Kingdom Doll 2018 MONARCHY Convention, Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh, Scotland was the site of Kingdom Doll's "Monarchy" Convention. From October 12 through October 14, 2018, seventy-five doll lovers met at the DoubleTree by Hilton, most of us from other countries, to celebrate with each other.
My husband and I made a 10-day vacation around this event, many pictures of which are on my regular FaceBook page.  https://www.facebook.com/terri.gold.3?ref=bookmarks.  (Beware, you will have to wade through many political and other posts to find these photos.)
Photos from the actual convention events are posted on my Fans of Kingdom Doll FB page and the Monarchy page. You would have to be a member to see them.

Friday:
The first event took place from 10:30 AM - 4:00 PM during which time we were treated to a talk by Patricia Henry on photography. I can listen to her 'lectures' over and over again. She is so informative and funny. Everyone in the audience, no matter their photographic skill level, was able to take away hints to improve their photos.

We got to see the companion dolls and take the one we ordered.

Ravenna (left) and Raphaella

We had a buffet lunch in the hotel restaurant and returned to the convention space for more fun.
We voted on the competition entries which were amazing and very numerous.

During the mid-day break, the competition entries were set up. They were extremely impressive as you can see in this video:

We viewed the silent auction dolls and bids were taken.

Tribal Belgae OOAK 

Artemesia OOAK

We were introduced to the new 12" Monarchs. These little beauties are fully jointed 12" resin dolls. They will be sold dressed in copies of 16" Elgin's gown. They have their own website: www.kdmonarchs.com.

Kingdom Doll Photo 

The first Monarch to be released this December is La Scala Georgiana dressed in red silk. The second Monarch will be released sometime in 2019.

Finally, the shopping began.

Saturday 7:00 PM — Late:

Attendees arrived at the ballroom laden with gifts for other attendees and ran about distributing them. We oohed and aahed over the centerpiece hoping to be one of the ones lucky enough to have the opportunity to purchase her.  After dinner, we received our convention souvenir, Rosalind of Durham which some are calling The Red Queen. She has a new sculpt, complete with dimples, called Canti. I don't know who took the first photo but it does show Rosalind in her original wig with her crown. I took the second photo of her wearing a different wig.

The centerpiece doll LE 12 is called Raven. She has the Dumnonii sculpt.

The evening went on into the wee hours with dancing and partying.


Sunday 1:00 to 4:00

Afternoon tea was served and then a presentation with a whisky tasting took place. Since half of the collectors at our table are non-drinkers, we had a good time trying to get the others to drink more. The Scottish presenter was delightful and funny. I learned one little fact and it is that only true Scot's whisky can be spelled without the e.

The centerpiece is called Reign of Durham LE 8 .

Reign of Durham photographed by Machelle Dubriel

Her sculpt is the same as Rosalind's. Her gown is a black version of the Red Queen's while her fur epaulets are a pink version.

A big surprise of the event was our gift from Kingdom Doll which was a doll. She is called Realm. She came nude. Here are some photos I took of her when we got home. She's dressed in one of the optional purchase dresses which is part of a larger outfit.

More shopping opportunities finished off the afternoon with goodbyes and hugs and kisses.

Random photos I took once I arrived back home.

VanBrugh got to wear a British flag pin and carry a bagpipe when we came home.

Optional fashions available. Defense of the Realm was available for pre-order.

Blue Safari (Above) Defense of the Realm (below)

The Hamish Bag Set and There's A Snake in Your Sporran

Slay Another Day 

Holyrood Sapphire and Garnet Outfits

SINFUL: Kingdom Doll 2017 Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana

The Kingdom Doll Convention was held this past weekend at a beautiful hotel in the Warehouse Arts District of New Orleans. My roommate, Juli Reidl, and I went out on two pre-reserved tours. One was a visit to the Mardi Gras Warehouse which was incredible and the other was a culinary tasting tour in the French Quarter. We also made sure to eat beignets at the Cafe du Monde. 

