the art of the Japanese doll. They discuss how the pandemic has effected  auctions  and that even more people are collecting dolls than before. 

If you missed part 1 you c...

Stuart Holbrook president of Theriault’s auction house joins host Louisa Maxwell in Vienna, Austria, to discuss his travels in 2022 searching for unique and precious dolls.

In Australia Stuart met collectors of antique dolls, that originally voyaged there in the 19th century, and jet setting Barbie rarities. Determined Australian collectors have traveled far and wide to get their dolls and each doll has a fascinating story and journ...

Australian artist, Jozef Szekeres joins host Louisa Maxwell on The Doll Podcast.

As a senior animator at Walt Disney, Jozef Szekeres brought a cast of imaginary characters to life. He is also the author of best selling comic books and graphic novels. 

Inspired by his love of  sculpture and fashion and he created his fashion doll line GlamourOZ Dolls and received the accolade of  American DOLLS Awards of Excellence Industry’s Choice w...

Jonathan Greene, who lectures on Käthe Kruse dolls, and hosts the Käthe Kruse Gathering joins host Louisa Maxwell.
Käthe Kruse has been a  name synonymous with dolls for over 100 years. Her journey as a doll artist started in 1905 when her daughter wished for a cuddly doll, so Käthe created a doll with the weight and softness of a baby.  Jonathan Greene tells us the story of this talented artist and entrepreneur who created an ...

Michael Canadas of the Grovian Doll Museum joins host Louisa Maxwell to discuss the origins of World Doll Day and how it has grown into a worldwide celebration of dolls

This year we will celebrate World Doll Day on June 11, 2022. World Doll Day is not just for doll enthusiasts but a day for everyone to give or share the special joy a doll can bring.

World Doll Day was established in 1986 by Mildred Seeley the renowned doll expert, au...