Invitation to Halloween at the Tonner Company Store!

I have a really cool witch hat I am going to wear.

Hahahaha.....I'll get you my pretty and your little dollies too!

October 31, 2009 3-5PM

Tonner Company Store Halloween Costume Contest, Join all the ghouls and goblins at the Tonner Doll Company Store for candy, free giveaways, specials, and our 2009 Costume Contest! Free surprises to all who visit in costume; top prizes awarded for Most Original, Funny, Scary and Children’s Costume (under age 11). Contest Judging takes place at 4:30PM before you head out for Trick or Treating! We’ll have pumpkin carvings on display, special themed doll and action figure displays, and costumed characters to greet you, and of course, CANDY!!!
BRING YOUR CAMERA!

PALM BEACH SUGAR DADDY KEN

Bloggers and collectors are cracking up and cracking jokes over this delicacy of a Ken doll. One asks if Mattel has lost its fucking marbles. Actually I was wondering that same thing when I heard about the American Girl, Gwen, the $95 homeless doll. Yes, Mattel owns American Girl if you didn't know. After that, I'm not surprised that Mattel would put out a doll like this.

Palm Beach Sugar Daddy Ken @ $69.

Cool sophistication in breezy Palm Beach! Sporting a dashing jacquard-patterned jacket with a light pink polo shirt and crisp white pants, Ken doll is ready for Palm Beach social season, sunning by the pool and a stroll with his little companion. Fashion designed exclusively for the Silkstone Barbie doll body. Includes Ken doll, jacket, pink polo shirt, white shoes, dog with leash, swim trunks and accessories, doll stand and certificate of authenticity.

Mr. Palm Beach is part of the 2010 Silkstone collection which consists of three female dolls and Ken. Apparently even Silkies need someone to shop with.

Palm Beach Swimsuit Barbie @ $49

When the social season heats up Barbie cools down in sunny style. Warm hues of orange and gold compliment the rich tones of poolside Palm Beach! A perfect locale to flaunt a perfectly fashionable swim ensemble! Fashion designed exclusively for the Silkstone Barbie doll body. Includes Barbie doll, swim suit, cover-up, sunglasses, sandals, doll stand and certificate of authenticity.

Palm Beach Breeze Barbie @ $69.

Winter blues are never welcome in Palm Beach! But the perfect outfit for sharing warm greetings, cold drinks, and tall tales? A cool caftan, sparkling with sequins and worn with bold earrings! Fashion designed exclusively for the Silkstone® Barbie® doll body. Includes Barbie® doll, caftan, earrings, sandals, doll stand and Certificate of Authenticity.

Palm Beach Coral Barbie @ $139.99

The ultimate in beauty, sophistication and Palm Beach social style! Barbie doll is ready for an elegant evening out wearing a stunning gown designed with cascading coral branches delicately accented with vibrant beads and beautiful matching earrings. Fashion designed exclusively for the Silkstone Barbie doll body. Includes Barbie doll, gown, earrings, shoes, doll stand and certificate of authenticity.

I plan to get the Ken doll as he is truly unique. I love the doll and the fashion on the Coral Barbie but I won't pay $139.99 for a Silkstone doll. Does she walk and talk? Is she articulated?
The dolls are scheduled to be available starting in February 2010 for the Swimsuit version, March for Breeze, April for Sugar Daddy and May for Coral.
I predict that Sugar Daddy will be very, very popular.

W Club Exclusive Fashion Royalty Fashion Announced

To the delight of many collectors in the W Club, we have been offered a new fashion for the Fashion Royalty body. It's called Wrapped in Decadence. Apparently they had to call it something. I don't see decadence anywhere. I want this outfit in off white, too.

The outfit consists of a strapless dress, coat, jewelry and shoes. I love it. The dress is taffeta with a beaded bodice and an organza overlay on the skirt. The high waist and gathered bodice front are very attractive. The coat is covered in ribbon rosettes. It is to die for. The feathers on the shoes have to go bye-bye. But maybe that will look better in person. The jewelry is big and heavy which is a trend with Jason this season. I like it but perhaps not with this fashion.

The marketing ploy used in the announcement of the fashion irks me. It says that "the fashion retails for $80." Where is the fashion retailing? Nowhere. It's us. That's it.

