this is something ninimomo thought would be a great way to introduce some of our clients to all ooak doll collectors. read on and enjoy!

we're pleased to introduce a former jersey girl

linda frauenholz of kansas city, missouri

when nik asked me if I’d like to be in ninimomo’s client spotlight, I was both flattered & hesitant. me??? who wants to know anything about ME???? well, nik seems to think you might, so if I disappoint you – blame him!

i was born in new jersey (ho hum! are ya falling asleep already?) - i am the youngest of 5 kids and have the scars to prove it! i guess i was a typical young girl – enjoyed eating chocolate, devil dogs & tastykakes (i still do!!!), riding my bike, cuddling my stuffed animals, playing hopscotch & snail (if anyone knows what that is kudos to you!), sleeping over my best friend, tracy’s house, etc… but probably my absolute favorite thing to do was “play barbies”. tracy & i (and sometimes another friend or 2) would decide on a theme & spend literally hours setting it up which included dressing all of our dolls in very creative attire. i was lucky – my 2 older sisters handed down to me their dolls, so between tracy & me, we pretty much had every barbie & friends dolls along with all the clothing & accessories. by the time we were all set up, it was time to pack up & go home! my sister donna would (secretly!) play barbies with me once in a while. barbie’s cars didn’t have any wheels left (after several years of abuse - amazing that her driver’s license never got revoked!) so donna decided to use them as boats & they’d get stranded on a reef (which was really our dining room table set). donna tried to make it seem like she was playing along just for me, but i think she got an even bigger kick out of it than i did.

before we moved to phoenix, arizona in 1978 (i was 13), mom sold all of my barbies, saying that i was too old to be playing with dolls (what a crock!). after i graduated high school, i spent a year down in tucson, arizona “attending” the university of arizona. When i officially dropped out (mom was pissed!!), i moved back home & after applying at too-many-to-count companies, i landed a job with a savings & loan. i stayed in the financing industry for about 20 years, loving every minute of it – NOT!!! during that time, thru a mutual friend I met & married my best friend, dave in 1993. we don’t have any kids unless you call animals “kids”. we currently have 2 cats (twiggy, 19 & rex, 15) & 2 dogs (sunny, almost 14 & ginger, almost 13). they may be seniors, but they’re still my babies & they know it. they’ve moved with us from phoenix, to des moines, iowa, back to phoenix (hated it!) and in 2005 to the kansas city area. my love of animals led me to seek out a career in veterinary assistance after being (thankfully!!) released from my last financing job in jan. 2008. over the years, i’ve been known to pick up a stray dog or 2 which drives dave crazy! we have a small lake behind our house & canada geese visit regularly (much to my neighbors’ dismay). “george & gracie” as I like to call one couple come right up to me looking for food – they’d even set up a nest & had their 5 kids right behind our house this past spring. i also enjoy watching and identifying the different kinds of birds in the area.

i started collecting boxed & de-boxed barbie dolls (plus others – dawns, princess diana, james bond, indiana jones, star wars, rockettes, pop-culture) after i got married. i enjoy re-dressing them & setting up themes - like tracy & i used to do all those years ago (which seems like only yesterday) including the 4 seasons - autumn (my favorite time of year) & the winter holidays which i especially like to do. i have about 300 dolls mostly from ebay, antique & thrift shops, yard sales, and stores (mainly wal-mart – my favorite place to shop – “there goes another $100!” as dave would say). dave totally supports my hobby (spiritually but more importantly…financially!). he’s even attended the 2009 NBDCC in washington, d.c. he loved it so much (thanks mainly to nik & marie – our fab table hosts!) that he’s coming with me to cleveland in 2010. we can’t wait to see ninimomo’s convention doll – it’s gonna ROCK!! this will be my 3rd convention – the first being in my “home town” of k.c. in 2008, where i was so fortunate to meet nik & marie. they are truly wonderful & oh-so talented people and dave & i are honored to call them our friends. i have 6 ninimomo creations, all acquired this year: miss belize 2008 (my “ray of sunshine”!) , miss faroes 2007, miss gotland 2008 and the 3 original rockettes ( dave & i won in d.c. - we tied in a n.y.c. trivia contest). i hope to add more in the future. i sometimes am a judge for their pageants – it’s a real challenge picking “winners” – they’re all so incredible! i’ve dabbled in making some barbie outfits in the past including some mod-era repros - not the greatest workmanship, but i try. ninimomo doesn’t have to worry about me as being competition, that’s for sure!

collecting has opened up my world – I’ve met so many great people including my “pen pal” johanna in the netherlands and look forward to meeting many more collectors. it’s nice to be able to share a common interest with others and know that I’m not alone in my “barbie world”.