5/07/2011
Clearance Sale at Cherished Friends New Jersey Store
The Cherished Friends New Jersey store is not just about baby dolls! Check it out for yourself and see the wide variety of fashion and character dolls they carry. I was surprised myself! I regularly check the main PA store for sales/clearance. Today I happened to click on the NJ store and the first things that caught my eye were the Jason Wu Cissy dolls. I did get my Vice Cissy at a very good price a few months ago but $199.99 is extremely good. Envy and Vice are both being sold at that price. I get the feeling that Jason Wu and Madame Alexander will not be collaborating on dolls again anytime soon.
The unattractive Alex Signature Collection dolls styled by Jason are also on sale for $99. each. Paris isn't as unattractive as Alex but there was no reason to alter their appearance in the first place. IMNSHO
The supremely ugly and ill-designed Vita Inferno is reduced from SRP...$160...Sale Price...$79.99.
Don't debox if you buy one. Her odd-looking sister in turquoise, Vita Aqua Bella, is also reduced.
Anyway...check out the sale. There might be something you want like Tonner's Strider, Ranger of the North. This is a pretty hot-looking male doll on the 17" Matt O'Neill body. I've seen him in person and I would add him to my collection. His outfit is detailed and very cool. I wish I could find The Tenth Dr. Who somewhere on sale. I'm waiting for him.
You know you want her. SRP $149.99 . . . Sale Price $79.99
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| Envy SRP...$349.95...Sale $199.99 |
The supremely ugly and ill-designed Vita Inferno is reduced from SRP...$160...Sale Price...$79.99.
Don't debox if you buy one. Her odd-looking sister in turquoise, Vita Aqua Bella, is also reduced.
Anyway...check out the sale. There might be something you want like Tonner's Strider, Ranger of the North. This is a pretty hot-looking male doll on the 17" Matt O'Neill body. I've seen him in person and I would add him to my collection. His outfit is detailed and very cool. I wish I could find The Tenth Dr. Who somewhere on sale. I'm waiting for him.
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$149.99 - Sale Price $89.99 |
You know you want her. SRP $149.99 . . . Sale Price $79.99
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| Jessica Rabbit 17" Athletic Body |
Tonner's Reinterpreted Runway Fashions for Dolls
I don't know if the Tonner Doll Co. was the first to use the term 'reimagination' when it came to dolls but it is entirely appropriate. In these cases, however, the imagination did not originate with the doll company.
A collector posted a link to a blog called The Haute Couture Doll which has these images of Tonner dolls dressed in fashions inspired by couture runway designs.
Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it.
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| Fall 2008 Christian Lacroix Symphonic Antoinettte |
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| Fall 2008 Jean Paul Gaultier Emphatic Antoinette |
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| Dior Creole Romance American Model |
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| ? Ungaro C'est Magnifique Tyler (2005) |
Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it.
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| Hedgehogs Practicing Reproduction |
5/06/2011
Opinions on Doll Body Size Diversity
I posted a question on Prego today asking what the benefits or drawbacks would be to having dolls such as the Numina, Ficon, Deva, Sybarite, JamieShow, etc. with similar body measurements.
I have copied some of the responses here anonymously but you can go to Prego and see the answers for yourself if you desire.
What is your opinion. What would you like?
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| POLICE 100MM ~ Christian Louboutin |
I am not often tempted to share clothing. The thing that I enjoy most about dolls is their character and personality. I enjoy the fact that each doll has a unique face, style of painting, and personality, and they all appeal to different audiences/budgets/tastes. That means, for me, I am seldom tempted by redressing in another doll's outfits, because I love each girl to have her very own set of things. Even my Sybarites tend not to share, and there are some dresses that are "for Eaton" some "for Peep". some "for Toxica" etc. I do not like to see the lines blurred and all the dolls dressed in the same thing.
I have shrunk my collection because of the many different sizes. keeping wigs and clothing for all was getting very difficult.
I think all of them and all other 15.5-16" dolls should have the same measurements as Gene--so my Girls can wear ALL their clothes.
I would love for all of them to be able to share clothing.
I guess it would be easier on the budget, but I think it would be boring. I love seeing the other dolls that I don't collect. They each have something of their own and I like and appreciate them even if I don't own them.
What is your opinion. What would you like?
Now, for a few moments of comic relief and pet therapy,
I present Rudy wearing his version of Princess Beatrice's hat.
5/05/2011
Pink Week Sale at Barbie Collector 5/5/11 — 5/9/11
BC.Com announced the beginning of a new sale called Pink Week. Here's a little promo text:
You get three ways to save during Pink Week:
The last style of Barbie wrapping paper came with nice pink ribbon and actually looked like Barbie wrapping paper. This is nice but is not doll related at all except to those who are familiar with this new trying-to-be-iconic look.