They're giving us a "special $15 fashion coupon" bringing the price down to $65. They should have said, "We'd really like to charge you $85. but we don't think you will buy it at that price so we're lowering the price to $65."

That would have been funny.

It's a good price. Look at what Dressmaker Details charges for their stuff and compare. This is a bargain! It's right in line with the quality and quantity of product given to attendees at the recent convention. More bang for the buck. I hope it keeps up this way.

What's up with the awkward looking poses on this doll? Are the shoes weird again with the heels too high? In each picture one of the doll's knees is bent. This is not a good sign. And the center photo with arms akimbo and toes pointed in....hmmmm....not great looking IMO. I wonder how the coat will look without it being either held open or held shut. I do think we're in for some surprises!

Stuff Expands to Fill Available Space

My darling son delivered a glass door Ikea cabinet. I put it together and somehow it was immediately full. How does this happen?

My Silkstones, once all on one shelf, can now be enjoyed without climbing on a ladder. The Tiny Kitty dolls, the oldest of my fashion doll collections, are now visible to the naked eye. They're in holiday red from last December. I couldn't see them anyway so what difference did it make? Poor neglected Cissette still stands on a bottom shelf. To see their faces you must get on your knees. It's a spiritual experience.
Monster sized Cissy dolls had their own shelf until some of the Silkies moved in. It was actually the Cissy's fault that I had to get this cabinet in the first place. Too big to fit anywhere else, they kept whispering, "If not now, when?" Hopeless.
Of course now that there are a few inches of space here and there, I'm making lists of what dolls to add. It never ends.

Mattel's "Ladies of the 80's" Dolls and Philipp Plein Barbie

Maddie's Dolls has just posted the Ladies of the '80's collection of dolls from Mattel. Prices have not yet been determined.

If these dolls were articulated, or pivotal as Mattel calls them, I might actually be interested. Their facial screening is interesting.

The fashions are adorable. This is Cyndi Lauper:



Here is the Joan Jett doll. She's a may be a bit too much like a Hard Rock Cafe´ doll.


My favorite is the Debbie Harry doll.
I like her hair and outfit. I don't know if the microphone is included with this doll.

When will Mattel get with the program and provide pivotal bodies on all the new silver, gold and black series dolls that are to come? Too many are still buying dolls and keeping them in boxes. Why would you need an articulated doll if you aren't going to play with it? If more Barbie collectors allowed themselves the pleasure of deboxing, the hue and cry for articulation would be heard.

_________________________________

At the Philipp Plein Rocks Barbie party during Milan Fashion Week (2/2009), a model dressed as Rocks Barbie is photographed:

Image property of Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images Europe

An exclusive Philipp Plein Barbie will be available as a 500 piece limited edition.

See more beautiful images taken during a Barbie photo shoot at the Philipp Plein website.

Did I hear $385. or is that a joke?

Picture of the Week Award ~ October 25, 2009

This doll looks as if he's breathing! I knew immediately that I would have to feature this image on the blog.
The artist is Jennifer Sutherland. I asked her to write a little about her process. Here is her reply:

He originally was a Super Hero Aquaman doll by Tonner. For him I knew I wanted him as a pirate.. The super hero bodies are great for this as I have come to find out! (: I do not sketch the faces on my dolls first but I do sketch the tattoos if they are complicated. For his hair and his tattoos it took be about 12 hours.. For his repaint, about 5 hours.... That's not including any of the details that finish him off such as his rings or shading of his chest afterwards. (: I think my very favorite characters to create are pirates, gypsies, rogues.. etc....You know, characters that are perfect for romance novels! (: They have always been my most enjoyable creations.. Especially pirates and rogues.. They come to life so easily through the decorations and tattoos.. And even things as simple as their facial hair! (: Overall.. My most favorite creations are the male repaints!

You will enjoy browsing through Jenny's website. Click here.

Congratulations, Jenny, on the Picture of the Week Award!

Mattel's Pop Life™ Ken® Doll - Gone in the blink of an eye.

