Doll collectors are a competitive lot. There is no lack of contests in the doll world to subjectively elevate one doll over another for some reason or another. These contests can take place solely on the Internet or IRL at conventions. With one or two notable exceptions, no money changes hands in these competitions. Humble little ribbons and their accompanying bragging rights are the most common prizes awarded. And, given the enthusiasm with which collectors participate in some contests, those bragging rights can be priceless. Contests exist for manufacturers, too. Winners of the ongoing DOLLS Magazine Awards of Excellence proudly display their winning logos on their websites to market their winning entries.

Collector contests that take place at conventions can shine the light on outstanding artists in the community. Some artists work for months on their entries to impress the judges with their talents. Categories highlight the work of excellent seamstresses, repainters, diorama-makers, and even photographers. Most often, the prizes are simple ribbons. One very notable exception is Integrity’s annual best-in-show contest, in which the winner has his/her creation commercially reproduced by the company the following year.

At times, contest ribbons can be liberally distributed. I don’t create a damned thing doll-wise, yet I have two second-place ribbons to my name for the mere accomplishment of owning dolls. These were won at the 2008 Modern Doll Convention, which, at least at the time, featured contests for the best examples of dolls in a specific category. I attended the convention with my mother, and I won for a couple fairy dolls I had in my collection. My mother won for a couple dolls from her childhood, and, honestly, you’d think the woman had just won a million dollars. (Love you, Mom.)

Web-based awards are another way collectors use to separate the wheat from the chaff in the fashion doll universe. Dollobservers.com, an online community of fashion doll collectors, hosts an open contest each year for both collectors and artists, with categories ranging from best fashion doll hair to best fashion doll blog. And last year, Tonner Doll created the innovative “Doll Duels,” in which collectors can enter and rate doll photos. An ongoing tally indicates the most popular images. If you ever want to kill time in your work cubicle on an idle Tuesday, this is site is worth at least a half-hour of amusement.

So now that convention season is upon us, you will undoubtedly see the winners of various competitions appearing on Facebook or your favorite doll board or blog. Do me a favor and take a moment to look at the winning entries and think about the work that went into them. And then give the winning artists a pat on the back. Chances are they worked damn hard for those puny little ribbons.