Annalee Dolls
Encyclopedia
Annalee Dolls, Inc., also known as Annalee Mobilitee Dolls Inc., and AMD Holdings Inc., is a company located in Meredith
, New Hampshire
, that manufactures collectible doll
s. The company was founded by Barbara Annalee Davis (later Thorndike) who died in 2002. At the company's height, it filled over 14 acres (5.7 ha) of land dotted with seven buildings containing 34000 square feet (3,158.7 m²) of space, and had US$15 million in sales with 300 employees. The popularity of Annalee Dolls led R. Stuart Wallace to write that "the most famous manufactured item to come from New Hampshire in the 20th century is the Annalee doll." Annalee Dolls have reached up to $6,000 at auction. In 2008, the company closed its museum and sold its Meredith factory while as of 2006, there were only 30 employees.
, in 1915, and grew up at 113 Centre Street in the same city. Originally interested in puppetry
as a young girl, she began creating dolls at a young age along with a friend. When her friend went off to college in the early 1930s, Annalee, as she was called, continued to create dolls and began to sell them through the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen. She soon moved to Boston
and continued to sell her dolls, most notably to S.S. Pierce and Co.
In 1941, Annalee met Harvard graduate Charles "Chip" Thorndike. Soon thereafter, the two married and moved to Meredith
, New Hampshire
, where they raised a family and opened Thorndike's Eggs and Auto Parts, which survived until 1950. With the fall in price of eggs and poultry, Annalee wanted to see if she could make money selling her dolls again. The Thorndikes sold off a section of the poultry farm and used the profits to create a small line of skier dolls. The line was a success, and slowly the Annalee doll "Factory in the Woods" was born. This continued until, in 1955, Annalee Mobilitee Dolls was incorporated as a company.
During the 1950s, stores in Manchester
and Boston started buying Annalee dolls to decorate store windows, and Annalee was hired by New Hampshire
to create dolls to be featured in tourism material. These dolls were on display at the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield
, Massachusetts
, and at the Rockefeller Center
in New York City
, both to advertise the state. These promotional dolls were extremely popular; so popular in fact that by 1960 Annalee dolls were being sold in stores in forty states, Canada
, and Puerto Rico
.
In 1964, the day-to-day operation of doll making became too big for the Thorndikes' house. At this time they moved the operations out of the house and into a "factory in the woods". Over time, the factory expanded to eventually fill over fourteen acres of land dotted with seven buildings containing 34000 square feet (3,158.7 m²) of space.
Annalee Dolls came into the spotlight again when, in 1975, a New Hampshire state legislator gave then-president Gerald Ford
a selection of dolls to decorate the White House Christmas tree
. In 1990, Annalee Dolls became the headgear sponsor for Christopher Pederson, a member of the United States Ski Team
. The Annalee logo was placed on all of his headgear (helmets, hats, etc.), and in exchange the company sold a special "Victory Ski Doll" of which five percent of the sales went to the ski team.
In 1992, Annalee and Chip gave each of their sons, Townsend and Charles, 48 percent of the doll making company, and in 1995, Charles took control of the everyday operations of Annalee dolls.
During the later part of the 1990s, the market for collectibles began to fall, and many companies began to outsource their operations. Annalee was one of these companies. In 2001, all construction of dolls and other collectibles was outsourced overseas, while the design and marketing departments stayed in Meredith. A short time after this switch in business model, on April 7, 2002, Annalee Thorndike died.
In 2008, after a string of lawsuits between the two sons of Annalee Thorndike over ownership of the company, including a case heard by the New Hampshire Supreme Court
, Annalee Dolls was acquired by David Pelletier, Bob Watson, and the Imagine Company of Hong Kong, the company which builds the dolls. This same year, the company decided to sell their "Factory in the Woods". The Winnipesaukee Playhouse
, a small 84-seat theater located in the Weirs Beach
section of Laconia
, purchased the Annalee Doll Factory site for 1.05 million dollars. The Playhouse plans to renovate the property to create a "Tanglewood
type of setting" for their theatrical endeavors. The plans are to move the theater from its current site in Weirs Beach to the site of Annalee's former gift shop. Annalee operates out of its corporate headquarters, a former chicken farm building on site. This same year Annalee auctioned off a selection of dolls from their museum.