If you've been holding off ordering the ridiculously over-priced (at $150.) Palm Beach Coral Silkstone, she now comes to $63.75 with this sale. If you can find a free shipping code or want to use your quarterly bonus, your deal is even sweeter. I may actually get her after all.
Or perhaps I will waste $8.50 on Goldie.
Are you going to buy something?
- More than 100 dolls and accessories have been newly discounted - as much as 50% off.
- More than 40 already-reduced items have been discounted even more.
- During Pink Week, you get an additional 15% off those fabulous Special Offer Shelf deals!
The last style of Barbie wrapping paper came with nice pink ribbon and actually looked like Barbie wrapping paper. This is nice but is not doll related at all except to those who are familiar with this new trying-to-be-iconic look.
If you've been holding off ordering the ridiculously over-priced (at $150.) Palm Beach Coral Silkstone, she now comes to $63.75 with this sale. If you can find a free shipping code or want to use your quarterly bonus, your deal is even sweeter. I may actually get her after all.
Or perhaps I will waste $8.50 on Goldie.
5/04/2011
Digital Photography Tips from around the Web
There are innumerable resources on the internet to help collectors take better doll photos. I'm going to start posting links or copies. The first few posts will be about lighting mainly because most of the mis-information I am hearing concerns lighting.
Some of this information will be good and some may be useless to you. Take what you need and leave the rest.
Some of this information will be good and some may be useless to you. Take what you need and leave the rest.
How To Use Your Camera's Flash for the Perfect Digital Photography by M.Mark
It takes time and experience to learn how to control your digital camera's flash and shoot the perfect digital photography, but it's definitely worth waiting and trying because it's so rewarding! After all a picture worth a thousand words! I hope you will like and benefit from these flash tips for the perfect digital photography!
You have to take full control of your digital camera's flash. Why? Because digital cameras and their build-in software are pre-programmed and make a few assumptions.
For example:
There are sensors inside your camera that measure the percentage of illumination in the scene at which your camera points. If the sensors measure low illumination then your flash will fire. That is because your camera is pre-programmed with the assumption that flash will improve the photograph in a low-illumination environment. On the other hand in a high-illumination environment the flash will not fire because the camera will assume it's not necessary. After all it's dark out there!
The issue with these assumptions is that there are certain situations when you want an opposite result.
For example there are times when you want to shoot the perfect digital photography in a low-illumination environment without using the flash. e.g. when you are in a dark room with a candle burning and no other light sources. If that's the case you need to be really steady for the photograph to be sharp. You may want to use a tripod to achieve better results. If you do it right you will have a perfect digital photography with beautiful warm orange/red colors. Remember that the straight light coming from the flash gives a cold commercial look to your photographs. That could be ok in some cases but not in all cases.. You should decide whether to use flash, not your camera.
But what happens when working in Bright Light, high-illumination environments?
Then, the flash will not fire! Of course that saves battery-power but what are the results of your perfect digital photography? You definitely don't want to lose in quality right?
Imagine when you want to take the perfect digital photography of a person wearing a hat and the sun is overhead in the sky shining.. Then you will notice that the person's face will be in dark shadow because of the hat! But even if there's no hat, you will usually see shadows under the chin or under the person's eyes. So what you should do is fill those small shadows with light using your camera's flash!
Again, YOU should decide whether to use flash or not, and not your camera. YOU should take control of your camera's flash.
Today's digital cameras have five basic flash settings:
- Setting #1:
Automatic Flash: This is where your camera is pre-programmed to make assumptions depending on the level of the environment illumination and use the flash accordingly.
- Setting#2:
Automatic Flash with Eye Reduction: Again, the camera uses its software to determine when the flash will fire but there's also some type of red eye filters to reduce the red eye effect.
You camera will probably automatically select, by default, one of the above two settings. I recommend to never use the above settings if you're aiming for the perfect digital photography. And why is that you may ask. As I said before YOU should be the one who decides whether to use flash or not. And furthermore the eye reduction filters will not always do a good work and will confuse your subjects in most cases.
I recommend to make use of the following settings depending on the scene and the subject you're trying to shoot.
- Setting #3:
Flash Always: With this setting enabled your flash will fire in all cases. You may want to choose this setting when you want to fill small shadowed areas with light.
- Setting #4:
Flash Disabled: Your flash will not fire no matter how illuminated the environment or the scene is.. Make use of this setting when you want to shoot in a low-illuminated environment e.g. a dark room with a candle burning. Just remember that in a low-illumination environment you have to be really steady in order to shoot the perfect digital photography.
