I've often lamented about how moch it sucks not to have anyone around who shares my hobby, well guess what? Last Sunday I bagged two of my dollies and brought them to my first ever doll meet!
I might have mentioned that I joined this Russian doll forum? I figured I had more chances of finding doll advice I can actually use in my country if I looked on the same continent. My expectations were fully met with lots of familiar brand names, people talking about the same problems I'm having, discussing ways to source tiny doll crafting things (my favourite was cutting up diapers to get the thin velcro)... And then there was a board for offlines. My country was in the Soviet Union, so it had a topic too. I got in touch with the peeps there and scheduled a nice afternoon with doll ladies from my city.
I was very excited! Hubby left me a big chunk of the day to prepare and go to the meeting while he cleaned our apartment (do I have the best husband or what?) :D I decided to bring my only Barbie Basics (#14 Denim) and my Scaris Cleo in a random outfit. Two other ladies were able to come; one of them brought an impressive 70cm BJD. It was the first time I saw a BJD in real life. I was so psyched about everything that I didn't concentrate on taking decent pictures. I apologize beforehand.
The small one in a bee costume belongs to the other lady. It's also a BJD and came with a lot of bee accessories, even had a flower pillow to sit on.
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| Impossible to see, but her eyes are open and green :) |
She brought two other dolls that I wanted to see: a Fashion Royalty...
...and a Tiny Kitty:
These are dolls I've seen for the first time, too. Kitty had snaps on the dress similar in size to the ones I use and simple strappy sandals. I was very impressed with the FR outfit. She's barely bigger than Barbie, but her boots have lacing and working zippers!
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| My camera really quit on me for this photo |
So yes, I saw and touched doll zippers and I can assure you they are nothing like hidden zippers for people. They are not hidden, flatter and narrower and the slider is as discrete as humanly possible. I'm seriously thinking of placing an order with ZipperThatDoll now that I've seen what these things look like!
I had a great time at the doll meeting. I wish I could meet a customiser, too, but it was a good start. I saw dolls I've never seen before and the ladies seemed open and friendly. Who knows, maybe in due time they'll catch the crafting bug from me :)
The Tiny Kitty lady gave me some links afterwards and one of them is a shop where she bought her Tonner stuff. The prices are more affordable than what I'm used to seeing, but I'm still uncomfortable paying 100$ for one doll. On the other hand, I don't feel like buying Mattel dolls that I have to fix in so many ways before I get to enjoy them (glue hair, wonkiness, crooked clothes, pink overload). I seriously wonder how many MH I'd have to pass before I can justify buying a Tonner XD
I'm looking forward to the next meeting where I hope to see one more person who couldn't come last Sunday. I already know which dolls I want to bring. Now I can concentrate on my list of projects and hopefully finish something until next time.
The list:
- fixed Scaris Ghoulia's hair (finally!); expect three hair posts soon
- make Ghoulia a dress (design and supplies at hand)
- nail art supplies arrived, need to try them
- sealant arrived, post in the writing
- Barbie corset experiments, so far unsuccessful
- feet reshaping: one down, one to go
- reliable tights patterns
...
Projects popping all around like mushrooms after rain! That's without counting the previous long-term ones, like rerooting and repainting all those heads. Well, at least I don't feel so lonely now that I've connected with doll people who live right here in the city and I know I can count on some extra support when I need it!
So glad you were able to meet some local ladies! :) I love my online doll friends, but I'm sure you'll agree that there's something so special about that face-to-face time with other doll lovers. :) I always look forward to my local doll club meetings. :)
ReplyDeleteThe tiny BJD is an Ai doll from Jun Planning (the same company that makes Pullip). Her name is "Bee Balm". That specific doll is in my local Tuesday Morning right now for $29.99. I opted for a different face mold and picked up "Ginger" and "Zinnia" from eBay instead (for around the same price). :)
I'm glad you had such a great time. I hope your projects go well, too! :)
It was fantastic! None of my friends have anything to do with dolls (except hubby, but he has no choice :>). It was quite refreshing to meet people who share my interest and I saw all these dolls I've never seen before except in photos. All were purchased like mine with a lot of trouble with shop orders, money transfers, middlemen and postal service "wonders". The boy doll had his faceup done in Russia and waited 6 months for his boots. It's all so familiar! Luckily, BJDs aren't my cup of tea so my pleasures are a little less expensive :) Bee Balm cost her owner about 50$, partly because of the heavy case she came in. Sorry, I forgot to mention the doll names in the post, as I said, I'm not into BJDs.