At 9:00 AM Pacific Time on October 21, Pop Life Ken by Bill Greening went on sale on the Barbie Collector website. This is a Platinum Label Collection doll which means "sequentially numbered editions of less than 1,000 worldwide, available at select retailers." It took just 11 minutes for the doll to sell out and by that time he was already being sold on eBay. Not surprising at all. The order process took me only 4.5 minutes but it felt like forever. The pages moved so slowly due to the traffic on the board. I think I was holding my breath the entire time.

The retail price was $74.95. The fourth quarter coupon was $30 bringing the price down to $44.95 for me. Shipping was only $1. Not bad for a Platinum.

Photobucket Magic!

I love this picture that was posted on the W Club board yesterday. It is the convention mini Avantguard wearing an MFD Kio wig. I assumed it was done in Photoshop. Karon told me that she did it with Photobucket tools. Impressive! Below is a picture of the doll from that photoshoot.
It's fortunate for us that Karon was dissatisfied with the original picture.

Photos property of Karon Montague, Virginia.

Tyler Wentworth 10th Anniversary Retailer's Special

There is another anniversary special Signature Style Tyler Wentworth doll. This one is exactly like the blonde in the post below but she is a brunette and is an edition of 300. I think the brunette is quite beautiful.

Cherished Friends is offering the doll for $127. which is 15% off the retail price of $149.99.

Signature Style Tyler Wentworth® doll in celebration of Tyler’s milestone.

Collectors who will be attending Tyler's 10th Anniversary Event on November 7th have been offered the opportunity to purchase an ultra-limited (100) edition of a Tyler Wentworth Signature Style Blonde doll. This is being described as a fresh take on a classic which it surely is. This re-imagined version's blouse is a white taffeta bodysuit with rhinestone buttons. The skirt is black sequin and mesh with a rhinestone buckled satin belt. The shoes are t-strap and she is sporting her ubiquitous rhinestone studs. Her hair is also in a signature style but with a braid around the ponytail.

I think the price of $149. is twice as high as it should be and that is why I am hesitating to order her. On top of that I would have to pay 8% sales tax because I live in NY. She will not be coming home with me.

It might have been significant if TDC had issued these dolls at the same price the originals were - $79.99. I would have ordered two of them immediately.

If I remember correctly, I paid $25. for my first Signature Style Tyler at a trunk show in Hurley. I loved that doll and photographed her endlessly. She, too, wore a white blouse, black skirt, black hosiery and shoes.

Here are the versions of the Signature Style dolls that have been issued. Each edition was produced in brunette, red and blonde versions. All these images were borrowed from the Tyler Wentworth Archive except the second picture from the top which is the actual picture of my first Tyler doll.

1999 Signature Style $79.99

2001 Signature Style BA (Bending Arms) $79.99

2003 Signature Style - AR Red, Blonde, Brunette $79.99

(The blonde was redressed for this picture but originally came dressed as the others.

2004 Signature Style - BW - Brunette shown.
Also available as a blonde and redhead. All had blue forward-glancing eyes.
These were the first bending wrist Tyler dolls. Retail $79.99

I loved these BW dolls so much that I bought three of each!

W Club Exclusive Doll #2

The second 2009 W Club doll has been announced. It is called Agnes Von Weiss "Festive Decadence."
For the first time Agnes will be produced in the pale skin tone that was used only once on Tatyana. This is a mini giftset that comes with two skirts, three tops, shoes, belt, handbag and jewelry. I have extracted several of the parts of the giftset from multiple images to show them together here.

In the following picture you can see the second skirt and the belt. I love the ruffles and the rosettes but I'm not a fan of the umbrella shaped above the knee length skirt.

This is a gorgeous Agnes who is not sporting her usual sour face. The price of this doll is $145. and it is only available to W Club members.

Images in this post are the property of Integrity Toys.

Picture of the Week Award ~ October 18, 2009

This week the award goes to the hairdresser of the minions - Susan Korba. With all the amazing re-rooting this collector has done it's a wonder that she has time for her own dolls and her own family for that matter!

This photograph shows the gorgeous Traveler by Nature Veronique, a Fashion Royalty doll. The color rendition is perfect. For me, that is one of the most important aspects of a great doll picture.

Congratulations, Susan!

