My Doll Cottage

20/10/2026

Paddington bear day

Paddington Bear Day is a little while off yet, but we couldn’t resist sharing one of our sweetest treasures 🧸❤️ This tiny Paddington, complete with his bright red coat and little suitcase, still wears his classic tag asking, “Please look after this bear. Thank you.” He’s full of charm and storybook nostalgia, and he’s settled happily into his place in the museum.

We’ll celebrate him properly in October, but for now he’s keeping watch over the shelves with that gentle Paddington spirit 🍯🧳

19/10/2026

Doll of the Week | Winston Churchill Cloth Character Doll 🇬🇧

This week’s Doll of the Week is certainly one of the more unusual characters in the My Doll Cottage collection — Winston Churchill.

Dating from approximately the 1930s to early 1940s, this English character doll stands around 28 cm tall and portrays Churchill in wonderfully exaggerated caricature form. His wide blue eyes, arched eyebrows and distinctive expression immediately set him apart from the more traditional dolls in the collection.

He has a stuffed cloth body and a head that appears to have been made from coated cloth or oilcloth over stuffing, rather than the bisque or composition more commonly associated with dolls of the period. He is dressed for the part too, wearing a dark jacket, cream waistcoat and trousers, necktie, felt hat and black shoes.

Unlike many dolls designed primarily as children’s playthings, character dolls depicting well-known public figures could also be produced as novelties, souvenirs and display pieces. This example is unmarked, and despite our research, we have not yet been able to identify his manufacturer.

He has certainly lived a life. His cloth shows age-related wear and has been patched over the years — repairs that have now become part of the object’s own history.

It is dolls like this that make our collection so interesting. They don’t just tell us about the history of doll making; they show how the people, events and popular culture of their time found their way into the toy cupboard.

You can see more photographs and his full museum record here:

Winston Churchill Cloth Character Doll – My Doll Cottage⁠

18/10/2026

✨ Meet Lilly and Henry! 🧸💕

A little doll, a lovable teddy bear and a whole world of adventures waiting to be discovered!

You may have already spotted these two little characters popping up on our TikTok videos during their recent photo sessions. 📸

Well, there’s a reason they’ve been so busy!

I’m currently bringing their first story, Lilly and Henry’s Adventures at Henton Cottage, to life.

Unlike traditional illustrated children’s books, Lilly and Henry’s adventures are being created using real dolls, real locations and carefully staged photography.

And their adventures won’t stop with the books!

I’m also developing a series of Lilly and Henry Adventure Postcards, following the pair as they explore new places, discover local history and make wonderful memories along the way.

It’s a little bit of storytelling, a little bit of history and a whole lot of imagination.

I can’t wait to introduce you properly to these two curious little travellers and share where their adventures take them next! 💌

12/10/2026

Doll of the Week | c.1930s German Papier-Mâché Doll

This week’s Doll of the Week is this wonderfully colourful German doll dating from around the 1930s.

Standing approximately 39 cm tall, she has a papier-mâché face and cloth body, dressed in a striking felt costume. Her painted side-glancing eyes, rosy cheeks and little red lips give her a lovely character, while her original short brown wig still survives.

Her bright felt outfit is one of her most distinctive features, with an orange dress decorated with applied flowers and green detailing, together with a matching bonnet, socks and shoes.

Papier-mâché had been used in European doll making long before the arrival of modern plastics. Made principally from paper fibres combined with a binder and moulded into shape, it provided doll makers with a lightweight and relatively inexpensive alternative to materials such as bisque.

This little doll has no known maker’s mark, so her manufacturer remains unidentified. Her materials, construction, facial painting and clothing, however, all provide valuable clues to her age and origins.

After around 90 years, the survival of both the doll and so much of her colourful felt costume makes her a lovely example of early 20th-century German doll making.

Read her full museum record here:
⁠

10/10/2026

07/10/2026

Coming Soon to My Doll Cottage 📖

Something a little special has arrived…

Fraya’s First Friend is now in print.

What began as a private book written for my daughter, one of Sharon’s many granddaughters has grown into something I’m finally ready to share.

Fraya’s First Friend is the true story of a little girl and her doll. Together they experienced childhood, adventures, difficult days and growing up.

At its heart, it is a story about the relationship children can form with their dolls — something we understand very well at My Doll Cottage. Dolls aren’t always simply toys. They can be friends, comfort, companions and keepers of childhood memories.

