Doll show season will soon be upon us and it unsurprisingly is a time of a lot of excitement and nerves for all involved.
One question I have seen fairly frequently is one that I feel may involve some inner conflict for the vendors.
This is whether or not you allow potential buyers to handle the items you are selling.
Regardless of whether you are selling clothes or babies it is still a dilema.
Firsly it is natural for the customer to want to cuddle the baby or feel the quality of the work.
This could be a big deciding factor for them when buying an item.
The cuddle of a baby will tell them several things.
For example how heavy the baby feels, if the baby fits nicely into their arms and if it just feels right for them.
As a collector you can not beat that cuddle that allows the first bit of bonding to happen.
But as a vendor this will make you slightly nervous.
You never know for sure if the person may have anything on their hands, or how carefully they will handle your work.
We can all hope that they will respect it as we deserve and would like to think that everyone in the community would give.
But how do you know that few that dont seem to think ahead, or who are too heavy handed.
Also do you carry baby wipes to the show and request that anyone wishing to hold your item wipe their hands first?
Now I am sure most people you ask this of would totally understand.
But are there that few that may get offended by the request?
So I can completely see how something which would seem as simple as this would be a difficult decision to make.
I would really love to hear all your opinions either as a vendor or a doll show attendee.