I'd go back to NOLA just for that alone. OMG. I could get addicted to those and the frozen coffee I had to go with them. Delicious!

On Friday evening, the event began.

We were treated to this amazing diorama at the cocktail party. Helen, on the right is wearing "Sloth," the second event outfit. Duchess (not a convention doll) is wearing and surrounded by items from "Lazy Poodles," an optional fashion/accessory set. The diorama wardrobe created by http://filmideco.com/ and the upholstered furniture was created by Julia Gartung.
The handmade felted poodles were the creation of Nancy Arnold of the House of Raifere.

The cloche server (a tableware cover) contained a selection of cakes and pastries. Yummy

Check out the poodle shoes!

I've been home for nearly one week and I'm still digesting the wonderful experience of the Kingdom Doll Convention.  Many photos of my city experience have already been posted on Facebook. This post will cover the dolls I took home, the event OOAK, the Limited Edition twins, the auction doll and a bit more.

I pre-ordered the companion doll, Helen, and was able to take her back to my room on Friday evening. Helen features the Carvetii head sculpt. What a beauty she is.

This is the Kinsman Doll crest. 

At the cocktail party on Friday evening we viewed the OOAK Auction Doll who ultimately went for  $15,750. Her name is Hera. The dolls were displayed in acrylic cases and better photos were not an option. I'm sure the winner will produce beautiful photos.

The first convention outfit was Lust. I photographed it on Chaucer. The black poodle shoes were not part of the ensemble. They came with the pink negligee. Lust came with other beautiful shoes.

Two lucky collectors got golden apples, (the rest of us got red apples,) and won the opportunity to purchase one of an edition of two Aphrodites.

Helen and Paris, an LE15 Kinsman, were displayed together.

At brunch on Saturday we received several table gifts including Sloth. I photographed the outfit on Draig.

Travel dolls were displayed and we voted for our favorites in three categories. Steven Prokop swept two categories with his creative entries and Monique Kordasiewicz won the third.
I believe their prizes were pink versions of the Bumble Bee outfit from a few months ago.

There was a quiz called Pride which tested attendees knowledge of all things Kingdom Doll. I didn't even submit an entry. (Don't ask.) Patrick Paul Gerhardt won a OOAK doll with Dauphine's sculpt.

On Saturday at the Gala Dinner we received Avarice, the event doll. She features a new head sculpt called Belgae.

Golden gloved hands were her additional set. 

The centerpiece on each of 6 tables was Envy. I am more than a little grateful that my roommate, whose name was one of those chosen, allowed me to purchase her.  Envy uses the Demetae sculpt. Her fashion and shoes have many Swarovski crystals which were hand applied by Alexandra herself. She came with a set of pink gloved hands, dragon lady nail hands and her standard hands. She is truly unique amongst prior Kingdom Dolls with her showgirl costume and her darker shade of resin which has not been used on this sculpt previously.

My table mates and other attendees were very generous with their table gifts. When I got to my table in the dining room, I couldn't make out the table or chairs as they were covered in boxes and packages! I'm not kidding. Back at the room, I had to leave behind my souvenir hurricane glasses from the cocktail party as I had no room at all in my carry-on or suitcase. I'm sad not to have them now.

Several of us traveling northeast left the hotel at the break of dawn. We had a little gathering at the airport. That was a special way to end a beautiful weekend.

I arrived to Philadelphia in rainy, bleak weather but I felt great as soon as I got out of the airport.  Once home I unpacked but didn't open my treasures because I went to sleep. Heavenly.
It was a joy meeting those "Sinners" I had been chatting with all year. After knowing him for so many years, I finally met Jose´ Luis Vasquez from Puerto Rico. Hola, Jose´.

Alexandra Forbes and Amanda Arnold along with their team of elves did a wonderful job creating and organizing this convention.

Next year, Sasenachs, Scotland!

PS: I won't be able to answer questions about next year's event as the information hasn't been released as of this writing. There will be a general release soon.