In My Obsessionrioriches7, one creative person reveals their most prized collection.

After the Spectrum, a D.I.Y. nightclub in Brooklyn, was evicted from its underground venue in 2016, one of its co-founders, the performance artist and nightlife impresario Gage Spex, sought out a new site. Later that year, Spex leased a banquet hall in Ridgewood, Queens, that had oversize chandeliers and walls padded in kitschy diamond patterns and gave it a title befitting its carnivalesque interiors: the Dreamhouse.

The name of that space, which closed in 2019, was taken from the brightly colored plastic or cardboard homes that Mattel sold for Barbie dolls, which Spex, 40, began collecting as a child growing up in western Massachusetts. Spex recalls constructing “fantasy worlds” for the toys in their bedroom: “gigantic, sprawling houses that were like mansions and nightclubs, ironically.” These days, their collection of over 200 dolls — including their first Barbie,66jogo a parental reward for potty training — is arranged like a shrine on pink shelves in their Bushwick apartment. In adulthood, Spex, who has recently thrown parties at Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village dedicated to the living dolls of our world (“doll” is often used as a slang term for a transgender person), has developed a new perspective on their hobby. “I love the symbol of dolls being any kind of woman,” they say. “You can be whatever you want.”

The collection: “It started off with me going to flea markets with my parents, who were antiques collectors. I grew up in a house that was basically a house museum from Victorian times.”

Number of pieces in the collection: Over 200 dolls, plus accessories.

Recent purchase: “I bargained with a woman at Brimfield [the flea market in Massachusetts] to get a number of different mod outfits from the ’60s and one brunette flip hair doll. I’ve always wanted these outfits, but they’re hard to find. They’re an iridescent, reflective blue kind of mylar.”

Least expensive: “I recently got a doll for $10. Her name is Walking Jamie. She’s a red-haired doll from the ’70s.”

8kg

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Mayor Eric Adams, in announcing his appointment at a news conference, called Mr. Donlon “an experienced law enforcement professional who has worked at the local, state, federal and international levels.”

That harm, proponents of the bill said, manifests in everything from unequal involvement in the criminal justice system to poor health outcomesrioriches7, lower homeownership rates and a lack of quality education options.