About the Lawton Doll Company

In 1978, Wendy Lawton made her very first porcelain portrait doll of her daughter, Rebecca, and in 1983, Keith and Wendy Lawton launched The Lawton Doll Company as it is now--a dollmaking company with a network of authorized dealers. The first limited edition collection debuted that year headlined by Alice in Wonderland in the Childhood Classics Collection. Lawtons completed the twentieth collection when they tied the bow on the last doll from the 2002 collection.

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Since those early days, The Lawton Doll Company has debuted more than 250 different limited edition dolls from their California workshops. Those editions translate to more than 75,000 intricately handmade porcelain dolls that now reside in public and private collections all over the world. In addition to those Lawton-issued dolls, collectors around the world purchased more than half a million Ashton-Drake/Wendy Lawton designed dolls. This persistent demand sparks the question--”What is it that makes Lawton Dolls so perennially collectible?”

Concept

Designer, Wendy Lawton believes that the idea behind the doll may be as important as the artistic impact. Many of the dolls illustrate well-loved stories such as Anne of Green Gables, Alice in Wonderland, or Raggedy Ann. Other dolls revisit favorite nursery rhymes or fairy tales. Oft times a doll illustrates a long-cherished ethnic custom or forms the basis of an original story. But--whatever the concept--it is often the idea that draws us to the doll in the first place.

Design

Concept alone is not enough. A new sculpt and an original costume design is created for each new doll that is issued by Lawtons. Wendy Lawton's work has garnered an impressive array of awards. Over the years, Lawton dolls have been nominated for more than sixty industry awards, winning the prestigious DOTY Award eleven times and Dolls of Excellence Award three times.

Quality

Lawton Dolls have been consistently recognized for their outstanding quality. Wendy Lawton is committed to maintaining the highest standards of quality, whether that is in the actual porcelain work, the china painting, the workmanship on the costumes, the authenticity of the perfectly scaled accessories or in the finishing and packaging of the dolls. Our motto asserts that quality endures, but this is more than a byword to us-- it is a promise.

Price

The Lawton Doll Company shops the world over, looking for unique materials for our dolls--lace from France; cotton batiste from Switzerland; exquisite handwork from Germany; silver jewelry from the Navajo nation; beadwork from Jakarta--the shopping list is endless. And yet each doll from The Lawton Connoisseur Collection is painstakingly handmade in the United States by a highly skilled team of dollmakers. It is a testament to Lawton's commitment to conservative pricing that all of these details are offered at a fair collectible price. When you take time to compare dolls, detail for detail, you'll not find a better doll value anywhere.

Collectibility

The relative collectibility of a doll can only be proven over time, but several conditions must be present in order for a doll to maintain its value. There have to be enough dolls in circulation for a collecting genre to have developed. There has to be an ever-increasing pool of collectors. And care has to be taken, by the company, in the issuance and limitation of dolls. Lawton Dolls have had an excellent track record over the past 20 years. A few editions have risen to prices more than ten times higher than their price at issue. While only a few have reached those record secondary market prices, most dolls have increased in value over time. No one can predict market trends and it is of utmost importance to buy without expectation of eventual return, but it is good to know that Lawton dolls have indeed become perennial favorites.

The Lawton Doll Company pledges to continue to offer dolls with imaginative concepts, unique design and unsurpassed quality. In addition to the quality and design for which we are known, we strive to maintain fair pricing and careful distribution. We believe our motto says it best, In a world of change, Quality endures.®

About The Lawton Doll Company