Update on Hobby Link Japan Issue

I sent Mr. Kennard a link to my blog post and another request that he send me the refund for my return shipping. Apparently the blog post caused him to have time to respond with more blame and excuses.
He alternately states:
1. I should have waited (for no specified amount of time) for their refund.
2. I was trying to get two refunds
3. I should have known that they were processing my refund
4. They are a very small company
5. They were too busy
6. They "punish" people who do chargebacks by delaying as long as possible
7. I must be dishonest
8. They don't really have to refund my return expenses but will (eventually) because they promised to do so
9. They don't know how long it will take now

Somehow Mr. Kennard has lost sight of the following:
1. I paid in advance for a product.
2. The product arrived damaged.
3. I followed his instructions for the return of the merchandise.
4. I went without merchandise and without a refund of my payment for merchandise for several weeks.
5. My requests for information went unanswered for several weeks after Mr. Kennard agreed that they had indeed received the return.
6. I thanked Mr. Kennard for the refund the day after I was granted the refund from Visa believing he knew about it. I was sure he must have been informed of the action as I was. That was when he accused me of being "dishonest at best."
7. Mr. Kenard challenged the chargeback and I had to submit more paperwork to Visa. I was in the right so I won.
8. This has been going on for more than 3 months.
9. Mr. Kennard and his small company has never offered an apology in any form regarding the damaged merchandise. In fact, I am being virtually tortured for their error intentional or not.
10. I believe Mr. Kennard intends to drag this on as long as he can hoping I will give up and forget about it.

Yes, there are many people who have had successful transactions with HLJ including myself! But look what happens when something goes wrong.

Why would a business, especially in this economy, want to alienate a customer thus? What is the reward for Mr. Kennard to blame a customer for his own lack of performance?

This is not fun.

Hobby Link Japan - Bad Business Practices

I don't like to do this but I have little choice. I ordered a set of figurines from Hobby Link Japan in July, 2009. When they arrived I inspected each of the 12 figurines and 3 were broken. I notified HLJ and was instructed to return the entire set, insured, and that I would get a refund and return shipping. I got a notice from the US Post Office that my package was delivered on July 28. By August 12, I still had not gotten the refund even after I contacted Mr. Scott Kennard twice.
On August 16th I filed with my credit card company for the original cost and was granted a credit.
Mr. Kennard was furious and accused me of trying to get two payments. He claims that my refund was in process. He called me "dishonest at best" and claims that he was trying to work with me. This was on August 19th. He said they were busy. This is the last paragraph of his last email to me on that day. I have not heard from him since and that was 2 months ago.

_________________________________________________

"Unfortunately, the chargeback changes things a lot. Our policy on these is quite severe. We now have to wait for the chargeback claim to arrive here from the credit card company. I don't know how long that will take. Once that arrives, we will honor our side and refund the return shipping. However, we must now ask that you look elsewhere for your hobby supplies."

---

M. Scott Kennard
HLJ Customer Service
www.hlj.com

____________________________________________

Well they have not honored their side and have not refunded the return shipping. My account has been deleted and my emails are going unanswered. I have contacted everyone I know that does business either in Japan or with Japanese companies for help. It's not the amount of money it's the principle.
I will send Mr. Kennard a link to this post and to any others I may decide to put on the internet. If he had any honest intentions, hopefully this will get him to refund my money and make good on his promise.

Be very careful when dealing with this company. It is sad that this had to happen. If a company is too small to have an important thing called customer service, then they are too small to be in business.

Modern Doll Collectors Convention® 2009 - Taking Place Right Now!

Update:
Check the MDC store for remaining convention souvenirs:

http://www.moderndollcollectors.com/shopping.html

Review ~ Wu Iconic Convention ~ Part III

This is Part III of my review. See below for Parts I and II.

To the dismay of many, Adele did not make an appearance. Where is Adele? If only Dominique could talk. Hopefully Dominique is at the orthodontist's office getting her teeth and over bite fixed because she is not an attractive doll. Integrity used Josephine Baker's head mold for Dominique who is supposed to be Adele's sister. I tried to like her but it didn't work.

