Let's Start 2012 by Featuring Glorious Repaints seen on Prego

There is a lot of glorious eye candy in the form of repainted dolls being posted today on Prego. Here are a few just from the first page.
First up by Nigel Chia:
Freeze Frame Avantguard and Spring Kissed respectively. Amazing, right?

Next, a Monster High repaint/redress by Freddy Tan:
Do you see her nails?

By Laurie Lenz:
"Always Playing Solitaire" Ellowyne Repaint.

By France Briere:
Silkstone Barbie.

From (the amazing) James in Florida:
Repainted Sybarite Geometry.

Seen on Prego Today

These gorgeous images posted by Adrian Cardozo really caught my eye this morning. This was originally a RDG Maya head, exclusive to Angelic Dreamz. Adrian gave her a Jamieshow body. The wig is her original wig, headband is Sybarite Moon's,  dress is Numina Asher's,  cinch belt by Ficon, bracelet by Paul Pham and shoes are from an eBay seller called beautytoys. 
The inspiration for the faceup was inspired by Pris (Blade Runner) with a high fashion twist and was successfully interpreted by Kari Denker aka Liquid Sunshine.

I asked Adrian to describe his photo technique for the first image. Here is what he said:

 "Since today is a cloudy day, I took this picture indoors using a mix of lights. I was looking for a warmer feeling. The lighting is coming from below the dolls feet. I found this amazing old style XR reader light (like doctors used to have on their offices) that still works amazingly well...plus one more light from the front.

After I took the picture I simply selected the background in Photoshop and used the motion blur option plus added wind...blurred again and added wind..I like the different texture that creates by doing the same selection several times...."

Thanks to Adrian for sharing his unique doll and creative photo techniques. I love this stuff!

Male Dolls - One Collector's Pictures

We'd probably agree that the majority of doll collections are populated by female figures with a male doll thrown in here and there. I realize that I rarely post pictures of male dolls. Today on Prego, JinCincy answered this week's theme, the color black, with a few picture of her own Men in Black. Droolworthy.

RHage, Iple EID Akando

Kamal, Iple EID Luo by Lyn Raftis

Ian by Tracy Weston

Adam by DAO

There's much more. Jackie's blog, Vinyl Connections and Resin Residents are two sites where you can see more hunky guy dolls and her girls, too.

Seen on Prego - Superfrock Salon Exclusive 2011

Collector Shasha posted images of some of her favorite Superfrock Salon Exclusive 2011 items. Impressive.

Link to the original post.    You will need to be a member to log in to Prego. Why not sign up today? Free.

Seen on Prego Today

Just one fabulous example of the Fourth of July themed photos that are being posted this week on the doll boards. This one is from Ann in Florida.

My Uncle Sam didn't look like that!

More later.

One Collector's Sybarite Display

Posted by JymmiI on Prego today, I couldn't resist snatching it to show on the blog.  This is fantastic in every way. Click on it to see full size. The details and use of accessories from many sources is wonderful.

Do You Lurk?

Having done so much traveling this past week without my laptop, I often turned to the web on my phone  for the latest happenings in the doll world. I got to thinking how doll boards have changed my collecting experience.
When I was collecting Bratz dolls I found a Yahoo board that specialized in Bratz. That was my first. It was so much fun. I created my first doll story and had a very positive experience sharing my photos and looking at the photos other collectors posted.  I was already a collector of Tonner's Tiny Kitty, Tyler and Sydney dolls but looking back, I don't know how I survived without a network of collectors at my fingertips! The Tonner site, eBay and dealers' websites were all I had.
Sometime in 2004, I purchased my first Fashion Royalty doll on eBay and after that from other collectors. As I look back through my database, I see names of sellers that I could only have met on the boards.  Many have moved on to other pursuits or are collecting other types of dolls. One is running his own doll forum. Several have gone out of business.
One amazing experience was reading someone's post about a BIC exclusive Kyori coming out soon.  I wrote to BIC and that got me on the pre-order list to get the Ginza Kyori Gift Set. I had no idea what I was doing as I wasn't familiar with the big scramble for Fashion Royalty dolls. I think Ginza was the first FR doll I got at retail and that was no mean feat for a beginning FR collector back then. It was also the first year I attended a Fashion Royalty convention. That was in Toronto. If I hadn't been a board member, I wouldn't have known anyone in advance.

