A beloved Colorado Springs institution is reopening with an online store Monday, Sept. 23.
The Simpich Showcase was well-known for nearly 70 years and featured delicate handmade dolls, mostly holiday-themed, like carolers with bright blue eyes or a Santa Claus with wrinkles and red cheeks.
Many families, including tourists, made it a holiday tradition to visit the Simpich Showcase store before it closed in 2021.
Now, due to "overwhelming demand from collectors," the family says it will return with an online store featuring a "curated and limited selection of high-demand and rare dolls," according to an announcement on Simpich’s website.
"If you grew up in Colorado Springs anytime between 1952 and 2007, Simpich Dolls are likely part of your story," Leah Davis-Witherow, curator of history of the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, told KRCC in 2021.
"Because [the dolls] could only be found in Colorado Springs, that meant people who would visit the shop in Old Colorado City would purchase a doll and take it home, but we know one was never enough," she said.
Now collectors have a new place to help satisfy that Simpich itch. The online store will also offer dolls restored to what they call "heirloom quality." They have a waitlist for specific Simpich dolls that may be hard to find.
