The tale of three vintage toys

On Sunday I was at my parents’ house for the weekend. My grandma had sent me a vintage store on Instagram that was near us and that we had never heard of before called The Rabbit Hole. It looked amazing. So we went.

I love antique stores of all kinds, but this store was unlike anything I have experienced thus far. It was the perfect size: not too overwhelming, but enough variety that I wasn’t bored. And the best part is, its booths centered heavily around vintage trinkets. Many little animal figurines in porcelain, in salt and pepper shaker form, or plush form. 

I love stuffed animals, and even more when they’re vintage. I also love dolls, though the vintage thing only applies to those sometimes. Sometimes they’re creepy. The store had a small booth when you first walked in filled to the brim with trinkets, mostly stuffed animals. I was intrigued by a teddy bear here, but not enough to grab it. I knew it would be best to keep moving forward since this was only the first booth.

And lo and behold… in the next booth over, tucked away on the bottom of a bookshelf, sat a tiny baby doll with a fuzzy blue plush body. I picked it up and immediately knew it had to be mine. Sophie walked in and went, “oh my god, why is that so cute?” That’s my baby. 

We strolled through the next few booths, which were all beautifully curated and well organized. This was when it started to feel like there was some form of fate at play. Allison is currently obsessed with dalmatians (which is awesome because she’s allergic to dogs). This store had dalmatian stuff EVERYWHERE. Allison found a dalmatian Pound Puppy and a wooden shelf for her wall with dogs on it. 

Then, I made my way over to another booth, where I found an off-white fluffy poodle stuffed animal with gorgeous blue bows on its ears. I immediately grabbed it. I also happened to notice a VHS tape of the movie Overboard, which I decided was another act of fate. Allison and I had just been discussing Kurt Russell since she showed me the movie The Thing. As I walked further through the booth, I came across a light pink shelf built into the wall decorated sweetly with various trinkets. In the center, there was a light pink animal of some sort. A sheep? I grabbed it and knew it was very vintage. It was faded, very stiff, and couldn’t stand up on its own. I pondered this one for a moment. Do I need her? Am I just distracted by the satisfying image of a pink animal perfectly centered on a pink shelf? Do I really need to buy three things in one go? Yes. Yes I do. And then she was mine. 

The three of these purchases have been distracting me since purchasing. They all look like they were meant to be together, as their colors are all so perfectly matching each other. The pink lamb (she is a lamb according to some web searches, btw) has blue eyeshadow which matches not only the poodle’s blue hair bows, but the baby’s blue outfit. And they all look like some form of neapolitan ice cream when they’re sat in a group, in a world where the chocolate is light blue. 

I researched each of them online when I got back to my apartment that night, where I found out that the baby doll is from the fifties, the lamb from the sixties, and the poodle from the seventies. The lamb is more specifically named “Lucy Lamb” and she is a Dream Pet from the brand Dakin. She was made in Japan and is stuffed with sawdust, hence why she’s really stiff feeling. She used to have a bow around her neck which is missing now. But that’s okay. The baby doll is by the brand Douglas. The poodle, interestingly, is also by Dakin, and is called a “Pillow Pet”, but obviously a different kind of pillow pet than what Gen Z knows and loves. Anywho…I’m very satisfied with these purchases. And the three of them all together was only $35. That’s a steal for three items that are bringing me such happiness. And spanning three decades! Three decades of stuffed animals that were all meant to be best friends. And now they can be.

I’m feeling very inspired by the color palette of the three of them, which I think I will have to try and emulate in my next painting, whatever that may be. Vintage toys are just so beautiful; at some point I may have to write a post diving into some of my collection of vintage things. I have a 1950s babydoll and crib that I also love so dearly. She also came with a dresser and extra clothes, and I now use the dresser as a jewelry box on my own human-sized dresser. I’m eager to see what lies in store at this vintage store the next time I visit!

love, maddie