One of a kind Barbies

So when your sister comes to visit you and you live in the cultural center that is the San Francisco Bay Area and you want to show her the best your town has to offer, what do you do? Well, since the cupcakery that sold Chicken and Waffle cupcakes has sadly closed, you do the next best thing and take her to One of a Kind Barbies!

Here's how I learned of One of a Kind Barbies:

That's advertising money just can't buy.  Well, I guess it can, but most of the time for some reason it just doesn't.

I'd passed by this car a zillion times on the way to Elaine, the fabulous tailor (but that's another story), and it was hard to miss it, but I'd never stopped by the actual storefront before.

But then my artsy sister came a-calling and I knew I had to get in there somehow.

Despite the fact that we stopped by on a Wednesday and she's only officially open on Saturdays, the artist, Lavonne Sallee, was working in the back and opened the store for us.

And can I just say, I had no idea you could make Barbie look quite like this.

This place might just be the Barbie Diorama Capital of the World. Barbie got eaten by dinosaurs, blinged beyond belief, turned into a centaur, re-cast as Kathy Bates' character in Misery, and shish-kebobbed.  And if you've ever thought to yourself, "Gee willikers, why won't someone just give Barbie nipples already," well, you're in the right place.

My personal favorite was Barbie's Last Sleepover:

Description: "The lead Barbie is dressed in a white velvet robe as she holds out her arms to welcome her 12 followers. Some are White, some Black, some Asian and some Latin. Each of the 12 is dressed uniquely in a velvet robe with a matching scarf around their hair. Maybe they just took a shower and are eating before the sleep over. I made the bread of Polymer Clay and the glasses of wine out of ear ring findings. They set on benches around a long table covered with an amber velvet cloth." Price: $800.

We must have spent the better part of an hour looking at Barbie in all her various guises.  It was...I'm not sure what it was, but it certainly wasn't the usual.  Because I take my sister only to the best places in town.

I didn't spend the $800 it would take to own Barbie's Last Sleepover for myself, but I got several cards with this image on it.  If you're very nice, maybe I'll send you one for Easter.