Kerchie relives her childhood by collecting Polly Pockets for her pastel-coloured paradise
Once upon a time, in a bedroom in California, USA, a young Kerchie (USA) would sit and play with her Polly Pocket dolls in their miniature fantasy world.
The one-inch plastic toys would scatter the floors of her sister’s room, and she was always drawn to their bright colours and whimsical designs – as well as the tiny books or makeup-sized compacts that would open into magical worlds for the dolls to explore.
As that girl grew older, after she cleared out her childhood collection, she began to look back on these toys with a fondness associated with her youth – and over a decade after Kerchie first gave up her dolls, she began the process of getting them back.
The devoted doll-lover spent years scouring eBay and Google to piece together a collection of 534 Polly Pockets, ranging from dolls to houses to commemorative items, to post on her Youtube channel and display in her home in an effort to relive her childhood and share her passion with others.
And now, she’s become an unofficial expert on this pocket-sized part of toy history, after claiming the Guinness World Records title for the largest collection of Polly Pocket items in the world.
“I began collecting Polly Pockets at the end of 2019, and I just turned 30 that year, so I was feeling very nostalgic, thinking about my childhood, all the fun toys I used to have… and one toy that was always in the back of my mind was Polly Pockets,” she explained.
“Something about them just makes me so happy, like no other toy has. I also had Barbies, I had doll houses, of course, video games, while growing up, but something about Polly Pocket is just so special and I think it’s because she’s tiny and she lives in her own world, like I do.”
As part of the 2026 edition of Guinness World Records, we sat down with Kerchie and talked about her collection, ranging from the history of the dolls to her personal connection with Polly Pockets.
She told us that Chris Wiggs designed the dolls in the 1980s to give his daughter a toy she could play with on-the-go, and that the brand was originally distributed by Bluebird Toys before Mattel took over the company in the 2000s.
“I would argue that she’s made the biggest comeback of any toy, ever,” said Kerchie.
The original Polly Pockets owned by Bluebird Toys were known for being stored in plastic clamshell cases, reminiscent of makeup compacts, which would open to reveal bedrooms, offices, and other exciting worlds for the dolls to live in. Under Mattel, these cases began to get bigger and more elaborate, expanding into doll houses, books, and eggs that were large enough to store doll accessories and extra rooms.
“I’m also a designer, so from the designer-perspective, I love how they display,” Kerchie continued. “They display so nicely in my room, so I can have a collection, and still have a really nice space to live in.
“They look classy, they’re organized, they’re colourful, [and] they’re very cohesive, which as a collector and also a designer, it means so much to me that things look nice.”
Kerchie also says it’s ironic that she has her whole collection displayed in her home because she’s a very minimalist person – but upon entering her office, you’re immediately met with a pastel pink paradise, with Polly Pocket-themed merchandise neatly organized on top of photograph holders on all of her shelves.
“I’m trying to contain them here, because my husband did say if I need more space I can put them outside my room, in the hallways, and in the living room, but I feel like if I go that far, this entire house is going to be a Pollyville!” she said.
Nevertheless, her husband George doesn’t mind living in her miniature world – in fact, he thinks it's cute that his wife gets so thrilled when she receives a new piece of her collection in the mail. He even bought her a new Polly Pocket as a celebration gift for receiving her Guinness World Records title!
“We have boxes arriving all of the time, and sometimes that gets to be a lot, but no it’s not tough, y’know, because she gets so excited when she finds a new piece or gets a good deal,” he said.
“And there’s a lot of nostalgia attached to it. I grew up with four sisters, so even seeing some kinds of these things gives me a blast from the past.”
And Kerchie does take great care with her collection, making sure they’re all neatly displayed in her closet space, no matter their size.
“My trick is I’m just really, really organized,” she said.
“I will always open them up and play with them, and not keep them in a box. And they make my heart very happy.”
She also takes her own creative liberties with her sets, by occasionally repainting some of the Pollyville compacts so her dolls can enjoy brighter, fresher rooms.
“This project actually inspired a bunch of other collectors to repaint their Polly Pockets as well, which is so exciting because they tag me in some of these photos, and I just love seeing what other people come up with,” she said.
My collection has helped me come out of my shell, it has helped me really put forth my creative efforts out there, and of course, share my collection with everybody, especially nostalgic ‘90s kids like myself.
Yet no matter what, she has no intentions on giving her collection away ever again!
“If I can go back in time and tell myself one thing, it would be to not give your Polly Pockets away,” Kerchie joked. “My collection would get as big as time and space allows. The limit does not exist.”
She also added that: “I don’t plan on selling my collection or passing them down to future generations. I don’t plan on having kids. My collection stays and dies with me!”
Above all else, Kerchie’s now thrilled that she has the opportunity to share her collection with the world on her social media pages and in Guinness World Records, as it inspires others to follow their passions and rekindle their love for childhood experiences.
“To be in the Guinness World Records book, the books that I used to read as a kid, I can’t even fathom it right now,” she said. “All I can say is it’s such a huge honour, it’s something I never expected – I’m just an adult trying to relive her childhood and I have the privilege to do so, so I’m just taking advantage of the wonderful life that I have, and enjoying it as much as I can.”
And charitably, she wouldn’t be upset if someone took her title – as she’d be passing the torch to another fan of the pocket-sized paradise.
“I will actually be relieved if someone beats my record,” Kerchie joked. “Because it’s good to know that there’s someone out there that’s crazier than me!”