New Issue of Haute Doll

Sorry for the extended absence (nobody reads, but I still feel guilty). I have so much to write about! But today I'm going to restrict myself to the new issue of Haute Doll magazine.

As usual, it's great. I love the patterns for the handkerchief dress! I'm also pleased to add to my paper doll collection. Hooray! I would absolutely recommend this issue!

Hooray for Doll Class!

So last night I had my first doll class with JoAn Morris. I think this may be the best deal I've ever found! She charges $8.50 for the class, and then you pay for your materials as you go. I chose a beautiful doll to make named Martina...she'll be ready for me to clean in next week's class. I'm so excited! Last night I worked on a practice doll head. I cleaned her seams and cut out her eyes. I didn't even break or chip her! I'm just so geeked! It was so great to be able to talk to women who are just as excited about dolls as I am, even if they are a few (or several) decades older than I am. I think this is going to be a good thing for me. I'll keep all of you, my nonexistent audience, in the loop.

This is the doll I chose to make. She's made by the Great American Doll Company and is designed by Rottraut Schaut from Germany. I hope she turns out just as beautiful!

Which doll should I buy?

I think I'm going to spend my next paycheck on dolls. But what should I buy? Should I get an Innoquii (they're so pretty) or a few Dynamite Girls? I'm leaning towards Dynamite Girls before I get too behind. Who am I kidding? I know I'm getting Dynamite Girls.

However, I'm incredibly interested in the new Playline Barbie Fashionistas. Highly articulated playline barbies...doesn't get much better than that...

No Dolls!

This Saturday is my 25th birthday. My husband gave me my birthday gift last night, but this is the first holiday in a long time that I didn't receive a doll as a gift. The gift I got was wonderful, and I will certainly be putting them to good use, but it was just a strange realization I had that there was no doll.

Probably a good thing, as I should probably be spending my own money on my expensive hobby. :)

Disaster!

While I would love to report on doll news...I can't. Today is a sad day for Eriufaeye! I bought the new AvantGuard doll Androgyny off of ebay last week. She's beautiful, and wonderful...and broken. Last night she tried to commit suicideby diving from her shelf...but succeeded only in dislodging her wig and breaking her ankle. There was hope at first, as she has removable feet, but the post of her high heeled foot was lodged in her leg. I thought I could pull it out and reattach it to the foot...almost good as new...but tweezers couldn't hold the post, and even the smalles needle nose pliers couldn't get in far enough to the leg to even grasp the post without pushing it in further. So it seems my choices are to glue her foot back on as best I can, possibly lose the mobility of her ankle and lose the ability (possibly...with a good enough bond I might not) to change out the feet for the flats OR shove the post further into the leg and have her permanently flat footed. I like neither choice. Stupid suicidal doll. She was on that shelf perfectly sturdy for a whole week. The weirdest part? I was in the BASEMENT with my husband and ALL our pets when it happened. No slamming doors, nothing. Completely spontaneous. My only guesses are that either she really is suicidal, and I need to put her on suicide watch, or she was affected by an earthquake halfway around the world in Indonesia. Neither seems likely.

JAMIEshow at Angelic Dreamz

Hello gorgeous! Angelic Dreamz has a new BJD line completely exclusive to their shop called JAMIEshow. They are beautiful 16 inch dolls that can share accessories with other 16 inch fashion dolls (according to Angelic Dreamz). This first release includes four characters:

Jamie: American Girl
Kyra: African American Girl
Mayumi: Japanese Girl
RuYi: Chinese Girl

Each doll has 17 points of articulation and have been in development for 2 years. For an upcharge you can have Jamie, Kyra, or Mayumi's eyes drilled for glass eyes instead of the painted ons.

My favourite would have to be Jamie. She's marvelously gorgeous and would fit into my collection perfectly. Dolls are such an expensive habit! One that seems so impossible to keep up with when such beautiful things pop up and are so beyond my current budget! I'll keep an eye on the JAMIEshow line...maybe even greater things are to come. Check them out!

Dynamite Girls Sale!

Ok, I may be a Jason Wu addict...but I am in love with the Dynamite Girls line. Unfortunately, I haven't had much of a doll budget since they came out 2 years ago, so I've been playing catch up and trying to scoop up these beauties before they are sold out everywhere. I'm still missing a lot, but I am working on it, and luckily Marl & B is here to help! The current Electro Pop releases are all on sale at her shop, and the original Wave 1 & 2 releases are on sale at The Doll Peddlar. Looks like I might be buying some up just in time for my birthday next week! Now I just have to decide which ones fit into my rapidly depleting doll budget.

