inkya Celebrates: Otanjyoubi Omedetou Gozaimasu, Barbie-chan!

Japan (SANEPR.com) March 10, 2009 -- March 10, 2009. Barbara Millicent Rogers was born in 1959, in San Francisco, California, as a teen-ager. In fact, her boyfriend, Kenneth Carlson, has been dating her since 1961, when she was two. She has aged surprisingly well and is set to celebrate her fiftieth birthday this month with events worldwide.
“At Rinkya,” says Rinkya Vice President and blog master Laurel Stavros, “we just can’t miss the enduring popularity of Barbie. Japanese Barbies, and Barbie accessories have always been some of our best sellers.
“To celebrate Barbie’s fiftieth, I’ll be doing a special collector’s corner with Igeana G, who has an amazing collection of Barbie’s and a lot of knowledge about them to share with the Rinkya audience.”
“Mattel,” says Igeana, “( through the Kokusai Boeki Kaisha Co) started manufacturing Barbie in Japan in 1959, but it wasn't until 1961/62 that the Kokusai Boeki Kaisha company produced any dolls or outfits that were sold to the Japanese market. The regular Barbie was not well received in Japan so other dolls were introduced--the Japanese Midge, had slightly oriental features and was well liked. The Iki Iki Eli , bend leg Japanese side part American girl, side part bubble cut, Japanese Francie and Japanese Skipper were more dolls that were produced just for the Japanese Market. While the regular clothes made in Japan were sent to the US and sold in Japan, too, it is the outfits and dolls that were made ONLY for the Japanese market that attract so many collectors today. Japanese exclusive outfits are hunted like diamonds and we are very excited when one is found. Variations in fabrics and completely new outfits turn up all the time on Yahoo!Japan. The jewels of any advanced vintage collection is the Japanese Exclusives. Using Rinkya I scour the Barbie sites every day, hoping to find a diamond in the pile of clothes a seller has for sale.”
“Through A Rinkya Blog, ” continues Laurel, “I am constantly trying to pull together the best and most interesting information I can find on Japanese culture and collecting Japanese products. The Collector’s Corner puts the Rinkya audience in contact with premier collectors like Igeana G, who have agreed to share their knowledge. I hope to be able to continue to expand this part of the blog, because I think that presenting the cream of the collectors to our audience is the best way to help them build their collections knowledgeably.”

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