Woman sprays 1,000 dolls with perfume and dresses them in clothes

• Lynn Emdin, 59, from South Africa, has built her collection over 20 years
• READ MORE: How growing number of Brits are spending up to £20,000 on realistic dolls that they care for just like real newborns (and some are so lifelike police have broken into homes to ‘rescue’ them)

A woman who has built up a collection of 1,000 porcelain dolls over 20 years shared that her hobby’s roots lie in heartbreak.

Lynn Emdin, 59, from Vereeniging, South Africa, scours second-hand websites for the dolls and then lovingly restores them to their original state.

The mother-of-four dresses them in custom-made clothing and treats them to a spritz of perfume before installing the dolls in their new home – a large shed in her garden.

Lynn, who also works for her family’s auto parts and accessories business, says the hobby – and her ‘She Shed’ – has become a safe haven.

The passion first began 20 years ago when family friend Michael Tolmay gave her a porcelain doll called Rose for her birthday.

Lynn Emdin (pictured), 59, is the proud owner of 1,000 porcelain dolls, which she houses in a shed in garden known as the ‘She Shed’

Two months later, he tragically died in a motorcycle accident, aged just 21 years old.

‘Michael was best friends with my sons and like one of my own,’ she said. ‘Every time I look at Rose I remember Michael.

‘From then on my love for porcelain dolls grew and I collected them wherever I could.’

Ever since, Lynn has rescued dolls from Facebook Marketplace, among other buying and selling communities.

She said: ‘I’m a mother of four sons and sometimes I think I started the collection because I didn’t have daughters.

‘I’ve driven all over to pick them up and each one comes with its own story.’

Yet her sons, Juan-Pierre, 40, Collin, 39, Sheldon, 28, and Ashton, 27, roll their eyes at her growing collection.

Lynn, who is from Vereeniging, South Africa, dresses her dolls in custom-made clothes and gives each one a spritz of perfume before installing them in the shed

While Lynn’s four sons roll their eyes at Lynn’s hobby, her sister Laurelle shares her passion and makes clothes for the dolls

Lynn shared that her passion for porcelain dolls was inspired by a friend of her sons, Michael Tolmay, who gave her a doll named Rose 20 years ago. When Michael died in an accident at the age of 21, she was inspired to build her collection

She said: ‘They’ve already told me I need to strike a match and burn everything in my shed on the day I leave this Earth.’

But her husband Rick, 65, is fully supportive.

He said: ‘Just this weekend she got two more.

‘They were very dirty and like with every doll Lynn gets, she bathes, shampoos and cares for the little ones until they shine.’

Lynn said: ‘Rick will drive with me to pick up the dolls – he’s my biggest supporter.

‘It just breaks my heart to see the dolls looking so neglected.

‘Some of them even had bugs in their hair when I got them.

‘I clean them up nicely and dress them in clothes my sister, Laurelle, custom makes for me.

Lynn’s husband Rick (pictured), 65, is supportive of her hobby and happily spends time driving around the country to collect new dolls

‘And then when they’re clean, I spray them with perfume so they smell good and I talk to them and say, “Wow, look how clean you look now”.’

Lynn built her giant shed to store her treasure trove.

Each of her ‘babies’ is wrapped in plastic to preserve its pristine appearance.

They are kept on specially-built shelves or carefully-packed in crates when she runs out of room.

Her vast collection includes dolls of all shapes and sizes.

There are even two porcelain nuns, dressed in habits and wearing sunglasses.

It appears that a love of dolls runs in the family, too.

Lynn’s sister-in-law, Annette Emdin, is the owner of Annie’s Dolls Hospital and Museum where the avid fan collects dolls, games, vintage toys and military collections.

The mother-of-four wraps each of her dolls in plastic to ensure they remain in pristine condition

Lynn. who has four sons, believes her hobby was spurred on by the fact that she doesn’t have daughters

She said: ‘I have a red-haired doll bedecked in a snow-white baptism dress.

‘A woman contacted me and gave them to me.

‘They’re wearing the baptism clothes that belonged to the woman’s children.’

The couple aren’t sure how much they have spent on the collection but say there isn’t much money to be made in restored porcelain dolls unless they’re very rare.

Rick, a radio broadcaster, added: ‘We’ve paid at most £10 (R250) for doll Lynn really wanted.

‘There are porcelain dolls imported from Taiwan and I once saw one in a museum valued at around £7,500 (R180,000).

‘But you don’t find those dolls easily in South Africa.’

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