Giselle was the other similarly clad doll in the collection.'POESIE ENCHANTEE' AGNES
Of all the Agnes dolls that have been released I have kept only one. This gal is too severe for my taste. The gown is beautiful in it's light gray satin with an Obama shoulder but this doll doesn't even come close to Poesie Sans Coleur.
NATALIA FATALE 'POWER GAME' (AKA WHITE NATALIA)
This was the surprise giftset attendees got. At registration they found an empty Fashion Royalty box in their bags. At each event they were given another part of the set. The blue dress is cute but not fine. The suit is unattractive IMO. I love the blue and black shoes which are partially hidden behind the card in the lower left. Natalia as a white girl...well...let's say that she's not Natalia anymore.AVANTGUARD 12" CLONE "LIVE WIRE"
This doll has the same skin tone as the full sized AG. She sports Natalia's sculpt, however. The screening and the dress are the same as Live Wire's and her wig is similar.POPPY PARKER 'ENDLESS SUMMER'
This doll was one of the event souvenirs. She came packaged in a window box secured with a nice pink ribbon.There were three other dolls which I did not have the pleasure of photographing. All three were centerpiece dolls. One was a Monogram Doll, Curiosity, one an Agnes, Silver Zinger and the last was the Avantguard from the W Club luncheon called Vanishing Point. Pictures of those dolls can be found in other posts on this blog.

MFD provided wigs for every attendee in the registration bags. Azone gave a pair of shoes as a gift to all. Dolls Magazine provided a special Iconic Convention coverage issue. Other paper goods were a set of prints of early Jason Wu Fashion Royalty doll sketches and a set of paper dolls.

Review ~ Wu Iconic Convention ~ Part II

This post is Part II of my review. See below for Part I.

SUCCESSFUL ASCENSION - CONVENTION FASHION
At first I thought the fabric was reminiscent of Tatyana's giftset or the handbag from the 2008 2nd Club Doll Accessory Pack. So it's a red sheath with black side panels over which black lace is applied. There is beading over the black panels. Accessorized by black stud earrings and the train case I mentioned in Part I. I don't see where this fits in with the collection but I like it.
I'm not a fan of short boots and cocktail dresses and I will change them to pumps. The dress is very well made. My model is Buena Sera Kyori who was rerooted by Uriah.
The pin and bracelet were added by me.

DANIA ZARR "OPTIC CLASH"

Apparently Dania is the "it" girl of the convention. The prices that some are paying on eBay are unbelievable. She is definitely "torch-song-piano-bar" in appearance. Dania exudes old Hollywood glamour with her wavy platinum blonde hair, full red lips and form-fitting black strapless gown. (I removed the bow after this photo shoot.) Her jewelry is clear and pink rhinestones. Her shoes are black and pink and they do fit!

An explanation of how centerpieces are acquired: Everyone at the table of ten gets a number from 1 to 10. The host or hostess is number 1. At each meal event 2 or 3 numbers are randomly chosen. Those chosen have the right to purchase the centerpiece at that meal. By the end of the convention, everyone's number has been called including that of the table host. In addition, the table host is gifted with a particular centerpiece. This is the way it's been done for the past two years.

Review ~ Wu Iconic Convention ~ Part I

I was lucky enough to have had a surrogate attend the convention in my place and also purchase the entire collection for me. In addition, one of the the centerpiece dolls, Dania, now resides in my home. My review will cover only the Fashion Royalty dolls. I will not be reviewing the Poppy Parker, the Mini AG or the ITBE doll.
By all accounts this was the best convention ever! The reports about the food, the accommodations, the coordination of events, the staff and the dolls were excellent. It's worth mentioning that the only negative remarks are coming from those who did not go.
It would appear that the pretty but unnecessary excesses of past conventions were turned into dolls. The convention had a flat fee of $350 for those staying at the hotel. For that fee attendees got four seated meal events with souvenirs and all the workshops! Compared to last year, that was a fantastic price. This year, besides the predictable playline doll, everyone got a Poppy Parker doll, a Natalia giftset AND a fantastic new character as the convention doll. WOW!
Integrity made some excellent business decisions with this convention. After a year of bad economic news that affected almost everyone this was a great thing for them to do and may bring many "old timers" back into the fold.
The other, and to me more significant aspect of this event was the designing of the dolls. Again, after a year of somewhat disappointing Fashion Royalty dolls, these gals had Jason's inimitable style all over them. Welcome back, Jason. Please don't leave us again.

