Oh,
You Beautiful Doll

Riki Schaffer's
doll gallery is
one-of-a-kind.

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM

ASSISTANT EDITOR

1111

A doll by Ann Mitrani

here was a time
when the word
"doll" conjured up
one of two images.
Either it was sweet-
faced Raggedy Ann,
with her "I Love
You" on the heart,
spaghetti hair and
red-and-white
striped legs; or it
was Barbie, that ever-perfect
heartthrob with plastic eye-
lashes and a waist narrower
than her ankles.
Things will never be the
same.
Barbie, meet Riki.
Riki Schaffer is the owner
of the Riki Schaffer Gallery in
West Bloomfield, the only one-
of-a-kind doll store in the coun-
try. The dolls are glamorous,
exotic and hauntingly lifelike.
Don't be surprised if you hear
visitors mumble "excuse me"
as they pass a life-size doll-vi-
olinist at the front door.
Ms. Schaffer's gallery has a
national reputation and in-
cludes clients like actress
Demi Moore. The dolls them-
selves come from as close as
Monroe and as far as Israel.
All are works ofart, Ms. Schaf-
fer says. All "capture a certain
feeling; they have a soul and
life."
She's an expert on dolls to-
day, and writes a regular col-
umn for Contemporary Doll
magazine. But it wasn't so
long ago that Ms. Schaffer had
other plans for her life.
"My background is in psy-
chology and social work," she
says. Then while traveling
abroad, she decided to go into
chocolate. She was impressed

by European chocolate bou-
tiques and opened her own
when she returned to the
States.
Her store, Chocolatissimo,
was a success, and Ms. Schaf-
fer might have continued in
the business forever. But then
she chanced to see a doll, by
artist Anne Mitrani, in a store
window. Entranced by its
"translucent, lifelike quality,"
she bought the doll on the spot.
Soon after, Ms. Schaffer,
who never particularly liked
dolls as a child, began study-
ing them with a vengeance.
She attended shows. She read
articles. She met with artists.
She bought several more dolls
and put them on the shelves
of Chocolatissimo. Then she
left chocolate (with the excep-
tion of a small counter that re-
mains at the Riki Schaffer
Gallery) and opened her doll
store.
Ms. Schaffer's dolls are not
for everyone — particularly
those on a limited budget.
They range in price from about
$500 to more than $20,000.
Ms. Schaffer says the high cost
reflects the craftsmanship of
each piece.
"These are works hand-
sculpted from the start of the
creation," she says. "And you
have to remember that an
artist may make no more than

12 pieces a year, each of which
is one of a kind."
Most dolls are purchased by
collectors who don't question
the prices. "They understand
that art can be costly," Ms.
Schaffer says.
"My whole purpose and fo-
cus is to educate people that
these are pieces of art," she
says.
Her gallery boasts dolls by
about 25 artists. Some, like
Ann Metrani and Lindsey
Strohmeyer, Ms. Schaffer rep-
resents exclusively.
Miss Strohmeyer may be
one of Ms. Schaffer's most un-
usual artists. A native of Mon-
roe, she is 16. Riki Schaffer
recalls the day they met.
"She wandered in with her
mother and they were looking
around. Lindsey was talking
about the dolls, and she knew
all the artists — this was
when she was 14. She knew
even the obscure ones.
"Her mother said, 'My
daughter makes dolls, too.'
And I thought, 'Right.' But be-
cause Lindsey seemed to know
so much, I agreed to see them.
"Lindsey and her mother
brought in three dolls. I took
one look at them and said, T11
buy all three."
Those were the good old
days, when Lindsey's dolls
were $100 apiece. Today, they

fA

V.,

C

CL

i=0

Rild Schaffer

93