Jamieshow's Alejandro and Marlena "On Michigan Avenue" Dolls

At the end of May, 2015, the new "On Michigan Ave" Jamieshow dolls debuted. I ordered Alejandro and Marlena at the convention in Chicago. They arrived three days ago.

This Alejandro differs from my other one in that he has facial hair screening. I know they're supposed to have the same sculpt but I see a difference in the nose. My new one appears to have a narrower, longer nose. I guess it's possible that the casting changed a bit. His eyes look different as well. I like them both.
Here are closeups side by side. The new one is on the right. Both are wearing Chewin wigs.

The pink jacket, blue shirt and ripped jeans are all Jamieshow products which were available separately a while back. The quality of these items are far superior to what he came dressed in. Someone reminded me that he is only a basic doll and one can't expect much. What I do expect with a $400. doll is a stand. George Gonzalez, an owner of Jamieshow Dolls, says that the reason the male dolls don't come with stands is because they're anatomically correct. That is not a good reason as far as I'm concerned. All my dolls are on stands unless they're sitting down. I'd never display a resin doll without a stand. His junk doesn't keep the stand from working in any way especially when he's dressed.

Marlena has an unusual look with her very pale resin and sharp features. When I started playing with different wigs, I saw more possibilities. In these photos, she is wearing a Chewin wig meant for Sybarite dolls. Her fashion is a Superdoll outfit called "D-I-V-O-R-C-E."  It fits pretty well except in the bust area. Marlena has a smaller cup size.

She has a look that can kill. With those piercing blue eyes and thin, mean lips she is not a doll for the faint of heart. I enjoyed putting a flowered hat on her. It's so opposite from the vibe she gives off.

Demi-Ginny and Rory Riot Llewelyn

I rinsed out and combed Ginny's rooted wig cap and it helped somewhat. I twirled it while it was still damp and let it dry flat on paper toweling. It looks much better. I eliminated some of the more difficult frizzies in Photoshop.

Ginny is wearing a gown by SL Doll. (Sanglian Lu, Xiamen, China)  She was gone a long time but I see she is now selling on Etsy.  "Sanglian's Homework"  There's not much listed there but she's worth checking out from time to time.

With Ginny is a Jem line doll called Rory Riot Llewelyn.  His hair was on the wild side. I dunked it in boiling hot water and then combed it out and let it dry straight. It's held back with a ribbon. Rory is wearing an Homme suit and Fashion Royalty ID tag jewelry from forever ago. 

The original Rory, below, definitely did not fit into my collection. I was able to purchase him nekkid.

IT Promotional Photo

Brunel and Alejandro

Dress by Ficon
Wig by Cheryl Wood
IT Jewelry (Gene)
IT Purse

Jamieshow Alejandro's wig by Chewin

Collection: 2013 in Retrospect

I usually do a "Best-Worst" themed post at year end. This year I'm going to do more of a "Best of My 2013 Collection" post. Going through my 2013 purchase database, I made a list of my favorites. The list revealed that I concentrated, number-wise, on wigs and fashions more than anything else. And, for the first time in a few years, Integrity Toys' dolls scored multiple bests.

Below, left: Lukas Maverick as "Beauty." He was paired with a female doll entitled "Beast," not shown. Right: "Interlude," the last Monogram doll in the line, (supposedly) was a welcome bag doll at the 2013 convention. She is dressed in a fashion called "Completist" which was also a gift to attendees.

The two Integrity dolls below from their last convention are both Elise Jolie. On the left is the convention souvenir, Midnight  Star, and on the right is a workshop doll dressed in the Beast's outfit. These dolls are gorgeous and I love the Elise sculpt as much as I loved the original Vanessa sculpt!

A fashion designed by Chris Stoeckel for the W Club Luncheon for Victoire Roux made my favorites. Chris had previously done this dress for a 15.5" Gene doll (right) in a different colorway. It translates very well to the 12" "Out Sass."
IMO Chris is the most talented designer IT has (if Jason isn't around.)

Mel Odom's beloved Gene Marshall doll made a surprise comeback in 2013 as a resin BJD produced by JamieShow Dolls. It's great fun to have new Gene dolls and it has brought renewed life to so many long-time Gene collections. On the left is J'Adore Gene wearing  a Sybarite fashion and a Cheryl Wood wig. On the right is Phoenix Gene wearing her own gown and a wig by Cheryl Wood.

Speaking of wigs, I added at least one dozen to my collection this past year. My favorites are those made by Ilaria, Patta, Cheryl and Chewin. My dolls have varying sized heads so they need lots of wigs. Below are two from Ilaria aka "Time of Doll."
On the left is Miss G White, a Ficon doll I traded for. Although she debuted in 2012, she is new to my collection. On the right is Inro. She is the first in the Inamorata line produced as a limited edition as opposed to a OOAK by Emilia Nieminen. 

For the first time in ages, I'm paying attention to male dolls again. While the Jamieshow Alejandro below, left and the Tonner Neo Tokyo are not from 2013, their fashions are. These fabulous garments are by the uber-talented Chewin. I also commissioned him to do Alejandro's wig.

 Another Chewin outfit modeled by Tonner's Yoshio, a 2013 16" favorite.

Yian (modsdoll) repainted this Dionysis Sybarite. She's wearing a 2012 Cheryl Wood wig, a gorgeous dress from the 2013 Metrodoll's luncheon entitled "Eventail," and a stunning neckpiece by Asher of New England. I'm sure you can see why she made my favorites list.