Like so many other collectors I became addicted to FR and the rest is pretty much history but I wanted to give a plug to the public doll boards I frequent most often.

The board which I have been a member of for the longest time is the Pink Parlor. The management has changed and the board is getting back to it's former lively self again. The (unstated) focus of the board is 1/6 scale dolls such as Fashion Royalty, Barbie and similar but many of the collectors have dolls that run the gamut. Registration is necessary and is free.

Logo Property of Pink Parlor. Click on it to go to the Pink Parlor.

Prego is the doll board I go to for the larger dolls like Tonner's Tyler, Sydney, Character Figures, Antoinette and similar 1/4 scale dolls. Again, the collectors there have eclectic collections and enjoy seeing pictures of other dolls. For a long time I thought that I couldn't post anything but repaints because many of the members have the most gorgeous collections of dolls that have been repainted.
I have learned that Prego is a safe board and that "factory" dolls are welcome as well as OOAK.  Many post pictures of Sybarite, Deva and Asian BJD dolls as well. If I post a question about something Tonner related, someone is bound to come up with the answer in minutes.  Registration is necessary and is free.
Here is the link to register to post at Prego:
http://tools.boardhost.com/reg/user=prego

Logo Property of Prego. Click on it to go to Prego.

If you collect Gene Marshall dolls and love fashions from that era, check out The Studio Commissary.
Every day the board posts a different vintage image in the header of either models or movie stars.
The Studio Commissary also hosts a link to the Fashion Sleuth which is a collection of images of real fashions which have been inspirations for doll fashions. For example, Azalea Ice Zita's gown was inspired by a Valentino. Board owner,  Mike Basala, has a great Flickr collection to which many sleuths have contributed. The board is open to all.

Valentino

Zita "Azalea Ice"

Dolly Daily is a forum as opposed to a message board. One big difference is that on an active message board, a topic can scroll off quickly. On a forum, there are tools to see the latest posts in a threaded or hierarchical structure. Here is a link to Wikipedia's explanation of the different types of on-line discussion sites.
Dolly Daily has areas for all different types of dolls, general questions, birthdays and introductions, selling and buying, member blogs and more. Contributors get access to a game arcade and a steam room.
Posts do not scroll off and are searchable by topic and poster's name.
Although I am a member there, I mostly lurk, but I do recommend this forum for it's huge resource of collectors and information. Registration is required and general membership is free.

Logo Property of Dolly Daily. Click on it to go to Dolly Daily

For ball jointed dolls I go to the Den of Angels. This is a very closely moderated forum containing more information than most collectors will ever need. There are many specific sub-forums so it's easy to navigate and find what you are looking for.  They have a huge membership from all over the world. Right now as I type this there are 541 users online. There are 30,852 members of which 10,319 are active members.
Membership is by invitation and free.

Logo Property of DoA. Click on it to go to Den of Angels

These are by no means all the doll boards out there. There are scores of Yahoo groups and other hosted boards in a multitude of formats. One or more is certainly right for you!

Are you still lurking?

Deva Dolls' PHARATEE Sold Out

The race was on at 1:00 AM on the morning of October 1 (New York time). It was 12 Noon Thailand time at Deva Dolls when their new doll Pharatee went on sale.
For the past week one could read the desirous posts of collectors - some going so far as to say they would die if they didn't get one.

I'm not saying I haven't been ready at the starting gate when a doll went up for sale....but not this time. Desire is infectious as is greed. I'm ashamed to say that I have purchased dolls that I didn't even care about because there was an outpouring of desire prior to the doll going on sale and I became sick with NEED. I have purchased dolls that were getting sold out rapidly just so I could get one.
I was actually prepared with electronic reminders and links and all that to get this doll. It would have been for the sport of it all. I don't even like her. Sanity prevailed and I just went to bed without watching the hunt.

There's some moaning and some rejoicing going on over at Prego this morning about disappearing web pages and shopping carts. The Deva Dolls site is very slow and quirky. It's no surprise that the ordering did not proceed smoothly. After all, there must have been many just watching.

But.....one voice of reason stood out and I am copying her post here. This is from Penny in OZ, the creator of "Avery, with an A."

Pharatees - enabled, enobled or just plain missed out - a bit of practical commonsense...