- Setting #5:
Slow Shutter Flash: This is a very underestimated setting and the least used.. If you choose this setting your flash will fire occasionally but the shutter will remain open for a longer time than usual. This will allow you to capture the subject illuminated by the flash, but it will also allow other lighting sources (like a candle's light) to record themselves. This setting is perfect if there is high illumination on the background while in-front of the subject there's certain darkness. For example when you want to shoot a person in front of a casino at night.
So.. If you're aiming for the perfect digital photography you should be able to switch between those five flash settings found in almost all digital cameras these days. Have a look at the camera's manual for more information on these settings. They are really important.
How would you like to use your camera's flash like professional digital photographer? You may want to have a look at this Perfect Digital Photography Secrets Manual/Guide. M.Mark is a webmaster of the DigitalStarProducts Digital Products Directory.
Article Source: http://www.positivearticles.com
It takes time and experience to learn how to control your digital camera's flash and shoot the perfect digital photography, but it's definitely worth waiting and trying because it's so rewarding! After all a picture worth a thousand words! I hope you will like and benefit from these flash tips for the perfect digital photography!
You have to take full control of your digital camera's flash. Why? Because digital cameras and their build-in software are pre-programmed and make a few assumptions.
For example:
There are sensors inside your camera that measure the percentage of illumination in the scene at which your camera points. If the sensors measure low illumination then your flash will fire. That is because your camera is pre-programmed with the assumption that flash will improve the photograph in a low-illumination environment. On the other hand in a high-illumination environment the flash will not fire because the camera will assume it's not necessary. After all it's dark out there!
The issue with these assumptions is that there are certain situations when you want an opposite result.
For example there are times when you want to shoot the perfect digital photography in a low-illumination environment without using the flash. e.g. when you are in a dark room with a candle burning and no other light sources. If that's the case you need to be really steady for the photograph to be sharp. You may want to use a tripod to achieve better results. If you do it right you will have a perfect digital photography with beautiful warm orange/red colors. Remember that the straight light coming from the flash gives a cold commercial look to your photographs. That could be ok in some cases but not in all cases.. You should decide whether to use flash, not your camera.
But what happens when working in Bright Light, high-illumination environments?
Then, the flash will not fire! Of course that saves battery-power but what are the results of your perfect digital photography? You definitely don't want to lose in quality right?
Imagine when you want to take the perfect digital photography of a person wearing a hat and the sun is overhead in the sky shining.. Then you will notice that the person's face will be in dark shadow because of the hat! But even if there's no hat, you will usually see shadows under the chin or under the person's eyes. So what you should do is fill those small shadows with light using your camera's flash!
Again, YOU should decide whether to use flash or not, and not your camera. YOU should take control of your camera's flash.
Today's digital cameras have five basic flash settings:
- Setting #1:
Automatic Flash: This is where your camera is pre-programmed to make assumptions depending on the level of the environment illumination and use the flash accordingly.
- Setting#2:
Automatic Flash with Eye Reduction: Again, the camera uses its software to determine when the flash will fire but there's also some type of red eye filters to reduce the red eye effect.
You camera will probably automatically select, by default, one of the above two settings. I recommend to never use the above settings if you're aiming for the perfect digital photography. And why is that you may ask. As I said before YOU should be the one who decides whether to use flash or not. And furthermore the eye reduction filters will not always do a good work and will confuse your subjects in most cases.
I recommend to make use of the following settings depending on the scene and the subject you're trying to shoot.
- Setting #3:
Flash Always: With this setting enabled your flash will fire in all cases. You may want to choose this setting when you want to fill small shadowed areas with light.
- Setting #4:
Flash Disabled: Your flash will not fire no matter how illuminated the environment or the scene is.. Make use of this setting when you want to shoot in a low-illuminated environment e.g. a dark room with a candle burning. Just remember that in a low-illumination environment you have to be really steady in order to shoot the perfect digital photography.
- Setting #5:
Slow Shutter Flash: This is a very underestimated setting and the least used.. If you choose this setting your flash will fire occasionally but the shutter will remain open for a longer time than usual. This will allow you to capture the subject illuminated by the flash, but it will also allow other lighting sources (like a candle's light) to record themselves. This setting is perfect if there is high illumination on the background while in-front of the subject there's certain darkness. For example when you want to shoot a person in front of a casino at night.
So.. If you're aiming for the perfect digital photography you should be able to switch between those five flash settings found in almost all digital cameras these days. Have a look at the camera's manual for more information on these settings. They are really important.
How would you like to use your camera's flash like professional digital photographer? You may want to have a look at this Perfect Digital Photography Secrets Manual/Guide. M.Mark is a webmaster of the DigitalStarProducts Digital Products Directory.
Article Source: http://www.positivearticles.com
5/03/2011
News About Kazue and Tom of Toy & Goods Trading
It was confirmed this past week by a good friend of Kazue, that her husband is Tom of Toy & Goods Trading. That shop appears to be up and running.
