Only Hearts Club

I first came across Only Hearts Club dolls at Toy Fair here in Melbourne in 2007.  I was there to suss out the new Barbie doll offerings, but got waylaid by these little cuties.  The distributor had some stock on hand and I was able to buy a couple there and then at cost price.  I chose the two I found most interesting, Briana Joy, a black doll with fabulous curly hair and Lily Rose, a red head with a smattering of cute freckles.

Briana Joy with her dachshund, Longfellow.

Lily Rose and her terrier, Cupcake.

These dolls are a little different to your average fashion doll.  There is a range of books (featuring pictures of the dolls) to tie in with the dolls, and they were mostly sold online or at educational toy shops. The Only Hearts Club sends a message about friendship, doing the right thing and sharing secrets with your best friend, and these wee dolls are perfect for that. They stand at about 9 inches tall and are roughly Skipper sized.  Although they have vinyl heads and hands, the bodies are a soft fabric with inner wire armature, making them posable – and very huggable.  They also have tiny inset glass or plastic eyes, giving their beautifully sculpted faces real character. Each of the initial range of dolls also came with a pet, again spreading a message of love and caring.  There were lots of extra fashions, animals, furniture and playsets available for these girls, and a website for doll owners to visit. It seems now however that these dolls are no longer in production, and the website is no longer accessible.  The dolls and accessories still pop up on online sales and auction sites, some at very inflated prices though – as is often the way of these things.

Heads and hands are vinyl, attached to cloth bodies, which some collector’s find unattractive, especially when not covered by clothing.

Catalogues from the Australian distributor.

I couldn’t resist adding a couple more dolls to my collection when I came across them again at a doll show – Anna Sophia, a brunette, and Hannah Faith, an Asian doll.  Later, I came across Taylor Angelique, a blonde, from a different range called Heart to Heart – instead of a pet, she came with a child-sized necklace.  She was found at a discount toy centre for only $5.99.

Anna Sophia and her cocker spaniel, Bubalina.

Hannah Faith and her persian cat, Lulu.

Heart to Heart Taylor Angelique didn’t have a pet (perhaps she has allergies?), but a child-sized necklace instead.

Later, at the same shop, I found some Only Hearts Club Lil Kids. These are a range of little sisters – and one brother – of the dolls and are roughly Kelly sized.  They have the same soft poseable bodies as their siblings with maximum cute factor.  I managed to find four of these dolls (that also came with soft toy pets) – Chelsea, Melody, and Kristy for the grand sum of $2 each, and Jessica for $5.99, as she came in western gear with a pony.  There are two others in the range, a little black girl called Sydney and a boy named Trevor, which I’d love, but I don’t like my chances of finding them.  As they were so cheap, I’m assuming they were excess stock when the dolls went out of production.

Lil Kids Chelsea, Melody, Jessica and Kristy, and Caramel, Jessica’s palomino Shetland pony. I’d love Sydney and Trevor, shown here on packaging, but don’t like my chances of finding them.

The bodies of these dolls put some collector’s off, especially if in clothing that doesn’t fully cover the limbs, and I get that – I often contemplate buying a fashion with pants for Taylor, instead of her skirt – but I just love the faces of these dolls.  The sculpts are truly beautiful and realistic (some sculpts are used on multiple dolls) and the eyes give them an extra dimension.  Their fashions are stylish and well made, especially the shoes, they’re exceptional.  They are great dolls for dioramas and photograph really well too. They just make me smile, every time I walk past them in the doll room, so I love having these dolls as part of my collection.

Update!

Well, after getting these dolls out to photograph last week, I caved in and decided to buy a new fashion for Taylor.  I bought ‘Shrug and Camouflage Pants Fashion,’ stock number 00271.  The Australian distributor, Leisure Learning had it on sale and it will cover Taylor’s limbs, and match in nicely with what the other girls are wearing. Removing the necklace that Taylor was holding was the biggest challenge with the redress, it was stitched to the sleeves of her jacket and I had to resort to a pair of fine, pointy manicure scissors to free it.  After that, the doll was very easy to undress and redress, much easier than I thought it might be, although the Velcro will stick to the bodies if you’re not careful.  The sleeves of the khaki shrug were a bit tight and I had a struggle to get them over her thumbs, but that was the only issue.  I was pleasantly surprised to find she was wearing cotton underwear and that the jacket I removed had pockets.  The new fashion came with a cute hairbrush too.

I also decided to remove Jessica’s cowgirl outfit – I noticed as I was putting her away that like the other Lil Kids, her jumpsuit formed her body and was under her fashion.  She now matches the others, although all their little jumpsuits are different in some way.  So, now all the girls match, but I’d like a tiny pet and toy for Taylor and Jessica.  I’m sure I’ll come across them somewhere, or maybe even have a go at making them.  Maybe!

Further Update! Maddy has made a brilliant YouTube video on these dolls. View here: https://youtu.be/mGU9ge4dTjw?si=T6UzgeBtRNWI_bLN

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