Saratoga News

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Delia Zemke owns the Goldilocks Doll Cottage, which is inhabited by some elegantly dressed and coiffed dolls.

Goldilocks Doll Cottage offers elegance-and Beanie Babies

By Michelle Alaimo

When Delia Zemke walks into work every morning, nearly 100 pairs of eyes watch her every move. Each pair belongs to elegantly dressed children and women with perfectly painted faces, some of which were painted by Zemke herself.

Zemke says she has always wanted to own a doll store and when her hobby took over, she decided to be brave and jump right in, opening Goldilocks Doll Cottage on Big Basin Way. Her bravery is paying off, and Zemke says business in Saratoga is good.

The mother of four girls says she first started making dolls about five years ago.

"It started out innocently enough," Zemke says. "I started by making one. And then 60 dolls later ...," she was being crowded out of her house and decided maybe she should open a shop.

At first, Zemke says she found it difficult to find a location. She knew she wanted a small store, but reasonably priced. Then one Sunday, Zemke says she was reading ads in the paper and saw one that caught her eye.

"I threw on my jeans and came down to Saratoga," she recalls.

At first, she was disheartened to find that six others also wanted the former Workshoppe location on Big Basin Way. However, she says the landlord told her they chose her because they wanted to have a retail store at the front end of Saratoga Village.

At first Demke had "delusions" that she would fill the whole store with her own dolls--but then she discovered that there are only so many hours in a day. To help fill the store, she added dolls made by friends, including Gladys Morgan and Barbara Conley, who makes Steiff Bears.

And yes, Zemke does have Beanie Babies.

In fact, Zemke says she brought Beanie Babies into the store on a whim. Her eight grandchildren love them, so she decided to carry them in small quantities. Word got out, and "people came running in here for Beanie Babies," Zemke says. She quickly added more Beanies to her stock and now carries all kinds of Beanie Babies from the new releases to the rare ones, including Princess and Flip. Zemke says she has learned a lot about the hot Beanie Babies from children.

"They may not be able to write their name," Zemke says, "but they know about these babies."

The Beanie Babies have helped Zemke draw customers into her store. She says that her doll sales are going well, and prices range from $50 to $600--depending on how much work is involved in making the doll.

Each modern-reproduction porcelain doll is signed by its maker. Zemke says it can sometimes take up to six weeks to make one doll because of the amount of ceramic firing required for each delicately designed and dressed doll.

The realistic dolls are sometimes hard to part with, Zemke says, and all of her "babies" have names.

In addition to selling porcelain dolls and Beanie Babies, Zemke also sells Beanie Babies clothes and makes American Girl doll clothes. Zemke, who previously owned the Goldrush Gallery in Saratoga and Oakbrooke Gallery in Los Gatos, also sells pictures of children she has painted. "I just want to paint children and make dollies," Zemke says.

Goldilocks Doll Cottage, located at 14419 Big Basin Way, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 867-2551.

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