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
3 day countdown until our Annual Live Auction in NC! In-person bidding only. No buyers fees! Check out our latest auction item preview images with more to come soon!
Register at: ncmdtm.org/event/annual-auction-2026/
2 days ago | [YT] | 5
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NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
3 day countdown until our Annual Live Auction in NC! In-person bidding only. No buyers fees! Check out our latest auction item preview images with more to come soon!
Register at: ncmdtm.org/event/annual-auction-2026/
2 days ago | [YT] | 3
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NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
Our annual live auction is just 4 days away! Huge variety of items this year in our lots. Register now! No online/phone bidding. In-person only in Spencer NC. No buyers premium! ncmdtm.org/event/annual-auction-2026/
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NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
Welcome to the Naber-hood! We got a fabulous donation from Olney and his wife this week: Naber Kids, little-known dolls with a special backstory.
As the Citrus County Chronicle shared in a 2011 article, Harold Naber started out carving dolls from wood to ultimately produce his “Naber Kids.”
Born in Germany, he left his home country at age 29. He wanted to explore the world—he learned to fly, met his wife in Anchorage, and started a fur business.
He found that hunters visiting Alaska wanted a doll to take back to their wives. With no local dolls available, Harold decided to take a stab at it himself.
“I carved the ugliest thing you have ever laid your eyes on,” he reflected on his first attempt at carving a wooden doll.
The dolls sold quickly, and he switched materials to cut down on wood carving time. Naber Dolls started in Alaska and continued in Florida. Harold even secured a spot on the Home Shopping Network…for 4 am.
Over time, demand became so high that he was able to open a factory with 50 employees. His wife passed away in 2000. Harold continued to make dolls until 2005.
#dollhistory #dollmuseum #dolls #naberdolls #naberkids
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NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
We hope that fans of Hatsune Miku enjoyed their "Miku Day" on Monday! The vocaloid pop star is a favorite among many doll collectors and an inspiration for many a custom doll, too!
Thank you to our friends in Carolina Smart Doll Club for allowing us to share this photo to celebrate with signature teal hair, outfit, and green onion!
#hatsunemiku #mikuday
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NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
Join us for Afternoon Tea at the Museum this Thursday, March 12! If you can't make it, you can always reach out to us about planning a fabulous private tea party instead!
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NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
In the time it will take you to read this post, over 20 Barbies will be purchased around the world. Happy birthday, Barbie!
Barbie is a big part of the museum's history and collection today. Take a look through some of our displays with these photos - and please share a Barbie memory or photo in the comments! We'd love to see.
As we all celebrate the 67th birthday of Barbie, our beloved teen fashion queen, here are some photos from the museum and a bit of history from our audio tour:
Ruth Handler, who, with her husband Elliot, owned Mattel, had long wanted to produce a fashion doll with an adult figure. In 1957, on a trip to Germany, she came across Bild Lilli–a risqué mid-1950s cartoon character originally found in the German newspaper Bild-Zeitung.
The first Barbie was introduced to the world in 1959 at the International Toy Fair in New York City and represented a stylish adult female with a high heeled foot. She had an elegant, slim waist, high shapely chest, and long slender limbs, and her facial features were exaggerated with heavy makeup.
Her outfits, which followed the most fashionable styles of the day, ranged from fashionable to fantasy.
Barbie’s looks have changed over the years. Models from the 1980s and 1990s have a natural, youthful appearance with generous, smiling mouths and wide eyes. Their clothes and accessories are designed to reflect changing lifestyles, and she was designed with the hopes that her personality would reflect that of her owner’s.
Ruth once said “Barbie can truly be anything a little girl wants to be.”
Although many of her critics say that “she conditions children to be materialistic, and presents an unrealistic and potentially dangerous image of what women should look like,” Barbie simply smiles back at her critics. As a working woman, her jobs have ranged from a rock star to an astronaut, a nurse, a member of the armed forces, and many other professions; her resume is one of the most impressive in the doll industry.
The release of the Barbie movie in July 2023 created a renewed interest in Barbie collecting. It broke box office records by becoming the highest grossing film to be directed by a woman, showing critics the impact this eleven-and-a-half inch vinyl doll still has had on our world.
#barbie #barbiebirthday #dolls #dollmuseum #dollhistory
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NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
Happy birthday, Barbie! Barbie turns 67 today. We think she doesn't look a day over 19. 💟
#barbie #happybirthdaybarbie #barbiebirthday
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NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
New doll at the museum: Thespian by Faith Wick, NIADA doll artist. This beautiful actor was donated by Marge Hallyburton.
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NC Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures
You may remember us sharing the beautiful farm tool models created by Howard Perryman to reflect growing up on a family farm during the Depression. Here is his wife, Evelyn, beside the exhibit. We are grateful that Evelyn and son Eric shared these with the museum.
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