Grapevine specialty doll business closing after 21 years
Grapevine – Frances Wiggins’ customers will have to go elsewhere to buy their dolls, now that her Grapevine Doll and Gift Shop is shutting down this week after 21 years on South Main Street.
Wiggins has another shop in Bowie in Montague County, where she and her husband, Carl, have lived for the last five years. It’s just become too cumbersome and time-consuming to commute to Grapevine from 70 miles away, she said.
“We dearly love Grapevine, we really do,” Wiggins said as she, relatives and some employees packed up dolls.
The shop is among only a few specialty doll stores in Tarrant County, others being Dazzling Dolls in Arlington and Enchanted Dolls in Fort Worth. “I’m really sorry to see the store go; they’re really polite and friendly,” said Grapevine Doll customer Lisa Lundberg, who has about 10 dolls bought from the shop. She hopes to travel to the Bowie store, but she said she must first replace her mid-’90s Ford Escort with a newer car.
The Wigginses own the building at 411 S. Main St. that houses her shop and a tenant, Ashlins, an upscale clothing store. Ashlins will expand to fill the space once taken up by the doll business.
By Wednesday, only a few items remained for sale at the front of the store.
Purchases may be made this week as long as there is something left to sell, Wiggins said.
Over the years, Wiggins has developed a loyal clientele. Some, who are up in years, have asked for Wiggins to get them rides to the Bowie shop, she said.
Well-known dollmakers such as Jerri McCloud, Wendy Lawton, Virginia Turner, and Lee Middleton have turned out at Wiggins’ shop for doll signings. Celebrities represented in the doll collection have also turned out, such as Karolyn Grimes, who played the character of Zuzu Bailey in the classic movie It’s a Wonderful Life, starring Jimmy Stewart.
Carla Kinney, Frances Wiggins’ daughter, said that the business is a true specialty store and that she and family members make long trips to find the best, most unusual dolls.
“We’ve been all over the world, and we handpick most of our dolls,” Kinney said.
from Star-Telegram.com © 2008