Annalee Dolls is planning on moving its outlet store and offices to the site of a former grocery store located in the Old Province Common, on Route 104
in Meredith, and vacate the "Factory in the Woods" for good. The company hopes to "be in its new location and open by mid-July with the full move-in anticipated in September or October." Annalee Dolls' creative director stated that "With all the construction going on around us for the Winni Playhouse, it was just time for us to make the jump to a new location." David Pelletier, chief executive officer of Annalee Dolls, claims that “We can be wherever we want to be,” but since Annalee dolls has been associated with New Hampshire and especially Meredith since its beginnings, there "was value in terms of continuity of identity in remaining in Meredith."
The storefront Annalee Dolls is moving to contains 30000 square feet (2,787.1 m²), 2500 square feet (232.3 m²) of which will be a retail store, with the rest being offices and warehouse space.
-bodied dolls, with a painted face that is similar to the face of Annalee Thorndike. The dolls can range in height from a few inches to 6 feet (1.8 m) tall. The taller dolls were usually used as store displays, while the smaller ones were sold directly to consumers. Dolls can range in theme from elves, to one of many different types of animals, to clowns. Originally, the wire frame inside the doll was crafted by Chip Thorndike, while the rest of the doll was sewn and painted by Annalee herself. Chip also would create small wooden props (such as ski
s, ski pole
s, boat
s, etc.) for the dolls to hold or appear to be using in some way. Starting in 1986 the label sewn onto each Annalee Doll included the year the doll was made.
As the company grew Annalee and Chip could not deal with the volume and hired workers to help create the dolls, but in 2001, after a switch in business model, the construction of dolls and other collectibles moved from New Hampshire to overseas.
Since Annalee's death, the dolls have been designed by designers who take "inspiration from Annalee’s earlier dolls to evoke memories and sustain tradition." These designers work in Meredith at Annalee Doll headquarters which also contains sales and marketing departments as well as an outlet store. After design work is complete, the dolls are built by the Imagine Company of Hong Kong then shipped back to New Hampshire for distribution. When asked about the moving of operations overseas, David Pelletier, chief executive officer of Annalee Dolls, responded, “We’ve always had home workers and the only difference is now they are 8,000 miles away.”
In 1992, at the annual Annalee Doll Society Auction, a 10 inch tall Halloween
girl doll created in the 1950s was auctioned off for a record $6,000. Due to the high price and collectability of Annalee dolls, there have been instances of people creating counterfeit
dolls.
. At the company's height, it filled over fourteen acres of land dotted with seven buildings containing 34000 square feet (3,158.7 m²) of space. In addition to being the location where the dolls were made, it was a major Lakes Region
tourist destination, including, among other things, shaded picnic and play areas, a display of antique cars, a covered footbridge, the Annalee Doll Museum, and a gift shop.
The Annalee Doll Museum was originally housed in a large building on the "Factory in the Woods" site, whose exterior facade
was a reproduction of then Barbara Annalee Davis', later Annalee Thorndike's, childhood homestead. In 2008 a selection of the Annalee Doll Museum's holdings were auctioned off. At the same time, the museum moved online to a digital form where one can view the dolls in the collection without visiting New Hampshire.
Meredith, New Hampshire
Meredith is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, USA. The population was 6,241 at the 2010 census. Meredith is situated beside Lake Winnipesaukee. It is home to Stonedam Island Natural Area and the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, that manufactures collectible doll
Doll
A doll is a model of a human being, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have traditionally been used in magic and religious rituals throughout the world, and traditional dolls made of materials like clay and wood are found in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The earliest documented dolls...
s. The company was founded by Barbara Annalee Davis (later Thorndike) who died in 2002. At the company's height, it filled over 14 acres (5.7 ha) of land dotted with seven buildings containing 34000 square feet (3,158.7 m²) of space, and had US$15 million in sales with 300 employees. The popularity of Annalee Dolls led R. Stuart Wallace to write that "the most famous manufactured item to come from New Hampshire in the 20th century is the Annalee doll." Annalee Dolls have reached up to $6,000 at auction. In 2008, the company closed its museum and sold its Meredith factory while as of 2006, there were only 30 employees.
History
Barbara Annalee Davis was born in Concord, New HampshireConcord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
, in 1915, and grew up at 113 Centre Street in the same city. Originally interested in puppetry
Puppetry
Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance which involves the manipulation of puppets. It is very ancient, and is believed to have originated 30,000 years BC. Puppetry takes many forms but they all share the process of animating inanimate performing objects...
as a young girl, she began creating dolls at a young age along with a friend. When her friend went off to college in the early 1930s, Annalee, as she was called, continued to create dolls and began to sell them through the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen. She soon moved to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and continued to sell her dolls, most notably to S.S. Pierce and Co.
