Diane's Dolls, The Dolly Fairy
Barnsley · South Yorkshire · 27 years
Diane, trading as the Dolly Fairy since 1999, running a doll hospital alongside a shop for antique and vintage dolls. Twenty-five years, a full published price list, and a specialism in elastic-strung vintage dolls: celluloids, Sasha, First Love, Sindy and Action Man. She will not take phone calls.
Getting hold of them
Email is the way in. They do not take cold calls.
If it gets lost
They say the risk is yours
Dolls are sent for repair work to the dolly fairy at your own risk.
Getting it there is on you, and the cover above may not start until it arrives. Send it tracked and insured, whatever it costs.
If it is lost or damaged
They say the risk is yours while it is with them. Return postage is paid by you.
Four of the businesses we hold say anything at all about this. Putting it in writing is unusual.
What they take on
- Full restoration and rebuilds
- Mending and seams
- Cleaning on its own
- Eyes and noses
- Joints
What they won’t do
The part every other directory leaves out. None of this is a criticism. It is how you avoid three wasted weeks.
- Minimum charge of £25 whatever the job
- Doesn't say whether you can bring it in person
Their exact words on what they refuse
Quoted from their own pages, unedited, because a paraphrase of a refusal is the kind of thing you find out was wrong three weeks in.
- “Please note.. the dolly fairy's bespoke "dolly spa" treatment significantly cleans/shines and protects the surface appearance but won't lessen any ink, stains or surface wear”
- “Dolls are sent for repair work to the dolly fairy at your own risk so please ensure she is well packed in a box adequate enough for the size she”
- “sorry I'm not available to take phone calls due to large volumes”
Their published prices
- Doll re-stringfrom £35
- Dolly spa cleanfrom £25
- Blush touch upfrom £45
- Lip touch upfrom £30
- Face re-paintfrom £85
- Body re-paintfrom £75
- Seam repairsfrom £45
- Eye replacementfrom £55
- Hair tidyfrom £30
- Replacement doll wig including fittingfrom £65
- Pedigree doll astrakhan wig repairfrom £45
- Mama device replacementfrom £65
Getting it there
- Takes work by post
- Doesn’t say whether you can bring it in
- Comes back standard
Money
- Minimum charge £25
- Quotes free from photographs, and that is the price
Anything else they say
- One of only two businesses in this dataset that state a liability position at all, and the position is that the risk is yours.
- Also a doll artist doing one-off custom Blythe, BJD, OB11, Reborn and Q Baby dolls.