The book was originally written as a gift for Fraya, to remind her that the difficult things that happened in her life did not define her, and of the strength and goodness I have always seen in her.

And now, after a lot of work, I can actually hold the finished book in my hands. ❤️

Fraya’s First Friend will be available to purchase through My Doll Cottage and other outlets in the coming weeks.

We’ll share all the details as soon as it’s ready.

05/10/2026

🎶 Artefact of the Week – His Master’s Voice Gramophone Needle Tin

Before playlists, streaming and even vinyl records, listening to your favourite music involved a little more work — including regularly changing the needle!

Dating from around the 1930s, this tiny His Master’s Voice ‘Half Tone’ gramophone needle tinwas produced by The Gramophone Company Ltd in England and originally held approximately 200 steel needles.

The familiar image on the lid is Nipper, the little dog listening intently to a gramophone — an image that became one of the most recognisable trademarks in the history of recorded music.

What makes the tin particularly interesting is that it still contains many of its original needles. The instructions inside advised listeners to use a new needle for each side of a record. Steel needles wore down quickly against shellac records, and replacing them helped protect the record and maintain the sound.

Needles were also available in different grades, including Loud, Medium, Soft and Half Tone, allowing listeners to alter the volume produced by their gramophone.

It’s only a tiny tin — just 40 mm long — but it represents an everyday part of listening to music at home nearly a century ago.

💬 Do you remember His Master’s Voice and the famous Nipper logo?



https://www.mydollcottage.com.au/dolls-and-toys/c-1930s-his-masters-voice-half-tone-gramophone-needle-tin

02/10/2026

Fun Fact Friday | What is a Daruma? 🇯🇵

While travelling in Vietnam, we recently came across this rather impressive Daruma in a Japanese cultural garden in Ha Long.

So, naturally, we had to find out a little more!

Daruma are traditional Japanese figures modelled on Bodhidharma, the Buddhist monk traditionally associated with the beginnings of Zen Buddhism.

Their rounded, weighted shape has an important meaning. When a traditional Daruma is knocked over, it rights itself again — making it a symbol of perseverance, resilience and getting back up when life knocks you down.

You may also have noticed that many Daruma are sold with blank white eyes. Traditionally, one eye is filled in when you set yourself a goal or make a wish. The second eye is filled in when that goal has been achieved.

Although we don’t currently have a Daruma in the My Doll Cottage collection, dolls and figures like these are a wonderful reminder that they can be much more than children’s playthings. Around the world they can represent beliefs, traditions, celebrations, luck and stories passed from one generation to another.

Would you like to know more about Daruma and their history?

Let us know in the comments and we’ll add it to our list of future blog ideas!

30/09/2026

My Doll Cottage is on holidays! 🇻🇳

While travelling in Vietnam recently, we visited a Japanese cultural garden in Ha Long — and of course, even on holidays, we seem to find dolls, toys and traditional characters wherever we go!

From the enormous Daruma to the colourful traditional kite and tiny figures hidden throughout the miniature garden, there was plenty to stop and look at.

One of the things I love about researching dolls and toys is discovering just how differently cultures have used figures, playthings and handmade objects to tell stories, preserve traditions and represent everyday life.

Apparently, once you spend enough time surrounded by dolls and toys, you start spotting them everywhere. 😂

We might be a long way from My Doll Cottage at the moment, but the research never really stops!

27/09/2026

🔥 Artefact of the Week – Dover No. 902 Salesman’s Sample Sad Iron

It looks like a tiny toy iron, but this little piece had a different purpose.

Dating from around 1900–1925, this Dover No. 902 miniature sad iron is believed to have been made as a salesman’s sample — a scaled-down version used to demonstrate the company’s full-sized household irons without having to carry the much heavier real thing.

Our example is particularly lovely because it still has its original matching stand.

The name sad iron has nothing to do with being unhappy! The word “sad” was an old term meaning solid or heavy. Full-sized sad irons were heated on a stove before being used to press clothing, often with several irons being heated in rotation.

Small objects like this are a fascinating part of social and commercial history. They remind us not only of how household work was once done, but also of how everyday products were marketed and sold.

💬 Would you have guessed this was a salesman’s sample rather than a child’s toy?


https://www.mydollcottage.com.au/dolls-and-toys/c-1900-1925-dover-no-902-salesman-sample-sad-iron-with-original-stand