In 1941, Annalee met Harvard graduate Charles "Chip" Thorndike. Soon thereafter, the two married and moved to Meredith
Meredith, New Hampshire
Meredith is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, USA. The population was 6,241 at the 2010 census. Meredith is situated beside Lake Winnipesaukee. It is home to Stonedam Island Natural Area and the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, where they raised a family and opened Thorndike's Eggs and Auto Parts, which survived until 1950. With the fall in price of eggs and poultry, Annalee wanted to see if she could make money selling her dolls again. The Thorndikes sold off a section of the poultry farm and used the profits to create a small line of skier dolls. The line was a success, and slowly the Annalee doll "Factory in the Woods" was born. This continued until, in 1955, Annalee Mobilitee Dolls was incorporated as a company.
During the 1950s, stores in Manchester
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
and Boston started buying Annalee dolls to decorate store windows, and Annalee was hired by New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
to create dolls to be featured in tourism material. These dolls were on display at the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and at the Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, both to advertise the state. These promotional dolls were extremely popular; so popular in fact that by 1960 Annalee dolls were being sold in stores in forty states, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
.
In 1964, the day-to-day operation of doll making became too big for the Thorndikes' house. At this time they moved the operations out of the house and into a "factory in the woods". Over time, the factory expanded to eventually fill over fourteen acres of land dotted with seven buildings containing 34000 square feet (3,158.7 m²) of space.
Annalee Dolls came into the spotlight again when, in 1975, a New Hampshire state legislator gave then-president Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
a selection of dolls to decorate the White House Christmas tree
White House Christmas tree
The White House Christmas Tree, also known as the Blue Room Christmas Tree, is the official indoor Christmas tree at the residence of the President of the United States, the White House...
. In 1990, Annalee Dolls became the headgear sponsor for Christopher Pederson, a member of the United States Ski Team
United States Ski Team
The United States Ski Team, operated under the auspices of the United States Ski and Snowboard Association , develops and supports men's and women's athletes in the sports of alpine skiing, adaptive alpine, freestyle skiing, cross country, adaptive cross country, ski jumping, and nordic combined....
. The Annalee logo was placed on all of his headgear (helmets, hats, etc.), and in exchange the company sold a special "Victory Ski Doll" of which five percent of the sales went to the ski team.
In 1992, Annalee and Chip gave each of their sons, Townsend and Charles, 48 percent of the doll making company, and in 1995, Charles took control of the everyday operations of Annalee dolls.
During the later part of the 1990s, the market for collectibles began to fall, and many companies began to outsource their operations. Annalee was one of these companies. In 2001, all construction of dolls and other collectibles was outsourced overseas, while the design and marketing departments stayed in Meredith. A short time after this switch in business model, on April 7, 2002, Annalee Thorndike died.
In 2008, after a string of lawsuits between the two sons of Annalee Thorndike over ownership of the company, including a case heard by the New Hampshire Supreme Court
New Hampshire Supreme Court
The New Hampshire Supreme Court is the supreme court of the U. S. state of New Hampshire and sole appellate court of the state. The Supreme Court is seated in the state capital, Concord. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices appointed by the Governor and Executive...
, Annalee Dolls was acquired by David Pelletier, Bob Watson, and the Imagine Company of Hong Kong, the company which builds the dolls. This same year, the company decided to sell their "Factory in the Woods". The Winnipesaukee Playhouse
Winnipesaukee Playhouse
The Winnipesaukee Playhouse, also referred to as the Winni Playhouse, is an 84-seat black box-style theater located in the Weirs Beach section of Laconia, New Hampshire. The Playhouse produces both a professional summer stock season as well as a community theater season, and is arguably the only...
, a small 84-seat theater located in the Weirs Beach
Weirs Beach, New Hampshire
Weirs Beach is a village within the city of Laconia in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. It is located on the southern shore of Lake Winnipesaukee. The cruise ship Mount Washington terminates there...
section of Laconia
Laconia, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,411 people, 6,724 households, and 4,168 families residing in the city. The population density was 809.3 people per square mile . There were 8,554 housing units at an average density of 421.8 per square mile...
, purchased the Annalee Doll Factory site for 1.05 million dollars. The Playhouse plans to renovate the property to create a "Tanglewood
Tanglewood
Tanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
type of setting" for their theatrical endeavors. The plans are to move the theater from its current site in Weirs Beach to the site of Annalee's former gift shop. Annalee operates out of its corporate headquarters, a former chicken farm building on site. This same year Annalee auctioned off a selection of dolls from their museum.
