My Collection: The Best of 2014

For this post, I basically showcase my own collection and some of what I have added this past year.  I've made some wonderful purchases, some so-so-average buys and a few mistakes.  My goal was to limit the adding of 12" dolls and concentrate on high-quality resin BJD 1/4 scale dolls, fashions and wigs

Resin BJDs accounted for nearly 1/2 of my expenditures. Integrity Toys got about 1/4 of the total. The rest went to Gene (and a convention), Tonner and another assorted dolly miscellany.

In looking back I could have eliminated everything Gene-related except for two custom fashions made by Matisse, Madra's dogs and an older Ashton-Drake Violet outfit (shown below.)  I'm just not into Gene any longer. I have sold all my Jamieshow Gene (and Madra, Violet) dolls except for one. They are lovely but not where I want to be.

JS Madra in AD Violet "Special Appearance"

The worst eBay purchase was several pairs of shoes from paul_zhangby and Zhang_young, whom I assume is the same seller, which purported to fit Sybarites. They don't come close. Many of their products claim to fit a wide range of dolls who have different-sized feet. What was I thinking to trust this type of advertising? He's still listing doll shoes like this: Brand New Pumps/Shoes /16" Doll Sybarite V3 JamieShow /Ficon /NUMINA /AG. Don't believe it! His shoes are gorgeous and edgy but won't do any good if you can't use them.


Most of the dolls on this 2014 list were discussed on my blog when I got them and not all of them are actually new releases, but they are new to my collection.

I'll begin with my first and only (so far) Deva Doll, Angelo. He has blown away all the competition from the rest of the big guys who live here. I'll let the photograph do the talking as he's already been introduced in prior posts. His face was painted by Chewin who also designed the fashion and wig.

Brunel from Kingdom Dolls hasn't been here very long and I want to play with her. It's a problem when I have too many 'new' dolls. No doll gets the time it deserves.  She is perfect.

Poor Angelo has been trying to date her but she's not having any of it.

Ficon Bonita in a Cheryl Wood wig.
I have quite a few wigs made by the talented Ms. Wood but this is my absolute favorite!
Bonita is a gorgeous doll with great posing ability.

I added two gorgeous Sybarites this past year and several Superdoll outfits.

-a repaint of Dionysis by Yian.  (Chewin wig)

-Fidele wearing Bitter Fern. I removed the pink bow which was at the waist. 

The outfit from Langtry and Madra's Dogs (Ashton-Drake) modeled by Toxica.

The outfit from Masque modeled by Neurotica. Mohair wig by Ilaria.

The outfit from Gateau modeled by Domina.

I never tire of looking at my Sybarites and their gorgeous fashions.

Moving over to Integrity Toys, their FR16 dolls, at first, didn't impress me. Once I started collecting their outfits however, the dolls began to grow on me. Their bodies pose beautifully.
This is Tyler head on a Tulabelle body wearing a FR16 Platinum Society. It's a favorite.

As far as their 12" dolls issued during the year, nothing made the cut except three from the convention.

Going off the track here for Gloss' "Evening Siren" Ayumi who is such an improvement over the original Ayumi I felt it deserved mention and images from her spotty past. :-)
It's a fact that the face-up makes or breaks the sculpt.

This is the After:

Here are the Befores:

If at first you don't succeed...

I always felt that Natalia's original and more ethnic sculpt was beautiful and should have been preserved.  She was gorgeous.  The "refreshed" sculpt looked just like all the other dolls with their pointy little noses and pucker lips. They're OK but this Natalia was special. "Femme du Monde" 2006.

However, Grandiose Natalia was a surprise. I actually like her a lot and added her to my collection. What is it about this particular doll? It's not the pointy eyebrows. She's just stunning.

And then there's Elise. She has become my favorite FR sculpt. I've given up on Vanessa and although two were added to my collection this year, they are not favorites.

In the following photo, one of the 2014 convention centerpieces, Elise Jolie "Intrigue," is shown with Adrian Von Lamberg "Night Vision" from the 2010 Dark Romance Collection. That was the last FR convention I attended and I had him at that time but I was not collecting male dolls. That changed this year as I sought to add some special Hommes to the tribe.

