Hi! We are the North Carolina Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures! We're a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation, education, conservation, collecting and appreciation of dolls, toys and miniatures.
Our story:
We were inspired to start our museum in 2012. Amy Dawn Morris was a passionate collector who loved dolls (especially Bob Mackie Barbies). She passed away just before her 22nd birthday. The museum was started as a tribute to her memory by her mother and sister.
Hours & location:
Our museum is open every week Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm at 440 South Salisbury Ave, Spencer, NC 28159.
We moved to this new, larger "forever home" in 2024. It's gorgeous!
Contact us:
We are so glad you stopped by and can connect with us here on YouTube! Get to know our museum and feel free to contact us anytime at info@ncmdtm.org or leave us a comment on any of our videos.
NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
Today is Boy Scouts Day or National Scouting Day! For many of us, being part of a Scout program was a big part of our youth or young adulthood. Have you seen the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts collection at the museum?
2 days ago | [YT] | 3
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NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
Shop for your valentine! (And yes, you can be your own valentine...) Our Super Saturday Sales at First Community Center of Spencer NC will take place on Saturday, February 14!
3 days ago | [YT] | 4
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NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
Join us for Afternoon Tea inside our doll, toy & miniature museum monthly Feb-May 2026.
A variety of tea and goodies will be provided by your hostess Marie Clanton along with door prizes, friendship, and entertainment, including British TV.
CALL AHEAD to reserve your spot as seating is limited: (704) 762-9359
Thursday, February 12, 2026
Thursday, March 12, 2026
Thursday, April 9, 2026
Thursday, May 14, 2026
From 2 pm to 4 pm
At the NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
440 South Salisbury Ave, Spencer, NC 28159
If you need an excuse to be a little fancy and enjoy companionship and fun (and who doesn’t), you’ll love our Afternoon Tea series. Enjoy a tea selection and treats while you meet other members of the community inside our cozy doll, toy, and miniature museum. Indulge in a little fun, friendship, and British TV together.
Ages 13+
Plan an indulgent afternoon with friends, treat a teen to a grown-up gathering, or pair our weekly tea with a group visit to the museum!
Come as you are – but feel free to dress up in a costume, fancy attire, or hat if you’d like to!
Pay when you arrive (cash or card) – just $5 for museum members, or $10 for non-members plus the cost of museum admission.
3 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 3
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NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
Awww look...these kitties are ready to adopt in the museum gift shop just in time for Valentine's Day. House trained. Allergy friendly. Always cuddly! $12. We can ship. If soft and cuddly kittens aren't really your Valentine's speed - how about a shark hand puppet!
3 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 3
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NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
Visiting the museum is fun for all ages, but it can be especially exciting for visitors to see some of the dolls and toys they treasured when they were younger. Thank you to Vicki Schwartz for this lovely review and visit!!
#dollmuseum #dolls #toymuseum #museum
3 days ago | [YT] | 4
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NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
Our Annual Live Auction returns on Saturday, March 14 here in Spencer NC! Huge selection of antique, vintage, and modern dolls, toys, miniatures, and more.
No online or phone bidding. Online registration is required at: ncmdtm.org/event/annual-auction-2026/
5 days ago | [YT] | 3
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NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
2 years ago in February 2024, you joined us in a VERY different-looking museum to share your hopes & wishes for the museum, signing the studs of our new home's foundations.
Some shared a favorite quote, some signed for absent friends, some thanked the Board of Directors & staff - everyone contributed something. And you have been contributing your love to our shiny new museum ever since!!!
If you got the chance to Sign a Stud in 2024 virtually or in-person, we'd love to know what you wrote and why. If you didn't, why not leave your virtual message now! What do you wish for the next 2 years of the museum's growth?
Happy Sign-a-Stud-iversary! Here are just a few of the photos from our 2024 Sign a Stud gatherings.
#throwbackthursday #anniversary #signastud #construction #museum
5 days ago | [YT] | 1
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NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
February 1 is GI Joe Day!
Hasbro's introduction of GI Joe on Feb 1, 1964 (and its public launch at Toy Fair a week later) gave us the first use of the concept of an "action figure" - Hasbro did away with the word "doll" as they came up with their poseable American classics and kicked off a multi-decade obsession with these awesome action figures.
And of course we can never post GI Joe without posting the epic USS Flagg Aircraft Carrier - the largest playset ever made at 7x3x3 feet.
1 week ago | [YT] | 5
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NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
Reminder of your Feb-April 2026 museum events:
February 14: Super Saturday Sales at First Community Center of Spencer NC (last sale until April 2026)
February 17: Rowan Doll Society Doll Club Monthly Meeting
March 14: Annual Live Auction! Registration is OPEN NOW!
No Super Saturday sale in March.
Rowan Doll Society meeting in March is members & members-in-progress only.
April 11: Super Saturday Sales at First Community Center of Spencer NC
April 18: Miniature Workshop at the Museum: Make a Primitive Pie Safe & Chair! At the museum. Registration is OPEN NOW, limited to 20 spots and filling up fast!
April 21: Rowan Doll Society Doll Club Monthly Meeting
See all upcoming events & registration pages at ncmdtm.org/events/
1 week ago | [YT] | 4
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NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
Let's learn about Vogue dolls - Ginny, Jill, Jan, and Jeff!
Jennie Graves, a 30-year-old mother of three, opened the Vogue doll shop in 1922. She bought and sold German bisque dolls that she dressed. During the late 1930s, she began producing her own composition dolls.
When her daughter Virginia Graves Carlson took over creative design in the 1950s, she gave the versatile doll her own name.
Ginny was tough, portable, and affordable with an extensive wardrobe and wide availability from doll shops to drug stores.
Jill was Ginny’s big sister, a fashionable teen glamor girl. Debuting in 1957, she was 10.5 inches tall with high-heeled feet and three hair colors in a Sandra Dee-style angel cut flip ponytail.
Like most dolls, Jill existed to enjoy a huge wardrobe—everything from overalls to prom dresses to horse riding habits and swimsuits. And don’t forget the bags, hats, furs, jewelry, and custom furniture!
Like many other sisters of that long-ago world of elaborate fashion, Jill and Ginny often wore matching outfits.
Another sister, Jan, who had a slightly more modern look, appeared in 1958, along with Jill's boyfriend, Jeff. He was half an inch taller and had enough clothes suitable for escorting Jill anywhere.
As you can imagine, 1959 was a rough year for the fashion queen and her entourage as Barbie entered the scene!
(This history was also shared on the Friends of UFDC page on Facebook.)
#dolls #dollhistory #voguedolls #ginnydolls #dollmuseum
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