Special Recap:

A Day with Kitty Black Perkins

Our 2026 Day with Kitty Black Perkins on October 10 brought us creativity, storytelling, humor, hope, and genuine inspiration from Kitty. Our guests matched that energy with true gratitude, their own creativity, and a deep passion for Kitty’s designs, her place in history, and Barbie’s legacy in our lives.

The event truly celebrated the power of art in miniature, the magic of Barbie, the unique flow of ideas between childhood and adult collectors, the beauty of design and detail, and the pure joy of connecting with others who understand you.

October 10 was declared the first Kitty Black Perkins Day in Spencer, NC.

Kitty opened our 3-month special exhibit, which reflects a huge multi-decade lookback at some of her career highlights with history from Spartanburg County Public Libraries. We’re grateful to Lori and Rodney Hammond for loaning us many of the Kitty dolls on display.

See Our Photos

Thank you to Lori for contributing many of these shots!

You can follow us and see more of our photos on all the platforms below:

See Videos

We are thrilled to share that our friend Allison at Muñecas, Poupees, and Dolls captured the event in a full-length video on her YouTube channel! Take a look and be sure to subscribe to see more top-tier doll content and adventures:

Our Recaps

We captured some of our favorite stories and quotes from Kitty's visit - click the titles below to see the posts on Facebook! (You can also find them on Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn.)

• Childhood, feeling tacky in your Sunday best, and mentorship at Mattel
• To design for Barbie, "I played with the doll for a whole week..."
• "I never put anything on a Barbie that I would not wear."
• No-sleep White Christmas holiday Barbie story
• Kitty and Todd's origin story
• Where Kitty got the idea for Peaches N Cream
• Does Kitty still care about Barbie today?
• How Kitty thinks adult collectors will influence Barbie's future
• What Kitty is most proud of & her advice

Robert Tonner Event

Save the date: our annual doll luncheon will return on Saturday, September 4, 2027 with another super special guest: Robert Tonner!

Registration is not yet open for this event, but we'll email you as soon as it does!

There are many opportunities to join us before then, so we hope you'll consider coming to our annual Tea with Mrs. Claus event in December, our Treasures of the Past Live Auction in the early spring, and our monthly Super Saturday Sales. We also have several doll workshops in the works for this winter!

Special Exhibit

Museum is open weekly on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm

Our address is 440 South Salisbury Ave, Spencer, NC 28159

Our Kitty Black Perkins exhibit is a 3-month exhibit. Come back and take a closer look before it moves on!