About two months ago I swapped with someone for an Avantguard which had been repainted. It was pretty awful once I saw it in person. My dear friend, Vin Trapani, rescued this doll from a dark drawer with his inspired re-repaint.
She is currently on a Tulabelle body and looking great.

Memorable 1/6 scale fashions:

Poppy "Glamorous Darling" and "IT Girl" adorn one of my mini Avantguard dolls and a Monogram doll.

This dress was created by V.Jhon. It is modeled by Tropicalia Vanessa.

So there you have it.

I haven't determined my goals with doll collecting for 2015. What I do know is that I spend way too much time where they are concerned. I want to put together a book showcasing my black and white NYC-era photography. That will take a long, dedicated piece of time.

I've had so much fun with dolls and doll people over the last decade or so but I have to bring back the joy that my creativity gave me and let it out of its holding cell.

Picture of the Day - by Me

Dionysis repaint by Yian. White mohair wig by Ilaria. Dress by Superfrock.

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

I recently purchased an NRFB Sybarite convention fashion called Viper Byte. I'd seen beautiful photos of dolls wearing the fashion.  I had to have it.  

The jacket along with the pants are the best parts of this multi-part fashion. The pants are very nice and fit beautifully. The t-shirt, which I did not photograph, is unfitted and the stitching on the stretchy fabric is poorly done. I took it off my doll.  The finish on the belt is very fragile and after closing the hook I noticed that a small part of the surface of the belt was scratched off.
The bracelets are metal and there's no way they could have gone on unless the hands were removed or the metal was spread open. I chose the second method knowing that closing them up again would probably cause them to break. One did break. The heels on the beautiful shoes are as thick as the lead in a pencil and as fragile. Luckily I did not break them. This is the first individually purchased Sybarite fashion to cause me such disappointment.

So last week it was Lawn and this week it's Viper Byte.
Update on Lawn...she's been sent back to Superdoll and they are going to replace her with a new doll. Postage at their expense both ways - as it should be.

My model above is a newly acquired Dionysis repaint by Yian wearing a wig by Cheryl Wood.

Are We Waiting For A Sybarite Sale?

The third Sybarite in the current Monoglam collection went live today on Superdoll's site. She is called "Chiffon" and uses the Voltaire sculpt.

Description:

Voltaire clone: 0801, Default skintone!
THE CURRENT COLLECTION "MONOGLAM"

Eyes of burnt ginger, dusted in tangerine, lemon and warm chocolate eyeshadow. double liner to top lid in netalic silver, yellow and black. Lips of transparent coral.
Sporting a one piece yellow custom dyed guippure lace slash front dress with multi layer hemline and divinely delicious ribbon bows that peek a boo between the layers of the hem.
Hair of matching yellow in mohair, simply gathered in portions that hang free, frame her face and tie back. Wig is trimmed in silk ribbon bow and whispy centrepart fringe that add to the beautiful aura of summers nonchalant times.
Accessories consist: Custom print silver 'leather' bag, ribbon and grosgrain belt , AW tag earings and the daintiest, most delicious yellow stiletto courts ever to grace the Sybarites!
Includes dollstand and applied eyelashes.
 Price: £355.00 ($555.97 US)


The first two Monoglam dolls are still available. I've not seen this in a while - dolls not selling out. Are people waiting for a sale, hurting for funds or do they just not like the dolls enough to shell out the bucks? Perhaps the hats, which will be offered as a separate package of four, should have been included.

Meadow £384.00 ($601.38)

Velvet £377.00 ($590.57)

There is one more Monoglam doll coming. She is called Lawn and is dressed in green. Three more separate fashions are also expected. This will be interesting.
So far, the only purchase from this line I've made is the set of 5 pastel colored jeans. That offering sold out quickly.

Here is my new Syb repaint (Yian) trying to decide which ones to wear.  Poor girl. She hasn't been in my photo studio yet and doesn't even have a top to wear.