Tonner 2014 Mainline Release

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the television series entitled Big Bang Theory, I will explain. The character Sheldon is obsessive compulsive and when he knocks on his neighbor Penny's door, he has to knock three times and say Penny. He does this three times.
It has become a meme.

On to the Tonner release...

Here's Sheldon!

SHELDON COOPER - First Edition $149.99

Robert did a great job sculpting the likeness. It's one of his best ever! While it's not a doll I need in my collection, I think the price is right. What troubles me is the finishing of the clothing. It's one of those details that is important to me.

Anyway, a huge portion of this release consists of childlike dolls: Half Pint, who has the (annoying) Kickit's sculpt, Patsy and Patsyette. The Patsy and Patsyette are very cute and their clothes are adorable. I don't collect this type of doll.  I look at the Tiny Kitty outfit and sigh. If you know anything about sewing and fabric, you will agree that the wrong fabric was used for this gown. The gathering is awful. My Tiny Kitty collection is done. It ended with glitter and I doubt that anything will bring me back.
Here is a screen shot of the entire new release. 

http://www.tonnerdoll.com/2014-mainline-release

The Jon, Cami and Liu Liu are nice looking dolls but their fashions, if one can call them fashion, are ignorable. And the Party Stripes Cami...seriously...was she high already when she got dressed? A short lime green skirt and striped top is not fashion or fashionable. Who the heck signed off on that doll? She should have been sold nude or as a basic in a bodysuit.

New opportunities for "Who Wears It Better" have cropped up recently.

I think the 22" American Models are lovely.  I'd have to build another level onto my home to accommodate more of them. There have been many that are so gorgeous.  These two come to mind immediately.

But I digress.

It's a no-brainer that a manufacturer cannot maintain the same quality of goods as prices keep rising.
Lowering the quality is not the answer.  
Make it better and charge more.
Then sell the lower priced items as basics without stands, clothes or any extra doo dads. 
Refine the line.
There are collectors who spend small fortunes for beautiful dolls with fabulous clothing. I'm not just talking about OOAK dolls.

Tonner's New Product Release

Tonner is offering free shippping on the new products for five days - from now until Sunday August 28th at midnight EDT.

MS. MARVEL™   LE 300   $149.99   Lana Head Sculpt

  16" Tyler Bending Wrist Body w/ Fuller Bust, Hips, & Biceps 

Her hands are interchangeable but are extra hands included?

Uchi-Soto Freedom for Fashion™ LE 300 $179.99

Antoinette body with Cameo skintone

This fashion looks very interesting.

I wonder if the black vest is removable. 

Sag Harbor OUTFIT ONLY LE 300 $59.99

 Why are the shoes taupe?

22" American Model™  Waist Gripper Stand

Open Edition $14.99

Click here to go to the Tonner Blog and view a brief Robert Tonner video about the new Marvel character doll.

Tonner Doll Convention and Superstar Laura Domholt

Another successful Tonner convention has ended and I've heard about frenzied buying, gorgeous centerpieces, insane resale prices (what else is new?) and so much more. Many mentioned missing Tom Courtney's pictures and the flavor he added to the events in the past. It's true that there was a noticeable lack of photo coverage and we had to desperately scrounge for pictures or suffer waiting.

I think I will send Robert an email offering my photographic and video services at all future events and the only recompense I will ask for is attendance at the event, a seat at a table and a room at the inn.  That's fair, isn't it?

My new favorite person is Laura Domholt. The first time I ever saw her was at a Tonner Store event. She was dressed as Wonder Woman. Laura is tall and she really carried it off so well. Since then, she's appeared in many costumes and in every one of them, she reigned supreme dressed as a Tonner doll. She is a living doll and I want to petition for a Laura Domholt calendar.

Here are few more pictures of dolls from the event.

Robert - Superhero

 

There were many other dolls but the photos of them belong to the doll owners. If Tonner releases promotional photos of the others, I will post them.

________

Apologies to my readers for my absence. I've been ill for several days with severe upper respiratory combination of symptoms.  Doctor found no strep so I don't have to take antibiotics. Yay. Just have to give it time and rest. What's that?

I am about to do a big photo shoot as I received my new Ellowyne and some other goodies. Soooo...look for a pretty post later.

I want to mention that the person in charge of blogging over at Tonner Direct thanked me for the shout-outs I've given to the company over the years on my blog. She (he?) said it does not go unnoticed. That made me feel really good. I'm thinking of compiling a page of comments and email I've received from manufacturers since beginning my blog. The main reason is that I want my readers to see an email (from someone who works for one of the manufacturers) that I've kept to myself for a little more than one year. I have to give it some more thought though because it's pretty bad. There's always more than one side to a story.

Tonner Con Underway

Most of you are probably aware that the Tonner Convention is underway. Pictures of the new dolls and centerpieces are dribbling onto the web slowly although eBay pictures went up immediately by those who are hoping to sell their dolls.

The first event took place on Thursday night. The new doll is called "Pin Up Basic"  and is on a newly engineered Tyler body. The body will appear on a line of dolls called Tyler's Nu Mood. Pin Up has a sculpt which is somewhat cartoonish and was inspired by Robert Tonner's collection of illustration art. Perhaps a friendlier adjective would be illlustrationish. I wonder if my large Tyler sized wardrobe will be useless?.

