Don't you just love it when things fall into place?

A few weeks ago, a lady came to the shop looking for a Japanese doll. She said they had a beautiful one at their home when she was growing up but sadly it was no longer with her. Unfortunately, we did not have Japanese dolls in our inventory. They do tend to be very expensive and delicate...therefore, difficult to ship...which translates to very high shipping costs because of the extra special packing required to protect them. The best we could tell her was that we'd look into it and see what we could come up with but we did give advanced warning not to be shocked at the price. We do know there are some "imitation" ones out there but really, the craftsmanship would be very different...as would the price, of course; but we did not want to go down that route.

As it happened, about a week later, another lady visited the shop bearing...guess what? ...a Japanese doll in her hands. She wanted to sell it and so came to ask us if we could find a buyer. We could hardly believe the timing! The doll was authentic. It was not new, of course, and there were some parts that showed the passage of time....frayed edges in some parts, some errant hair. We also saw where a little repair had been made. But still, the doll still looked grand and elegant with her drum.

We immediately called the first lady and she came by to take a look. "It's even better than the one I had as a child!" she exclaimed excitedly. She didn't mind the flawed parts we pointed out and was very happy to give the doll a new home!

Now, we have two happy ladies! ...which makes us happy!