Posted by PennyandAveryA [User Info] on 10/1/2009, 10:16 am
Can I just feed you a little logic and a little bit of consolation. I see that Deva dolls have issued a new doll I haven't heard of until this minute. Obviously because I missed the hype I'm not overly fussed about not getting her. And I am not innocent of being enabled over certain dolls I just had to have.

Think with your heads and not your hearts for a minute. So you wanted the doll. Of course you did. And you are sick with disappointment because you missed out on her. BUT think for a minute. How much did you want Rosemary, or $no Baby. How much did you crave some other doll that is not readily on the market. That FR doll, or - those readily coming onto the market now that the desire is moving onto another doll.

It's a doll and there will be others coming. These days every other day a new doll is on the market. As others move on to newly enabled dolls they will sell you their unwanted dolls and you will, with patience and with the continued ambition end up with the doll you always wanted. And if not, think that it was meant to be.

The other day in London, I woke up in an ambulance with people asking me who I am. I could barely even remember at first and eventually they managed to call my son and he came in a rush to the hospital, where apparently I had another attack. They worked out I am suffering from malnutrition caused by the stress of a broken 36 year old marriage and, as a result I lost my flight which haad been bought on frequent fliers and currently stranded in London while the insurance works things out. I'm okay, and I can tell you, perspective takes place in the back of an ambulance while people thump you and try to shake your memory loss.

I stayed in Guys and St. Thomas Hospital in a room directly looking onto the Thames and Parliament House, Big Ben and the bridge directly next to it. British democracy will never be the same for me and the British Parliament will always remind me to keep my perspective in presence of it's importance.

I know you are not seeing logic, but remember when everyone wanted Grey? Remember how much those first AG's were hunted down. Remember how much everyone wanted that first Sydney? Remember how much Weekend in Washington outfit was?

We are all quite wanten children, no better than a two year old stretched out on the floor next to the supermarket checkout because we want to buy the chocolate our mothers won't get us. Right now there are people who have lost everything to a tsuname in the Pacific, and people lost and trapped and missing...

I CRIED BECAUSE I HAD NO SHOES UNTIL I SAW A MAN WHO HAD NO FEET.

I know you probably will think that this is holier than thou at this moment of your disappointment but your turn will come. In the meantime share your own thouhts and disappointments under this post and maybe it will make you feel a little better just to have a small beef and move onwards to new horizons, or look at the collection you have and those dolls you love and wanted so much in the past and DID get either on time or belatedly.

I missed out on Rosemary at the time under the same circumstances as you guys from a nasty uploading basket, and I don't really care anymore. My fate was waiting for the acquisition of Summertime Logan from Happily Ever After, a Bishonen HOuse doll large and lovable, and an out of the blue acquisition of his brother - Nori which I have found out was a very rare doll from a person who is lovely and gave me such accidental pleasure. Six months ago I hadn't anticipated either of them and never a sorry day have I had since I had them.

I am sorry and sympathetic you didn't get your desire, but your turn will come. Or your desire will fade as others sell on to gain newer dolls...

logic and commonsense dear fellow Pregoers.

Group hug to you all.

Pennyoz

Picture of the Week Award ~ August 6, 2009

This week's award goes to LeeAnn in Pennsylvania for this wonderfully funny picture of her doll called Devil Debra. Debra's antics often include a Voodoo doll that sports a multitude of pins.

LeeAnn told me that Debra inspires her and often provides a channel for expressing feelings. The doll itself is an Elfdoll by Rainman whose original name is Hana (Devil). It came in two versions although both were neuter gendered. The differences were the face-ups and outfits. The doll is a 20cm resin BJD that was released in 2006 and came with four different face-plates.

See more wonderfully humorous photos showcasing this doll's antics at 5th Avenue Vixens
and on Prego where LeeAnn is the Admin.

Congratulations, LeeAnn, on creating a big personality from a small doll that so many of us enjoy.

Picture of the Week Award (March 29, 2009)

A new weekly feature on my blog is to showcase a photo from another doll collector which I think is special. Browsing on Prego, I found the following photo taken by Vicky in Hawaii. I've never seen dolls pictured taking their own photo. It's clever and so well done. The composition and lighting are excellent! The dolls are Tonner's Jac and Sean.

Congratulations, Vicky!