Of course I have too many dolls so I buy outfits for them. Early fashions that I couldn't get previously and newly released ones arrived regularly.
Many of the amazing fashions from Sandra Stillwell's Kansas City Every Day's A Holiday event can be seen elsewhere on this blog. Here is one called "Delicate Bloom." The floral motifs are all ribbon embroidery!

V John offers a monthly fashion for either 12" or 16" dolls.

There are always Tonner dressed dolls or fashions that need to come to mama.  Some fashions are offered separately and some are from dressed dolls. Tiny Kitty is older (2005) doll called "Flirtation."  Sometimes it's good to wait because many collectors sell Tonner products for much less than they paid.

Antoinette is wearing a 2012 gown from "Sweeping Antoinette."

 

This Antoinette fashion is called "Fanciful." It's so Barbie-ish and reminds me of Silkstone Provencale.  "Hypnotic" Antoinette, whom I chose to model the Tonner gown, has the same hairstyle the Silkie (on the right.) Provencale is not a new acquisition.

I was more careful with my purchases but I definitely made a few mistakes. I am happy with my dolls. When I'm not, they go. Some stick around until I'm sure.

My doll collecting resolution is to continue to be careful and focused with what I purchase.  I resolve to re-photograph many of my dolls and photograph all new dolls as they join the tribe.

Do you have any doll-related resolutions for 2013?

JamieSHOW Doll HAVANA Nights 2013

Angelic Dreamz new 2013 line of Jamieshow dolls, Havana Nights, has debuted. Check them out and go shopping! The male dolls are $360 each; the females are $350.

Angelic Dreamz spent the last three years developing this line along with JAMIEshow to bring you the first BJD Fashion doll produced exclusively for the USA market and marketed directly by a USA Dealer.  Working with the factory directly we are able to bring you the most exquisite resin doll at factory direct pricing saving the consumer as much as 50% on these dolls. 

The JAMIESHOW 1/4 fashion BJD's combine the poseable ball structure of a BJD with the elegant figure of 16-inch fashion doll in a perfect way. They are designed with 19 points of articulation for holding a variety of very human poses. Accessories for almost every other 16-inch fashion doll and fashion BJD, such as clothes, shoes and wigs are all suitable for JAMIESHOW BJD and vice versa.

One of the remarkable features of JAMIESHOW is the high-performance resin called Smooth J, which is solely made for BJD's by the JAMIESHOW design team, it has far better properties than any other BJD material used ever before. Most of all, it doesn't have any VOC substance or any hazardous metal elements , no odor emitting at all during the sanding process, It can pass the most stringent regulation such as EN71,AB1108, HR4040, etc. It is a bona fide environment friendly material.

 From left to right they are Ling Lan, Sasha, Grace and Ginny:

 Lee, Tatum and Alejandro:

Havana Nights dolls all dolls have 20 points of articulation, which include upper leg articulation.  Girl dolls are 16" Tall, boys 17" Tall.  Included is the Face-up, painted eyes, body blushing, clothing and shoes as shown, rooted wig cap as shown and solid wig cap for regular wigs,  as well as a JAMIEshow articulated doll stand.  They are made of the same Smooth-J® Resin.

The girls can wear all the JAMIEshow shoes, rooted wigcaps and accessory hands.

Jamieshow Alejandro

This handsome fellow is my first resin male doll. He is a 2012 basic Jamieshow Alejandro that I purchased at Angelic Dreamz during the Prohibition event. I loved the optional outfit so much that I had to purchase a doll to wear it.
He is wigged and I would like to get another wig that is shorter. I like that his 5 o'clock shadow is done very well. This is one good looking doll!

His outfit is so well made and the fabric is very fine. It's the first pair of male pants I've ever had that doesn't have the fly zipper tab sticking out. I love everything about this outfit.  I have no idea how to tie a tie.

Why is he standing in a window, you ask? Well, work on my studio has just begun. As of today, all the framing is done. It will be a simple room with two windows and a black and white checkered floor similar to my former darkroom.  We're also having a cedar lined closet built right outside the studio. Currently, I have my photography equipment in a corner of the basement all covered up and protected from dust. (Hopefully)

I've begun deboxing and redressing dolls but it is slow going. Gradually as the chaos of boxes subsides it becomes a little easier. I've had to come up with a new organization system and that keeps changing. There are three glass cabinets waiting to be assembled. Where is that magic wand?

The rest of the house is shaping up nicely. Dealing with workpeople who can't do it right the first time is such a pain. It's unbelievable the damage one person can do. The moldings need to be touched up and repainted in many places from the installation of new flooring. The floor installers damaged the front of my new refrigerator and they are paying to get another one. But I have to do the calling and arranging. I was so pissed!!!
Of course I'm finding places the painters messed up as well. They were here for two months, you'd think they would have gotten it right. They might have if they were sober the entire time. Sigh.
The main moving company has had my claim for a month. I called yesterday and was told it could take 3 to 6 months to finalize it. It didn't take them that long to take my money. Their excuse is that it's the busy season. So hire more people. Seriously.

Back to dolls....I have a huge backlog of dolls to photograph. I'm enjoying the ones I've taken out and dressed and put on display. It's nice to see them again. Really nice.