Putnam Residents' Enchanted Doll Forest Welcomes All Dolls, People

Thousands of frozen faces line the walls and tables of a small room at Toddville Antique Center. Almost every doll imaginable can be found here: cuddly bears, presidential man dolls, antique bisque dolls from the 1800s, Betty Boops, Madame Alexanders, and even a creative Tim Burton doll house with Burton action figures.

Shirley Kraus Mancuso and her business partner Eleanor McBride have channeled their passion for dolls into the Enchanted Doll Forest antique store, consignment shop and doll and teddy bear hospital in Cortlandt Manor. Their  on Saturday is sure to thrill doll lovers, collectors and children.

Mancuso spent two months moving in about 2,000 items, including small collectables but mostly dolls. Currently, the Dolls of Ireland are featured in a display case as you enter, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. They also sell marionettes and teddy bears and serve as a hospital for all “injuries” doll related. (Mancuso’s most fun repair was fixing a toy saddle horse’s behind after a fire place had burned it off).

Mancuso, a 44-year-old Mahopac native and Putnam Valley resident, has had a passion for “dolls, teddy bears and cutesy stuff” her whole life. She has worked through the Yorktown museum for many years and teaches doll making and history classes.

“I guess I never grew up, and my parents never said no,” Mancuso said.

 She went to nursing school but her passion for dolls and art drew her back to that field. She then attended floral school and worked at several flower shops to learn the trade. She intends to use Enchanted Doll Forest as a flower shop as well, and expects visitors of the  to find her store useful. Mancuso is renting the space from Toddville’s long-time owners, the Garbs, who run antique shops in the other spaces at Toddville.

The Enchanted Forest has gifts for any age and gender lining the walls. For the politically inclined, the Historical Collection of Presidential Kimport Dolls feature many of the nation’s first 36 presidents, as well as first ladies. Mancuso and McBride are true experts and even published a book on the Kimport dolls, which are McBride’s collection.

For antique collectors, there is an entire antique doll corner with antique bisque dolls from as early as the 1850s to as late as the 1920s. Antique Bisque dolls became popular in the mid 19^th Century, and their porcelain mixture is made of different ingredients (like lead and other now-illegal ingredients) than those used in porcelain dolls made later.

In some cases, they only have doll heads with improvised bodies made of newspaper and dressed in period appropriate clothing. Mancuso turns no doll, or doll parts, away.

“Anyone that needs a home for unwanted or broken dolls, please bring them here,” Mancuso said. “They would end up in a landfill and that is just a piece of history getting thrown out. Even Barbie dolls, bring them here, they would just stay in a landfill forever.”

Many dolls have already found homes at the Enchanted Forest, and it has not even opened yet. Wednesday, a member of Mancuso’s Sleepy Hollow Doll Club dropped off 60 dolls for consignment and Thursday Fishkill resident and doll collector Sue Levandowski dropped off a portion of her collection.

“This is the place to come if you like dolls,” Levandowski said. “This is my first time I have tried reselling and think it is a wonderful opportunity to expand my collection.”

The doll sellers and Enchanted Doll Forest owners, all members of the United Federation of Doll Clubs have such passion for their dolls that it keeps prices low. Mancuso runs the business because she loves the items she sells and wants to connect other doll lovers with each other and the items they seek.

“When I get a bargain, I give a bargain,” Mancuso said.

Many of the dolls are $10 to $30. Antiques are as high as $1,650 (the expensive dolls are kept off site). Mancuso also makes corner dollhouses, a three-piece corner of a dollhouse that depicts a themed scene. She has a display for Grandma’s Pies on the top shelf of the antique section.

Businesses commission her to create corner pieces about once a month, but she also specializes in special custom-made full dollhouses.

“Younger people like the weird stuff,” she said of the custom dollhouses people ask for today.

Whether you want a whimsical Tim Burton style dollhouse or classic Victorian, Mancuso can find or create it. And you’ll find it right next to the Native American doll collection, which sits on a shelf below Star Wars action figures, next to a display case of antique Victorian dolls.  No matter your interested you will find something to play with a the Enchanted Doll Forest.   

The Enchanted Doll Forest is located at 2201 Crompond Road (off Route 202) right next to the entrance to the Bear Mountain Parkway. Contact Mancuso at 845-803-6846 orshirleyinoz@aol.com.

The grand opening is March 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.