Vintage Doll Collecting: Tim Wilson Dolls

Tim Wilson was the first in the USA to place Zapf dolls, Lissi Dolls, Engel Puppen, Stolli, and Steiff Dolls on the American Shopping Channels to help build the awareness of the German quality. The Tim Wilson Family of Fine Dolls is recognized for innovation, quality, delivery, and value for over 18 years.
The partnership between German makers of Zapf and Steiff and Tim Wilson dissolved when the German makers each decided to merchandise in the USA with their own corporate distribution.
Tim Wilson introduced the Lissi dolls on TV and to the US retailers in the 1980’s. Lissi Batz doll makers were the smallest of the German doll makers in the area of Coburg, West Germany. Arno, Lissi, their son Manfred Batz, Tim and Susan Wilson came to an agreement to start Lissi Dolls USA. This was a new company in the US with Tim Wilson as President. As the result of this success, Tim Wilson was named “Vendor of The Year” by “Home Shopping Network.”
Tim Wilson approached the largest seller of German made dolls in the US, the Pleasant Company, in 1994 to solicit their business to change to Asian production. They agreed and as a result the quality of Asian production was up to their high standards.
The Tim Wilson Family of Fine Dolls and Cute As a Button Babies Company was established in 1997 under the umbrella of KACHA INTERNATIONAL, LTD. Tim searched for leading American artists and designers to produce the winning sculpt. The first artist developed molds from Tim Wilson’s children, Kara and Chad, who were 11 months apart in age and often referred to by friends and family as “Cute as a Button Babies.” Thus, the name of the line was trademarked, CUTEASABUTTONBABIES. The first of the many face molds sere sculpted by Donna Vernal, who is a long time designer for many leading companies.
CUTEASABUTTONBABIES (trademark) was immediately nominated for Doll of The Year in 1998, and the packaging for the products was 100% successful having the total sellout each year by Thanksgiving during the prime Christmas selling season. This discovery was definitely a successful find.
He found award winning artists to design the newest “Designer Reproduction Series,” and personally sculpted three play doll faces for the CUTEASABUTTONBABIES (trademark) series. The theory behind the DRS series is to offer award winning dolls in the vinyl medium. The molds are winners, however, consumers have not been able to obtain or afford the dolls produced in very small limited edition pieces to less than 50 pieces and some dolls are editions of only one. Now, due the DRS series, they can be offered at retails less than $100. Read on at: http://smalldogs2.com/VintageDollCollecting