Ever since she can remember, Marie Osmond has loved and collected dolls. Being the only girl in the family of 9 siblings, Marie Osmond received many dolls at a very young age. One of Marie's fondest childhood memories was sharing her passion for doll collecting with her mother, Olive. As the Osmond Family traveled from country to country on their many world tours, Marie Osmond and Olive collected dolls from all over the world.
In 1991, Marie Osmond parlayed her love of dolls into a business that would become one of the most successful collectible doll brands in the industry. Being that Marie Osmond literally "grew up" on television, she chose to debut her doll line on an electronic retailing giant first. This also gave Marie Osmond the forum to show collectors that she truly was an avid doll collector and not just a celebrity lending her name as a token endorsement. Marie Osmond has expanded the line into retail stores and Internet sales among others.
Along the way, Marie Osmond learned to sculpt. Her first sculpture, a toddler doll she created and named after her mother, "Olive May", set a collectible record, selling over $3,000,000 worth in its first introduction! The hallmark of a Marie Osmond sculpture is the beauty dot placed near the doll's left eye, signifying Marie's own beauty mark. Since then, Marie Osmond has sculpted several dolls, including "Remember Me", "Baby Adora Belle" and her hallmark doll, "Adora Belle".
"When I started my doll company, I had no idea how well it would be received. I guess I just didn't realize how many doll collectors there were out there", admits Marie. "Being a collector myself, I know what other collectors look for in dollsmemorable faces, the finest porcelain, creative concepts, high quality wigs, eyes and costumes, etc.so that's how I make my dolls". Marie Osmond reveals, "I love hearing personal stories from collectors about their dolls, and how a certain doll holds special meaning for them by either sparking a memory or by creating a new one. That's the payoff for me! That's what collecting is all about."
The distributor of Marie Osmond dolls, Charisma Brands, LLC, is a Lake Forest California-based designer, developer, and marketer of award-winning collectible gift, jewelry, and specialty products. Charisma Brands' branded product line includes the Marie Osmond collection of high quality collectible and toy dolls. The Charisma Brands' products can be found in specialty retail stores throughout the United States, and various catalog merchants.
Being the only girl in a family of nine children, it is understandable that Marie Osmond started collecting dolls at a very early age! As the Osmond Family toured throughout the world, Marie Osmond her mother, Olive, would obtain dolls from the various countries to add to her collection. Marie's personal collection is now approaching 700 dolls!
Upon reading an article about Marie, which mentioned her love of dolls, Marie Osmond was approached to create a line of porcelain collector dolls. Marie Osmond loved the idea, but she wasn't interested in simply "endorsing" the dolls. She welcomed full participation in the creation, development and marketing of the doll line.
Marie Osmond began her doll designing career in 1990, and to date has over 500 dolls that have been created for her doll line. Marie's line of dolls is very unique in that she utilizes the talents of several doll artists under the Marie Osmond Fine Porcelain Collector Dolls "umbrella", which keeps the line fresh and innovative. Within the collection are several themes of dolls such as the "Four Seasons" series which are dolls dressed in the four seasons motifs, the "Velveteen Rabbit" series which are porcelain-faced, plush-body bunnies Marie Osmond created after a movie role she played, and the "Miracle Children" series created in dedication to the many children Marie Osmond meets through her work with the Children's Miracle Network (CMN) as its co-founder and co-host. In addition, a portion of the proceeds from the "Miracle Children" dolls is donated to CMN.
In 1991 the Marie Osmond Fine Porcelain Collector Dolls debuted on a TV Shopping channel and in the Disney theme parks. The customers openly accepted the dolls, as 24 out of 26 quickly SOLD OUT! The same month Marie Osmond was featured on the cover of Doll Reader magazine becoming the first human to do so. And to launch her dolls at Disney World, "Jessica", a doll created and named after Marie's own daughter, was treated to a parade in the park and is the only doll to have its handprints in cement at Disney World.
In 1992 even more series were introduced into Marie's line including the introduction of Marie's second daughter's doll, "Rachael" and "Bryanna" being the first in the "Christmas" series.
In 1993, Marie Osmond introduced the very popular "Greeting Card" doll collection, which was the first of its kind anywhere on the market. In November of that year, Marie Osmond and her dolls were featured on the center page of the National Enquirer. Even more sculptors joined with Marie Osmond to create beautiful dolls.
In 1994, Marie Osmond "updated" the "Storybook" concept and introduced adorable 7-inch dolls enclosed in original artwork boxes with original poems synopsized from some of her favorite fairy tales and poems. 1995 will be remembered as an outstanding year for Marie Osmond and her dolls. August marked her 4th anniversary, and to help celebrate, Marie Osmond introduced her first personally sculpted doll, "Olive May", on August 5. 1996 will stand out as one of the most memorable years in Marie's doll collection. In February, Marie Osmond debuted her new retail dolls at Toy Fair in New York City and also signed dolls at FAO Schwartz, and in March Marie Osmond debuted her second personally sculpted doll, "Mother's Day Greeting Card 1996. 1997 proved to be an exciting year for Marie, as the Marie Osmond doll line received it's first Doll's Award of Excellence nominations for "Peek-a-Boo", "Adora Belle" and "Elise". Marie's line was also nominated as "Trendsetter of the Year" in the collectibles industry. Popular dolls this year included "From God's Arms", a doll Marie Osmond created in honor of adoption. New series to enter the collection were "Adora Belle" and "All Grown Up".
In 1998, Marie Osmond reached a milestone in her doll line by selling her 1,000,000th doll on TV. Marie Osmond also created and debuted the "Donny & Marie" dolls in porcelain, to commemorate the re-union of her and her brother, Donny, on the new "Donny & Marie" show. Many exciting new series were introduced in 1999 that continue to be some of the most popular in Marie's line today. Marie's new series, "Tiny Tots", beginning with "Olive May and Friends", debuted in January of 1999 and SOLD OUT. The "Tiny Tots" are miniature versions of some of the most beloved dolls in Marie's line. The "Wizard of Oz" series debuted in February with Baby Dorothy, and following her in May came Baby Tin Man, Baby Scarecrow and Baby Cowardly Lion. The Wizard of Oz dolls were such a hit that they were made into "Tiny Tots" soon after. With the dawning of new series comes the closing of others, and in May of 1999, Marie Osmond announced the retirement of her "Greeting Card" line, with "Mother's Day Greeting Card 1999" being the last of the series. Also in 1999, the "Adora Belle" line was expanded to include reduced-sized vinyl "Belles" going to retail. In February 2000 Marie Osmond the "Tiny Tots" increased in popularity with 15 new Tiny Tots being created.
The year 2001 will marked the 10th Anniversary of Marie's doll line. Marie Osmond continues to be hands on with her business and introduces beautiful new dolls for collectors everywhere.