Turning passion into profit, isn’t always an easy endeavor.
As Chris Carpenter collected 500 dolls over the past eight years, it quickly became a passion.
Opening a store to sell collectable dolls and gifts to the public is a dream that has grown with every new doll she purchased.
“Just something I’ve always wanted to do,” she said. “I’m a big collector, an avid collector of dolls. It’s been a dream.”
She is unable to explain why she started to collect dolls in the first place.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I just can’t tell you,” she said.
Her very first doll was a Virginia Turner doll, which she carries in the store. Turner is a doll maker who started creating porcelain dolls more than 30 years ago in her basement in Indiana.
“We were walking around in a store one day and I had seen them, and it was something I wanted to do,” she explained.
Since then, Carpenter’s personal collection has grown, and the joy she gets from the dolls can be seen on her face as she talks about her collection.
The most expensive dolls she owns were gifts from her husband, Fred. The three 42-inch “bride dolls” cost $2,000 each.
“They were made just for me,” she explained.
The doors to Unique Dolls and Collectables in Concord opened on Black Friday, but Carpenter has only made a couple sales to neighbors and family. The dolls range in price – up to $880 – and size, with some measuring as tall as 42 inches.
The store carries a large variety of dolls ranging from porcelain dolls to Barbie Dolls to Wizard of Oz collectables. The store also carries Madame Alexander Dolls, Lee Melton, Adora Dolls, Fayzah Spanos and Rustie Dolls.
The store hasn’t seen many visitors yet.
“No one knows we’re here I guess,” she said.
Carpenter has two children, a 26-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son, but it’s probably her 4-year-old granddaughter who enjoys the dolls the most.
“She loves them,” she said.
Collectable dolls make great Christmas gifts because they can appreciate in value, according to Carpenter. Unique Dolls and Collectables are located at 483 Concord Parkway N. in Concord. The hours are Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information or to special order call 704-721-6329.
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