The catalog introduction of the 'Friend' Dolls in 2000: 


The 'OurTwinns' Yahoo Group has quite a few 'Mug Shots' of Friends from the early 2000's in their sister Groups 'ourtwinnspictures' and 'moreourtwinnspictures', including the fun 'action shots'.  Join the Groups (click the green link and then the 'join the Group' link) and have fun visiting these old Friends!


What are the 'Friend' and 'Vintage Friend' Dolls? 

The definition and policies regarding the 'Adopt-a-Friend' and 'Vintage Friend' dolls were found on the My Twinn website.  To summarize, as of September 2012:

Adopt-a-Friend dolls are "one-of-a-kind dolls made from left-over components" which "may contain components from dolls we were unable to complete or components that we were unable to use on a custom doll" and "may have slight imperfections such as freckles".  They may be returned with certain restrictions but may not be exchanged.

"Vintage Friends are created from components that are discontinued and no longer available for personalized dolls and are designed especially by our local artisans using their own creativity". They are "non returnable and non refundable, however, they are more than welcome in (the My Twinn) Doll Hospital for changes." 

Here is a more detailed explanation from My Twinn in June 2011:

When the Denver My Twinn closed, all inventories were boxed up and  shipped to the new facility in Blairs, VA. For a long time a lot of this inventory was kept boxed up and was never brought out. When My Twinn was moved to Chatham, VA we started to find all of this inventory and have steadily been going through it and in doing so have found lots and lots of  Denver era inventory (See note below!). This inventory is not added to current active inventory. Wondering what is considered Active? 
All active colorings for the skin, eyes and wigs can be found on the Custom doll ordering page. When a current face mold is found in the Denver inventory we do not add it to existing inventory for that face mold, as the vinyls do not match. The My Twinn custom doll is a First quality doll and we will not create a Custom doll that has a different head and body.Vintage dolls are considered Vintage, if any part of the head has nonactive components. This includes but is not limited to current face molds made of Denver vinyl, eyes, wigs and eyelashes from the Denver era. We do occasionally find retired face molds within this old inventory. Most heads just need a little cleaning up and a new body. This is the reason that the bodies do not always match the heads exactly and that we list the Vintage dolls as having slight imperfections.

It should be noted that the 'Vintage Friends' now include the limited re-pours discussed in our Twinn Times, and dolls made from components not in their current active production... which may include what collectors consider "China Era" components as My Twinn does not make the distinction from "Denver Era".  It is important that you understand their definition and carefully study the photos online to avoid disappointment if you are seeking dolls with Denver Era components.  On the other hand, it is a great way to catch a few of the Denver Era face molds, including some of the rarer molds, that have been 'found' in the My Twinn warehouse.  Happy hunting!


Thank you My Twinn for your generous support of the National Adoption Center! 

Below, from Holiday 2010 Catalog