I adore all of the DG's that I already own, especially the special releases (FAO exclusive Jolly Jett, Spooky Sooki, FDQ exclusive Rufus Blue, Convention exclusive Eltin, Canadian dealer exclusive Dani...). But with the release of the absolutely adorable Boogie Beach collection, I am totally behind...I just hope I can catch up before they sell out everywhere!

Thanks for the sales, doll shoppes! Here's to diving in feet first into the gorgeous DG line...I want them all!

I found lessons!

Well, it's taken me a long time (years, in fact), but I finally found porcelain dollmaking classes in my area! I realize that this task may not sound difficult to some, but it definitely is. When you're talking porcelain dolls, many of the dollmakers and fans are of an older generation, and while they utilize the internet, they aren't up on it's more recent innovations. Many link lists are old, dead, or incomplete, whole internet discussion forums have gone quiet, and internet based groups are generally non-existent or unhelpful. All of this would be fine if the more traditional ways of finding someone weren't also made difficult by out of date or incomplete information. The index listings in the back of industry magazines, for instance, are incomplete since the majority listings are only from major cities, and shops and boutiques have to request to be listed. Many dollmakers have phone numbers that are either unlisted, or listed under their husband's names...making them even more difficult to track down, even if you were lucky enough to get a name. Most of the more well publicized classes are far away and expensive... you get the idea.

The good news is that I did finally find classes. I live in Wyoming, Michigan, and was looking for classes in the Grand Rapids metro area, near where I lived. After hitting a lot of dead ends, dead internet links, disconnected phone numbers, etc, I came across a list of classes that included a doll studio in Muskegon, Mi, only about 45 minutes from Grand Rapids. As I was so desperate, 45 minutes didn't seem like too terrible a commute for only a few times a month, so I called the number listed. Unfortunately the woman who had run the doll studio had decided to retire and move to Florida, and the classes were no longer being offered, but she did suggest that I track down "a woman in the Rockford area" who had taught classes for a number of years. So I set off to track down this mysterious lady without either a name or a phone number. I called the only shop in the Grand Rapids area that specializes in dollmaking supplies, and they knew of only one woman in the entire West Michigan area that taught classes. Yes, this woman lived in the Rockford area, they thought out near Belding Rd, and her name was Joann Morris. They didn't have any contact information, but I was sure I could track her down from there. Little did I know how difficult the task would be! There was no Joann Morris listed in the Grand Rapids phone book, and no Morris' listed as living on Belding Rd. By searching http://www.yellowpages.com/, I was able to search for Morris listings in the Rockford area with male first names, thinking perhaps she was listed under her husband's name. The list was still long, so I mapped each Morris and compiled a shorter list of Morris' who lived within a few miles of Belding Rd. This limited my list to only 5 people. I called each of the first four people, but none of them knew of any Joann Morris, or of any dollmaker in the area. Just as I was beginning to lose hope, I called the final Morris on my list. This man, a Mr. Kirk Morris, was understanding, polite, and happened to be the son of Joann Morris, Master Dollmaker. What luck! He of course knew exactly who I was speaking of, gave me a glowing review of her classes, and was able to give me a phone number. After calling several times (she doesn't have voicemail or an answering machine...see what I mean? This is work!), I finally got a hold of Ms. Morris, and found out the details of her classes. I am scheduled to attend my first class on October 8th! I'm so excited I can barely stand it!

She offers two classes. One takes place every Thursday evening from 7-10 p.m., the other the first two Fridays of every month in the mornings. As I have a day job, I decided on Thursday. The cost of the classes is entirely dependent on the doll you choose to make, as each doll requires different supplies at different prices, which are entirely supplied by Ms. Morris. Besides the cost of the doll, you are required to purchase your own brush, and an $8.50 fee for each attended class. Sounds like a bargain to me!

If you live in the Grand Rapids area and would like to take porcelain dollmaking classes from Ms. Morris, don't put yourself through the run around I did! I won't post her information here out of consideration for her privacy, but simply send me a message or comment containing an e-mail address or contact information and I will give you her phone number.

Here's to learning new things!