Who: Lori (L.B.) Spann, 42, of Amelia, CEO/President of Comic Central and owner of over 200 Barbie dolls, 80 percent of which are African-American.

        Where: On display at the Anderson Township retail collectibles store she runs with her husband, Daryl (D.) Burke.

Lori Spann and part of her Barbie collection. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        New frontiers: “I got started by accident,” Ms. Spann says of her collection. “Over nine years ago, my husband ordered the Star Trek Barbie & Ken gift set for a customer and they never picked up the merchandise. So he gave it to me.”

        “So, they're really his dolls,” she says with a grin, “not mine.”

        Like salted peanuts: Just like Adam and Eve, those original two started it all. Friends and family started bringing Ms. Spann more Barbies. Eventually she had so many that she put them on display at the store.

        “I wanted other people to enjoy them,” she says. “Our business is male dominated, and I was looking for a way to attract girls.”

        “Barbie is universal,” Ms. Spann continues. “She promotes free thinking, independence and girls being anything they want to be career-wise. So, I've devoted one wall entirely to careers. I want to give girls something to think about.”

        Whew! Ms. Spann's Barbies are busy by anybody's standards. At Comic Central she is a doctor, dentist, veterinarian, teacher and President of the United States. In addition, she is busy fighting fires, dancing in a ballet, fighting crime and blasting off into outer space. And she's doing this all in her original packaging.

        “If you open the box,” Ms. Spann explains, “You devalue the collectible.”

        Multicultural: Barbie dolls are a fairly common item, available on the shelves of most every toy store. What makes Ms. Spann's collection unique?

        “They make less African-American dolls,” she explains. “So, they are generally more valuable because they are not mass produced.”

        Just like me: Ms. Spann's collection also touches her heart in a personal way. Ms. Spann played with mostly white dolls as a child, because that is what was most commonly available. Her first African-American doll was Barbie's cousin, Francie, that she received when she was 10 years old.

        “When you are a kid,” she says, “You want your dolls to look like what you are, your ethnicity.”

        Ms. Spann adds to her collection by attending special conventions and shows. She also finds new dolls on domestic and international business trips.

        Mine! The only problem with having her collection on display at the store is people want to buy them.

        “But, I won't sell them,” Ms. Spann says emphatically. “They mean too much to me.”

        Share your prize possessions with Marsie Hall Newbold. Mail: c/o The Enquirer, 312 Elm St., 45202. E-mail: marsolete@aol.com.

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