Poplar Lawn's own Paula Mims ...

Noted Doll Maker & Restoration Specialist to Give Free Seminar June 20 on The Care & Repair of Antique Dolls

Important Auction of Over 100 Antique Dolls & Accessories to Follow at Motley’s Auction Gallery in Richmond, VA the Next Day

RICHMOND, VA — Renowned doll restoration specialist Paula Mims will conduct a free seminar entitled The Care & Repair of Antique Dolls on Wednesday, June 20 at 6 p.m. at Motley’s Auction Gallery at 4402 W. Broad Street, Richmond, VA. Her presentation will coincide with the sale of the lifetime collection of more than 100 antique dolls and accessories of the late Bertha Lee Freeman, which will be offered the following day, on June 21, starting at 3 p.m. The seminar will be followed by a question and answer period, and refreshments will be served.

Mims will discuss how to increase the value of a collectible, vintage or antique doll, as well as how to store and handle dolls properly and how to repair dolls damaged by smoke, time, play or improper storage. Some of the topics she will touch on include: sewing limbs back on, cloth body repair vs. attaching new bodies, resetting or replacing eyes, and repainting faces.

Mims operates The Doll Hospital At the Globe in Old Towne Petersburg, where she repairs a wide variety of dolls, from composition dolls, to plastic, vinyl, porcelain and rag dolls. She has been an avid doll collector since 1988 and has been doing repair work since 1990. Mims also makes her own hand-crafted, life-like artist dolls from oven-baked clay. She is often commissioned to create these dolls as gifts, in either a realistic, life-like style or in a more comical, caricature style. Mims has taken doll repair courses in Pigeon Forge, TN and sculpting classes in northern VA. Articles showcasing Mims’ unique talents have been featured in Doll Crafters, Richmond Magazine, the Federal Reserve’s Marketwise magazine, and the Petersburg Progress-Index, among others.

The Freeman doll collection will be joined by other fine furniture, sterling silver, signed artwork, early samplers, more than 50 Oriental rugs, over 40 lots of estate jewelry and more than 1,000 antique coins, among other items at the June 21^st sale. All items will be available for preview Saturday, June 17, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Monday, June 19, from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m., Tuesday, June 20, 10 a.m. – 7 p. m. and Wednesday, June 21, from 10 a.m. through the end of the sale. The sale will begin at Motley’s Gallery at 3 p.m. and will continue into the evening. Motley’s offers absentee, phone and pre-auction on-line bidding. All items can be viewed via Motleys’ website. For more information on the doll seminar or the sale, contact Motley’s at (804) 355-2100 or visit www.motleys.com