When I was walking around The EX yesterday, I came across Barbie and Me, a presentation put on by the Tai Shan Doll Museum in Taiwan. There were hundreds of beautiful Barbies on display. It is their first time in Toronto, and it was wonderful to see the intricate and artistic work put into the garments of the dolls on display.

All of the Barbies on display were manufactured in Taishan for Mattel. The factory was closed in 1987. Barbie is such an intricate part of the culture in this Taiwanese community that its residents decided to open a Barbie museum of all of the dolls manufactured by Taiwan workers at the Mei-Ning Factory.

Although small, the clothes on these dolls are created from exquisite textures and detail. I absolutely loved the environmentally friendly dolls whose clothes were all made out of recycled materials like straws, paper bags, old cloth, and umbrellas. I loved how some of the dolls' skirts were made from folded strips of paper in bright colours. There was a lot of creativity and pizzazz in this collection. If you happen to be at The EX, you should definitely stop by the booth.