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United by their appreciation for dolls, members of The United Federation of Doll Clubs (UFDC) gathered at the Marriott Hotel in Albany, New York on May 1-4, 2008 for the organization's Region 14 Conference hosted by the local Shaker Doll Club. The theme of the conference was "Let's Play Dolls!" and R. John Wright was chosen to produce the highly-anticipated souvenir doll.
The conference also was notable because for the first time collectors were invited to tour the nearby R. John Wright facility in Bennington, Vermont where approximately 200 attendees were given a personalized tour of the R. John Wright workshop, design studio, and showroom.
Members of the Shaker Doll Club with John & Susan at the R. John Wright entrance.
At the closing banquet of the conference on Saturday evening, R. John Wright, Susan, and several R. John Wright associates joined the gathered attendees and with great anticipation the guests were invited to open their exclusive souvenir dolls. "Abigail" - the first in a new series titled "Victorian Children" - evoked the theme of the conference beautifully. Measuring 11 1/2 inches tall, Abigail is fully jointed and made of the finest all wool felt. Her wig is hand knotted mohair and her features are meticulously hand painted. She is dressed in a layered dress of candlelight-pink silk. A silk sash, custom cotton stockings, and hand cobbled leather slippers complete her charming period outfit. In one hand Abigail holds a handmade bouquet of tiny felt roses and in the other, an invitation to play dolls.
Attendees were also able to place their order for a very special matching companion doll called "Genevieve" - Abigail's best friend. Genevieve is a lovely dark haired girl dressed in a hand-printed silk frock with a fetching wide-brimmed straw hat and comes holding her own miniature Victorian doll. Genevieve will be produced in an extremely small edition of just 150 pieces. (Note: a small number of Genevieve are still available to order while supplies last. Please contact the RJW office at 802-447-7072 for further details.)
If you are not currently a member of UFDC, we would strongly encourage you to consider joining. The beautiful quarterly magazine Doll News - among the finest publications in the industry - is just one of the member benefits which await you. Contact The United Federation of Doll Clubs for further information. For 2008, UFDC will hold its annual convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. We hope to see you there! Details in the Events Section.