Annalee Dolls is planning on moving its outlet store and offices to the site of a former grocery store located in the Old Province Common, on Route 104
New Hampshire Route 104
New Hampshire Route 104 is a long secondary east–west highway in central New Hampshire. The highway runs from Danbury to Meredith on Lake Winnipesaukee in the Lakes Region....
in Meredith, and vacate the "Factory in the Woods" for good. The company hopes to "be in its new location and open by mid-July with the full move-in anticipated in September or October." Annalee Dolls' creative director stated that "With all the construction going on around us for the Winni Playhouse, it was just time for us to make the jump to a new location." David Pelletier, chief executive officer of Annalee Dolls, claims that “We can be wherever we want to be,” but since Annalee dolls has been associated with New Hampshire and especially Meredith since its beginnings, there "was value in terms of continuity of identity in remaining in Meredith."
The storefront Annalee Dolls is moving to contains 30000 square feet (2,787.1 m²), 2500 square feet (232.3 m²) of which will be a retail store, with the rest being offices and warehouse space.
Dolls
Annalee dolls are bendable feltFelt
Felt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing woollen fibres. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can be of any colour, and made into any shape or size....
-bodied dolls, with a painted face that is similar to the face of Annalee Thorndike. The dolls can range in height from a few inches to 6 feet (1.8 m) tall. The taller dolls were usually used as store displays, while the smaller ones were sold directly to consumers. Dolls can range in theme from elves, to one of many different types of animals, to clowns. Originally, the wire frame inside the doll was crafted by Chip Thorndike, while the rest of the doll was sewn and painted by Annalee herself. Chip also would create small wooden props (such as ski
Ski
A ski is a long, flat device worn on the foot, usually attached through a boot, designed to help the wearer slide smoothly over snow. Originally intended as an aid to travel in snowy regions, they are now mainly used for recreational and sporting purposes...
s, ski pole
Ski pole
Ski poles are used by skiers to improve balance and timing. Early ski poles were simply sticks, then bamboo , then steel . In 1958, Ed Scott invented the aluminium ski pole...
s, boat
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
s, etc.) for the dolls to hold or appear to be using in some way. Starting in 1986 the label sewn onto each Annalee Doll included the year the doll was made.
As the company grew Annalee and Chip could not deal with the volume and hired workers to help create the dolls, but in 2001, after a switch in business model, the construction of dolls and other collectibles moved from New Hampshire to overseas.
Since Annalee's death, the dolls have been designed by designers who take "inspiration from Annalee’s earlier dolls to evoke memories and sustain tradition." These designers work in Meredith at Annalee Doll headquarters which also contains sales and marketing departments as well as an outlet store. After design work is complete, the dolls are built by the Imagine Company of Hong Kong then shipped back to New Hampshire for distribution. When asked about the moving of operations overseas, David Pelletier, chief executive officer of Annalee Dolls, responded, “We’ve always had home workers and the only difference is now they are 8,000 miles away.”
In 1992, at the annual Annalee Doll Society Auction, a 10 inch tall Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
girl doll created in the 1950s was auctioned off for a record $6,000. Due to the high price and collectability of Annalee dolls, there have been instances of people creating counterfeit
Counterfeit
To counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
dolls.
Factory in the Woods
The Annalee Doll "Factory in the Woods" was located on Reservoir Road in MeredithMeredith, New Hampshire
Meredith is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, USA. The population was 6,241 at the 2010 census. Meredith is situated beside Lake Winnipesaukee. It is home to Stonedam Island Natural Area and the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad...
. At the company's height, it filled over fourteen acres of land dotted with seven buildings containing 34000 square feet (3,158.7 m²) of space. In addition to being the location where the dolls were made, it was a major Lakes Region
Lakes Region (New Hampshire)
The Lakes Region of New Hampshire is the mid-state region surrounding Lake Winnipesaukee, Winnisquam Lake, Squam Lake, and Newfound Lake.The area is a popular tourist destination in the summer time, with the activity peaking during the annual Motorcycle Week and races at Loudon's New Hampshire...
tourist destination, including, among other things, shaded picnic and play areas, a display of antique cars, a covered footbridge, the Annalee Doll Museum, and a gift shop.
The Annalee Doll Museum was originally housed in a large building on the "Factory in the Woods" site, whose exterior facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
was a reproduction of then Barbara Annalee Davis', later Annalee Thorndike's, childhood homestead. In 2008 a selection of the Annalee Doll Museum's holdings were auctioned off. At the same time, the museum moved online to a digital form where one can view the dolls in the collection without visiting New Hampshire.