Centerpiece image from the Tonner Blog

At first I was reminded of an old Coppertone ad in which a dog is tugging at a child's bikini.

Pin up illustration art is highly sexual.

Where is Robert going with this line? Will we see gorgeous lingerie and upholstered ottomans? I hope so!

Watch a 5 minute video showing the display of dolls called 20 Years of Tonner.

The Friday brunch centerpiece featured Andy, Cami and Jon. The event was called Young New York.

Image from Tonner Blog

A new character in the Cami and Jon line was introduced. She is Gina.

I cannot wait to see what the Shadows Wilde Imagination event doll is because I'm getting it. Woo Hoo!

"Up and Out" Fashion Ensemble a Cherished Friends Exclusive

Cherished Friends has a new exclusive Cami & Jon fashion by Tonner which will fit any doll with an Antoinette body. It's called "Up and Out."
It's very cute. I like the idea of a dressy jacket over a multi-layered casual jeans outfit.  The doll modeling the fashion is also a Cherished Friends exclusive. She is Rose Basic Raven. She has the Bloom skin-tone and green eyes.
Check the Cherished Friends website for more exclusive dolls, the Tonner line, the Integrity Toys line and so much more.

"Up and Out" Fashion LE150 $99.99

"Rose Basic Raven" $84.99

New Tonner Exclusive Cami & Jon Outfits

Just when I thought I had enough...

Tonner announces two adorable Cami & Jon outfits today.  I have enough doll stuff.  Don't I?

A Capricious Beat Outfit Only $89.99

On A Whim Outfit Only $79.99

Both fashions are designed to fit the 16" Antoinette body. I have found that Antoinette's fashions will also fit Avantguard and Gene dolls.

I want them.

IDEX - Tonner Breakfast - Sunday, February, 2010

I love Robert Tonner's sense of humor. He was presenting the new lines and when he got to the Sinister Circus line he said, "I don't know what you people are doing with these. I don't know what you're smoking." I agreed with him. These dolls are truly freaky...well, they are freaks. As a special treat, we were gifted with the first copy of the Sinister Circus comic book!

The Bearded Lady

I think they are brilliant and bravo to a company that is not afraid to take risks. No, they will not find their way into my collection but I enjoy looking at them.

This doll is really scary-looking. She is called "Painted Lady."

This is two views of the same doll called "Shehee."

The table centerpiece was the beautiful Evocative Antoinette in red velvet. Marcia Friend was lucky enough to win her.

At each place setting was a set of two pair of Antoinette shoes. The room was packed full! Raffle tickets were sold and the line-up of possible winning items was excellent. I almost fell off my chair when my number was called for a doll I had wanted since I saw her, Antoinette Extravagant! How lucky I felt. I can't wait to get back home to play with my new dolls. (I'm still in Florida.)

The food was excellent and beautifully served. Nothing was skimped on. Our souvenir doll was the new blonde Cami from the Cami & Jon line. I'm in love with these dolls. From their curly hair to their Antoinette bodies, they suit me just fine. We were permitted to purchase an extra souvenir by lottery. My extra is already promised to an Australian collector.

Another highlight of this breakfast event was that I sat next to Denise Van Patten, the woman who writes about dolls for About.com. I had seen her name over the years but when I saw it on her ID tag, I couldn't place it. We introduced ourselves to each other and the lightbulbs went off. We hit it off famously. I came away from that event with beautiful dolls and a new friend! What could be better?

IDEX ~ 1/30/10 ~ New Tonner Dolls - Cami and Jon

At 11:30 AM I was scheduled to view the new products in a private Tonner showroom. I knew I would be seeing Cami and Jon but I had no idea what else to expect. I figured they'd just let me roam around and look. Instead I had a one to one product introduction with Jack Kralik. It was the one of the three high points of my entire weekend. The concepts behind each line were explained to me and all my questions were answered. I loved the concept behind the Cami and Jon line. It's apparent to me that the TDC listens to it's customer base as this line was developed to consist of basic dolls and separate fashions. There will be no dressed dolls. I've heard collectors clamoring for this all over the place for years.

Not only is the concept excellent and "accessible" the dolls are adorable and their fashions are very today. These pictures are from the Tonner web site. I want everything!!!!

NOTE THE FOLLOWING MEANS THAT YOU HAVE TO ORDER NOW IF YOU WANT THE ITEMS.

This collection will be presented to retailers at IDEX and online. Retailers will have the opportunity to place their orders, and production will ONLY be based on orders received in one production run.

The Basic Dolls:

Cami Basic Brunette, Blonde and Redhead come dressed in lingerie with shoes and a display stand.
Retail $79.99. Cami's sculpt is that of Cinderella.

Jonquil Basic (Jon) has the Jac sculpt and skintone.

The Fashions:

80 Degrees $79.99

Hitting Midnight $99.99

Escapade $89.99

The Romantic $79.99

Fanfare $89.99

Starlight $99.99

With a Twist $89.99

Mood

An accessory pack called Next to Nothings ($19.99) is available but photos are not yet published.

I recommend a visit to Tonnerdoll.com to see all of the new releases. There are many more goodies for Tonner Doll collectors and hopefuls.