If you collect hundreds of dolls with your spouse, people might think you’re crazy. But for one couple, the hobby is just a way to bond and get creative.
Dolls aren’t the only thing that Madeline and Malachi Dressel love. The two have been sweethearts since childhood, bonding over many things, including a love of vintage items. For many years, they enjoyed going to secondhand stores together, finding vintage clothes and indulging in all things retro.
But it wasn’t until 2016 when Madeline Dressel stumbled upon a life-sized doll at a thrift store.
She fell in love with it right away and knew she had to buy it.
In fact, she’d had a love of dolls since she was little. But for Malachi Dressel, it was a new experience. As a boy, he’d been encouraged to play with typical “masculine” toys, so he had never known what it was like to play with dolls. But he was surprised to find that he enjoyed them just as much as his wife.
In the three years since then, the Dressels have collected about 200 dolls, 30 of them life-size.
Although they jokingly call them their “children,” they’re quick to add the toys don’t replace human children and are just a fun hobby.
The amount of care they put into the inanimate members of their family, however, is impressive.
Since starting their collection, the Dressels have also begun an Instagram account detailing their daily lives with their dolls. The dolls accompany them on shopping trips and enjoy tea parties.
The social media account started as a lighthearted way to parody their friends who posted similar pictures of their (human) children.
“It’s a tongue-in-cheek stab at the Instagram photos of families doing the very highly, highly-staged portraits,” said Malachi Dressel.
Their Instagram, All My Plastic Children, features everything from baking with the dolls to posing with them during the holidays.
“You know, most people are probably a little bit taken aback about the dolls,” said Madeline Dressel. “I’m not shy about showing people the Instagram, especially when I get that dreaded question, ‘What do you do for fun?’ ‘Oh well, let me show you.’”
But Madeline Dressel says her love of dolls and doll collecting began when she was still a child.
She was always fascinated by them. But for her husband Malachi, it was a love that grew slowly.
They actually grew up together, first meeting each other during their infancy, since their parents were friends. They started collecting dolls two years after becoming romantically involved.
The Dressels say they take a lot of pride in the upkeep and restoration of the dolls, including dressing them in vintage clothing, which they also find in thrift stores.
They also know that some people think their collection is weird, jokingly adding it might have lost them some friends before. But they don’t mind.
“If we’re going to be the creepy doll people, we’re going to own it,” said Madeline Dressel.
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