Doll Collecting History: Plantation Belles doll club plans club projects

 Recently found in a 2004 Westview newspaper clipping, this article captures a special moment when the Belle Mead Plantation Belles Doll Club met renowned doll artist and designer Robert Tonner.


About Robert Tonner

Robert Tonner (born 1952) is a celebrated American fashion designer, sculptor, and doll artist. He founded the Tonner Doll Company in 1991 (originally as Robert Tonner Doll Designs). By the early 2000s, his company had become one of the leading names in high-end collectible fashion dolls. In 2004, he was at the peak of his influence, known especially for the popular Tyler Wentworth collection, along with lines like Betsy McCall and Kitty Collier. He was actively designing sophisticated, couture-inspired dolls that appealed to adult collectors.

Today, Tonner remains active in the doll world as a sculptor and designer. After closing the main Tonner Doll Company in 2018, he has shifted toward more independent and limited-edition work, including new character dolls (such as revivals of Ellowyne Wilde), collaborations, and appearances at doll conventions. He continues to create through his personal studio and maintains a strong legacy in the fashion doll community.


Plantation Belles doll club plans club projects

The Belle Mead Plantation Belles Doll Club, founded in July of 1997, recently took a club group to a doll show at the Marriott Hotel to meet renowned doll artist and designer Robert Tonner. Tonner founded the Robert Tonner Doll Company, designer of the Tyler Wentworth collection, Betsy McCall and Kitty Collier doll lines among others. Club members present were club founders Donna Gorlier and Kathryn Darden, as well as members Rama Naidu, Zona Harris, Maxine Spaulding, and Beverly Hoffman. Upcoming club activities include a summer display of Barbies and their cars at the Bellevue Cruisers Car Show, a picnic outing, and the club’s annual Christmas party, as well as monthly meetings and programs. The club meets the first Thursday of every month at Shoneys, Bellevue at 7 PM.

Left to right: Donna Gorlier, Rama Naidu, Robert Tonner, Kathryn Darden, and Zona Harris. Not pictured were Maxine Spaulding and Beverly Hoffman.

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