'BLUE BLOOD' ELISE JOLIE - The Saturday night event souvenir doll.
I absolutely love this doll. Her new sculpt is haughty. Her upper lip curls into a sneer. It makes me laugh. Her hair is in a neat, partially braided updo, which I prefer to long, unmanageable curls.

The suit is a perfectly tailored work of miniature art with it's puffed and draped shoulders, stand collar, and peplum detail. The fabric has a woven design that provides more texture and sparkle. The skirt is above the knee. The patterned, beaded stockings make their second appearance this year. Her faux suede shoes required patience and manual dexterity to put on and get buckled but they fit well. They have a peachy beige lining.

Jewelry consists of jet black rhinestone stud earrings and a tie-on necklace of assorted sized, mostly black glass beads.
The luggage is a wonderfully detailed rolling suitcase which matches the small train case that comes with Successful Ascension.

'LUXE LIFE' VANESSA
This is the 19th Vanessa (yes, I keep track) and the first truly beautiful one in a while. Her hair is up in a double chignon. Bangs are tough to pull off on a rooted doll. You really need a wig for bangs to look right. There is enough gel on these bangs to make them archival. Luckily there are no net marks but it's not my favorite look for Vanessa. This is the only Vanessa with bangs. I guess it was time.
Her face is perfection. I love the pastel eyeshadow and the pale lips. The chunky over-scaled pewter-look jewelry makes an appearance again in the form of earrings on this doll and also on Eugenia's dress as embellishments as you will see further on in the review.

I had a problem with the shoes. They are too large. Even after I secured them with elastics, they kept turning to the side - this way or that - and were completely unwearable. I substituted simple pink pumps. It's sad because they are very cute with their faux snakeskin straps. I could have used sticky dots to attach them to her feet but they have a fabric lining and I didn't feel like doing that at this time.
The gown is another wonderful design with it's low cut bodice, skinny belt and flowing pink embellished lace-like skirt. The drape of the skirt is perfection. I switched one of Vanessa's hands to the gnarled version so she could clutch her clutch.

'DIAMOND SOCIETY' EUGENIA
Similar elements in the outfits of Eugenia, Vanessa and Elise Jolie are indicators of a truly well-designed collection. The lining of Eugenia's stole is the same color as Vanessa's skirt. The lining of Elise's shoes are the same fabric as Vanessa's bodice. Vanessa's earrings are the same material as the embellishments on Eugenia's dress. Elise could easily wear the tulle hat. Unfortunately no one can wear Eugenia's gorgeous shoes if they are wearing hosiery. They are too narrow. Another collector told me that he stretched his with pliers. I may try that. In the meanwhile I substituted another pair of pumps.
Eugenia is wearing a very short black silk sheath with wonderful pieces of rhinestone in metal shapes sewn on to the upper bodice at the shoulders. Her tulle hat has a loop that could be used to veil her eyes but I chose to put that at the back. My stole has it's lining sewn in at an off angle leaving excess lining showing and a skewed label. Easy to fix but this is an example of quality control asleep at the wheel.

Earrings are black studs. Her hatbox is covered in a wonderful geometric woven fabric. It's a delightful addition to a beautiful outfit.

Pictures of the Week ~ October 11, 2009

With so many wonderful images of the new Fashion Royalty dolls being posted this week, it was too difficult to pick just one. Therefore I have chosen two images to feature as Picture of the Week.

From Christina Goodison also known as Shuga Shug, comes this fierce portrait of Elise Jolie the convention souvenir doll. Christina used a Sony Alpha DSLR A200 camera with a Minolta lens in macro mode for this shot. She uses a Mystudio 20 Tabletop Photo Studio Kit. The face is perfectly focused and the body is not. It draws the eye to the steely gaze of Ms. Jolie. You can see more of Christina's fantastic convention coverage at this link.


Next up is this amazing creation from Rob Redden also known as Uriah. Originally Dressing the Part Agnes, Rob created his own vision of the doll by completely rerooting and repainting. The photo was intended to show the jewelry Rob created to give as gifts at the convention. I love the way her hair flows out around her head. This is one of my favorite of Rob's pictures ever!