The Purple Fairy 2

Technical Specs:

Type of Doll: Barbie that was purchased used from a thrift store.
Size: 29 cm/11.5 inches
Hair: Originally blonde but was dyed purple using a mixture of acrylic paint and water.
Eyes: Blue
Lips: Pink
Outfit Description: Wears Barbie Royale outfit. Fairy wings were made out of polymer clay then glued on the outfit.

Date I Finished Customizing This Doll: May 17, 2006
Date Doll's Hair Was Dyed: May 31, 2006
Stolen: Takoma Park Jazz Festival, June 10, 2006

Towards end of the day that I worked the Takoma Park Jazz Festival, two girls between the ages of 9-11,whom I'll call "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" (after the troublemakers in Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat), approached my table. They wanted to buy one of my dolls but they said they didn't have enough money.

I asked them if they had any parents whom they could ask for money. Thing 1 said that she couldn't borrow any more money from her folks because she already owed her father $5 while Thing 2 said that her father was with her but he was broke. Then Thing 2 told Thing 1 that she'll go and ask her father for some money and both girls left my table.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 returned a few minutes later where they whined that they couldn't afford to buy any of my dolls and they weren't able to get any money from Thing 2's father. I told them that my price was $10 and there was nothing else I could do about it. Then Thing 1 and Thing 2 began to beg me to lower the prices of at least one of my dolls to $5 because one of them only had a $5 bill and they talked about how they would have to share this one doll since they were so broke. They kept on begging and pleading with me to lower the price.

Well, anyway, it was towards the end of the day, I had only sold two Barbies and I figured that it wouldn't hurt me to sell one of them at half price since the whole festival was a financial bust for me anyway and I would have one less Barbie that I would worry about hauling home. I picked one of the Barbies that had a one-piece swimsuit with fairy wings glued on since this doll was less fancy than some of the other Barbie fairy dolls and she tended to be overlooked by browsers in general. But when I offered to sell this doll for $5, Thing 1 and Thing 2 suddenly said that they had to use that $5 to buy drinks and snacks and if they bought that doll for $5, that meant they wouldn't afford to buy anything else.

The girls then took off and I was relieved that they were gone. A few minutes later, I decided to pack up around 5 p.m. since my sales were so lackluster that I decided to leave before the festival ended at 7 p.m.

As I started to slowly pack my polymer clay necklaces back in the suitcase, Thing 1 and Thing 2 returned holding giant cups of this red drink that they had just purchased and were drinking (it looked like an Icee or a Slurpee). They began to beg me for a Barbie doll, this time they made this preposterous offer where I would give them a Barbie on credit and they would pay me back later at an unspecified date. I refused since I don't even know those girls and I would have no way of tracking them down so I could collect the money that they owed me. Then they began to whine and plead with me to let them take a Barbie on credit in exchange for helping me work the booth. Since I was in the process of closing down for the day, it was way too late for them to help me. I grew tired of their whining and I told them that if they really wanted a doll from me that badly, they should either beg their parents for money or beg other adults for money.

Well, Thing 1 and Thing 2 promptly went to my friend's booth next to me and began to beg her for money so they could afford to buy one of my Barbies, which I thought was totally outrageous. I couldn't believe they expected my friend, whom they have never met before, to just give them money out of the blue like that, especially since she doesn't even know those girls. My friend refused to give them money so Thing 1 and Thing 2 walked over to my table and began to ask me if I would be at the festival the next day. I told them that it was a one-day festival so I wouldn't be back. Then they asked me if I would be at this festival next year and they kept on begging and pleading that I would be there. I finally said "yes" just so I could get rid of those brats. I even made a promise to them that I would be there next year and they were so happy with my promise that they finally left my table.

I brought 20 dolls to the festival and I sold two of them. I should have brought 18 dolls back with me. However, when I counted up all the Barbies I had left, I discovered that I only had 17 dolls. After I did all sorts of photo comparisons with the remaining dolls, I was able to figure out that this doll got stolen during the festival.

I was at my table for most of the time. There were a few times when I had to leave it because I needed to use the disgusting and smelly port-a-john. I did leave it briefly two times for other reasons--once to buy myself an ice cream cone and the other time was to check out the guy who was playing this sound-making device that he invented called the Honeytone and he had set his stuff up in the area behind my table. I did ask my friend who worked the table next to me to watch my stuff while I was gone but she had to tend to her own customers so it's possible that the theft could've happened during my brief absences.

However, my gut instinct tells me that those two obnoxious girls that I wrote about in my last entry--Thing 1 and Thing 2--were probably behind the theft. First of all, they wouldn't stop begging me to give them a Barbie for less than $5. When I offered them a Barbie wearing a less-fancy outfit for $5, they turned me down saying that they wanted one of the fancier Barbies and I refused to sell to them. (Ironically, the Barbie they had turned down had her hair dyed purple just like the Barbie they eyed that ultimately got stolen.) They kept on eyeing this Barbie that was ultimately stolen and there were times when they picked this doll up and stroked her hair.

I don't have any hard evidence that Thing 1 and Thing 2 were behind the theft but I wouldn't put it past them to have done this. They did have an opportunity to swipe the doll during the time when they were begging me to give them a doll on credit while I was focused on packing my polymer clay necklaces in the suitcase (I was in the process of shutting down my vendor table for the day) so my eyes weren't totally on the dolls.

Unfortunately I have no way of tracking those girls down in an effort to recover either the doll or the money. I don't know their names and I don't know where they live. I have never met them before and it's unlikely I'll ever run into them again since I don't live in Takoma Park. I still kick myself for not taking photos of them (I had my camera with me that day) while they were hitting my friend up for money because I could've at least sent photos around to people I know who live in Takoma Park to see if they recognize those girls.

In short, those girls probably stole that doll and they got away with it, which totally sucks.

Click on any photo below to see a larger version of the same photo open in a new window.

Here is what this doll looked like when I first bought her from the thrift store.	Here is a back view of the doll as she originally looked.	Here is the doll, with her original hair color, after I first finished customizing her.
When the doll initially failed to sell, I decided to dye her hair purple to make her look more interesting to potential buyers. Unfortunately, in the case of this doll, it worked too well since she was stolen.

The Purple Fairy 2

Technical Specs:

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