DeleteThanks for stopping by! I appreciate it a lot, especially knowing how busy you are :)
I'm glad I did. :) I used to be a lot better about commenting on other people's blogs, but since things on my blog have taken off (and the whole parenting, teaching, and writing thing), ;) it's been harder to do. I do read your posts, though, even when I don't comment. :)
DeleteHere's to many more wonderful times with your new friends! ;)
You have a great blog. I learn so much. I don't know anyone around me who's interested in dolls so blogs like yours are very important to me. It's nice to know I'm not alone and I'm not weird because I like dolls and crafting.
ReplyDeleteThe dolls in your photos are really impressive. Most of my dolls were bought on sale or at a thrift store. That's all I can afford right now. Pretty soon I won't be able to buy anymore dolls at all. I have to learn how to fix them up and make things for them.
Its always nice to meet others who are into dolls, too.
I'm glad you find my blog interesting! I like yours, too. It takes a lot of patience, skill and imagination to rehabilitate all those old dolls. They look great and unique now thanks to you. I hope you find doll people closer to you. I tried searching Facebook pages before landing on the forum. You should keep looking. Someone suggested including the location when you write a blog post. I'm pretty sure there are many doll people in your area :)
DeleteThat's great that you were able to meet people locally! Sometimes the internet is just no substitute for face-to-face interaction.
ReplyDeleteCleo doesn't look like she is very fond of Tiny Kitty, does she? I don't know anything about Fashion Royalty, but Tonner dolls really are nice, and much better quality than Mattel. Recently there have been a few indications that the Tonner company is also suffering a bit from the bad economy, but they are still better quality than Mattel. If you decide you want a more "upmarket" doll, looking second hand is often a good way to go, or with a basic doll.
Cleo is jealous of Kitty's much better hair and face paint. The FR doll feels like a great doll too. She's quite heavy and her clothes are amazing. I didn't get a look at the naked body but the articulation seemed decent. As much as I'd love to take your suggestions about upgrading my collection, this isn't America where used Tonners exist; even playline Barbies are too expensive to end up at a second-hand market. It's cheaper to buy new from an established online shop than to convince someone on ebay to mail their defective doll overseas. I'm sure with some perseverance and patience I'll find something right, just like I found the J-doll :)
DeleteSorry to hear that. I guess I was thinking ebay in some European country like Germany, but then I don't usually look at those, so I don't know what's out there. I know I haven't gotten a lot for the nude Tonner dolls that I've sold here.
DeleteI know Tonner is moving to purely selling dolls off his own website; don't know if that will help or hurt those outside of North America.
Also, I hope that I didn't offend you. And I used the word "know" way too often in the above reply. I think I'm starting to have senior moments.
DeleteOh, don't worry, I was busy, not upset. I actually didn't know about Tonner's plan to sell online only, thanks for that information! You're always welcome to say anything on your mind :)
DeleteSo cool!
ReplyDeleteHey, what sort of corset are you trying to make for your barbies? I have a waist cincher pattern that I know works and you could easily modify it. Here's a link to pictures of it finished on a doll form. https://www.flickr.com/photos/faydreams/7726816116/ Front. https://www.flickr.com/photos/faydreams/7726813728/in/photostream/ Side. https://www.flickr.com/photos/faydreams/7726811318/in/photostream/ Back. I can easily scan the pattern and email it to you if you wish.
Mystic
That's so nice of you to offer the pattern! It's very pretty. I'm not in any hurry to make a specific corset, it's rather for the sake of experiment and practice at creating patterns. I drew six versions with a bunch of length variations. So far it's been fun... and will get better when one of them turns right :D
DeleteHappy to hear you found local collectors! Such a variety of dolls!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I was much surprised to find people who collect these kinds of dolls, which proves that no difficulties can stand in the way of great dedication :)
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