Holly Hobbie Dolls

A rag doll version of Holly Hobbie with a
 pom pomchic tucked inside her pocket.

 

        Holly Hobbie (born Denise Holly Ulinskas, 1944) is an American writer, watercolorist and illustrator. It is also the name of a fictional character that she created. In the late 1960s, at the encouragement of her brother-in-law, she sold distinctive artwork of a cat-loving, rag dress-wearing little girl in a giant bonnet to American Greetings in Cleveland, Ohio. The artwork, based on her own children and with rustic New England style of a bygone era, became popular, and her originally nameless character (identified earlier as "blue girl") became known as Holly Hobbie. As a contract artist, Hobbie worked with the Humorous Planning department at American Greetings under art director Rex Connors, who was responsible for launching "blue girl" as the most identifiable of the Hobbie characters. 

Old Children's Books Based Upon Holly Hobbie:

• Days of Holly Hobbie
• A Treasury of Holly Hobbie
• Holly Hobbie's Around the House Book
• Holly Hobbie's Through the Year Book

      Also working in Humorous Planning at that time (1973, 1974) was Bob Childers, a veteran humorous concept artist and designer. Childers insisted that there should be a doll of the character. Since no one seemed to listen, Childers went home and, on his own time, hand-stitched the first prototype and presented it to Connors, who took the cloth doll to Tom Wilson, Creative Vice President. American Greetings approached Knickerbocker Toy Company concerning the Holly Hobbie license. In 1974, Knickerbocker Toys licensed the Holly Hobbie character for a line of rag dolls, launched in 1975. These were a popular toy for young American girls for several years. Additional products were licensed and produced, including fabrics, furniture, ceramics, games, and stationery. Holly Hobbie products were later marketed by American Greetings in association with Carlton Cards.

• Mom's Holly Hobbie Collection
• Holly Hobbie Original Coloring Pages

      Beginning in 1989 and into the 1990s, Holly Hobbie dolls were produced by Tomy. Knickerbocker Toys also began producing dolls, but these were vinyl doll heads with soft bodies, unlike the original cloth dolls (rag dolls).

• vintage Holly Hobbie vinyl
• fabric Holly Hobbie - thrifty estate purchases

      In 2006, a redesigned Holly Hobbie was launched as part of a spin-off product line called "Holly Hobbie and Friends" based on the TV series and Academy award-winning books created by author and illustrator Linda Hayward and published by American Greetings. She was featured in TV series and movies Holly Hobbie and Friends: Surprise Party and Holly Hobbie and Friends: Christmas Wishes which were broadcast on Nick Jr. and are available on DVD. The traditional line still exists, with the back story that the "original" Holly is the great-grandmother of the "new" Holly.

Holly Hobbie and Friends - A series of DVDs starring the Hollie Hobbie character.

• Holly Hobbie and Friends: Surprise Party 7 March 2006
• Holly Hobbie and Friends: Christmas Wishes 24 October 2006
• Holly Hobbie and Friends: Secret Adventures 6 March 2007
• Holly Hobbie and Friends: Best Friends Forever 18 September 2007
• Holly Hobbie and Friends: Marvelous Makeover 1 January 2008
• Holly Hobbie and Friends: Fabulous Fashion Show 12 August 2008
• Holly Hobbie and Friends: Hey Girls! Fun Pack 12 August 2008

Above are two Holly dolls on the left, a Carrie in the middle and two Amy
dolls on the right TCFC. I'm amazed that one of these still has shoes,
given the amount of play these tiny dolls experience.

        Coinciding, Mattel released an updated, brand new Holly Hobbie doll line, which included Holly (blue eyes and blonde hair), Amy (green eyes and red hair), and Carrie (brown eyes and black hair). The dolls feature an all new face sculpt, a new body style, and flat feet. There is also a series of smaller Holly, Amy, and Carrie figures; each of these figures arrives with a farm animal. Holly has a cocker spaniel named Doodles, Amy has a pig named Cheddar, and Carrie has a cat named Bonnet. Separate doll outfits were available for sale, and each outfit could be customized. 

Attributes of these newer tiny dolls:

• bodies are made of vinyl
• 5 points of articulation
• size 4 3/4"
  
• fashions - contemporary
  
• hair is rooted
  
• face molds include decal eyes, pointed noses and grinning lips
  

Porcelain dolls are still available at auctions, made by the Ashton-Drake company.

• Autumn Holly Hobbie in porcelain

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