Please note, if you order from them that they accept only Paypal. Do not pay with a balance, pay with a credit card through Paypal. That way even if Paypal denies your claim (if you have to make one) you can always turn to your credit card company and do a chargeback. Paypal hates that but you are protected.
I thought it was very, very strange that no one except the person who confirmed the information to collectors knew this. It's rather unusual for a husband and wife to have very similar but separate businesses in the same area. Perhaps Kazue was trying to prove to Tom that she could do it better.
Some who regularly order from T&G Trading are understandably concerned that he might go under as well. All I can say is that if you have a major credit card, use it through Paypal. Get all your funds out of your account before ordering and use as your back up funding source a credit card - not a bank account.
Tom has the prettiest duo for sale. They are "Good Morning Amelie" and "Good Night Misaki" from the Secret Code Collection. His price is 32,600 yen for the set. That's $403.31 USD; 244.59 British Pounds; or 270.50 Euros. They are also available separately but they look so pretty together.
Link to Toy& Goods Trading
Please note, if you order from them that they accept only Paypal. Do not pay with a balance, pay with a credit card through Paypal. That way even if Paypal denies your claim (if you have to make one) you can always turn to your credit card company and do a chargeback. Paypal hates that but you are protected.
I thought it was very, very strange that no one except the person who confirmed the information to collectors knew this. It's rather unusual for a husband and wife to have very similar but separate businesses in the same area. Perhaps Kazue was trying to prove to Tom that she could do it better.
Some who regularly order from T&G Trading are understandably concerned that he might go under as well. All I can say is that if you have a major credit card, use it through Paypal. Get all your funds out of your account before ordering and use as your back up funding source a credit card - not a bank account.
Tom has the prettiest duo for sale. They are "Good Morning Amelie" and "Good Night Misaki" from the Secret Code Collection. His price is 32,600 yen for the set. That's $403.31 USD; 244.59 British Pounds; or 270.50 Euros. They are also available separately but they look so pretty together.
5/02/2011
Now that I'm in love with this body, what am I supposed to do with my other dolls?
I hate to start off a blog post with the word CRAP but I'm in love with the FR2 body. This is a problem and a puzzlement. There's no way to replace even a fraction of my collection with the new body. Should I retire them? Seriously, this body is amazing - the best 12" body ever. The only problem is that we can't get replacement ones and the feet are too long. A rational doll collector (are there any?) would say to just keep the collections separate. That's kind of impossible. My dolls are begging for new bodies now. CRAP.
Anyway...how gorgeous is this? Vanessa is wearing a little dress from a much earlier doll. Many of the clothes fit beautifully. It's the shoes that are hit and miss (mostly miss.)
And this:
The doll is Aerodynamic Vanessa re-rooted by Susan Korba, (the Magnificent.) She is borrowing a Dasha body and wearing a Dasha gown and shoes. Sitting, reclining and standing are all done beautifully with this body. Can it get better? Yes. Sell us bodies!
Anyway...how gorgeous is this? Vanessa is wearing a little dress from a much earlier doll. Many of the clothes fit beautifully. It's the shoes that are hit and miss (mostly miss.)
And this:
The doll is Aerodynamic Vanessa re-rooted by Susan Korba, (the Magnificent.) She is borrowing a Dasha body and wearing a Dasha gown and shoes. Sitting, reclining and standing are all done beautifully with this body. Can it get better? Yes. Sell us bodies!
5/01/2011
Franklin Mint and Ashton Drake Dress their Princess Catherine Dolls
The Franklin Mint will be producing a vinyl portrait doll of HRH Catherine. You can have one (or more) for $295. Click on the picture to see the description and/or to place your order.
Here is Ashton Drake's porcelain 16" doll for $149.99. Their description says fully poseable. Hmmm...I wonder exactly what that means. They did a very good job recreating the look of the gown but it it likely a retouched photo for now. It's too good. Click on the photo to go to the Ashton-Drake page.
Tsk, tsk. The Danbury Mint still has their artist's rendering on their website.
Personally, I would rather have a Pippa doll in the dress SHE wore. What a great-looking doll she would make!
Here is Ashton Drake's porcelain 16" doll for $149.99. Their description says fully poseable. Hmmm...I wonder exactly what that means. They did a very good job recreating the look of the gown but it it likely a retouched photo for now. It's too good. Click on the photo to go to the Ashton-Drake page.
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| Princess Catherine Commemorative Porcelain Bride Doll |
Tsk, tsk. The Danbury Mint still has their artist's rendering on their website.
Personally, I would rather have a Pippa doll in the dress SHE wore. What a great-looking doll she would make!
