Tonner Doll Company's 2010 Annual Convention in Lombard, IL

The theme of this Tonner convention is "The Sun, The Moon and The Stars." It will celebrate the fashion and pop culture influences in Robert Tonner's doll designs. Sounds fabulous, doesn't it? I am not at the convention, unfortunately, but I am following it on the Tonner convention blog and through friends.
On opening night an event called "Let Them Eat Cake" was held.  Attendees received a souvenir doll called "Takes the Cake." She is a new sculpt referred to as "Duchess." Here is a shot made by my friend Natasha Powers:

Duchess has a lovely sculpt with big eyes and well defined lips. I think that she will be a favorite for repainters.

There were three centerpieces on each table and congratulations to those who won because they are gorgeous. Here are the photos from the Tonner site of those three dolls:

Madame et le Citron - Sydney sculpt - LE100

Madame a la Menthe - Daphne sculpt - LE100

Madame a la Framboise - Kit sculpt - LE100

These are completely adorable! I adore the Sydney sculpt and I love the pink outfit.

More to follow. Stay tuned.

Integrity Announces a BIC Exclusive: Two New Nu.Fantasy Dolls

Yuri and Kumi have returned (in name only.) Kumi "Snow White" and Yuri "Rose Red" are now dressed in almost identical frilly dresses adorned with tulle, lace, bows, ribbons and embroidered crosses. Their makeup is simplified. Their hair is also identical in style to eachother. One holds a poison apple and the other a magical hand mirror.

The image above is the property of Integrity Toys.

Pre-ordering began on May 17th. Price for each doll is 21,000 yen which translates to about $235. at today's exchange rates. Kazue at BIC is providing free shipping!

The first Kumi, "Wild Wolf," came with several fabulous pieces of clothing. I paid $300 plus $22. shipping for that giftset from Savadoll in Canada at the end of October 2008. That was an outrageous price two years ago and still is, but unfortunately I've been conditioned to expect rising prices.I never did get a NRFB Yuri but I did manage to get her outfit very cheaply at the 2008 convention and I picked up a nude doll for $187. in November. Her actual retail price was $213. No wonder I didn't buy her at first.

In the last two images above, the girls have been redressed in Soom dresses, lingerie and handbags. Black shoes are Nu.Face, dog is a OOAK felted poodle (one of the Rudettes.) Jewelry is from different sources. Yuri was given a haircut and a few freckles by me.
I think the new dolls are not as interesting as the original Yuri and Kumi. They lack the character, individuality and design finesse of the originals. The dresses and dolls are pretty but not remarkable or unique. The pictures of them are excellent and that's a good thing.

Gettiing back to the new dolls, I searched the interned with the terms "Gothic Lolita" and "Japanese Goth" and came up with many interesting images. I don't know if the designer of the new dolls had any particular style in mind. I don't care when designers copy runway couture for dolls. I like it. They all do it. Here are three I would have loved for dolls:

They are very sophisticated and remind me of what Jason would offer. Well, maybe not the first one. LOL.

Here are several "Japanese Goth" images featuring real girls:
The frilly, lacy dolls and these girls are perfectly suited to each other.

What Are They Thinking? Auction of the Day

Be sure to read the long-winded text to see what your $35,000. will buy for you.

http://cgi.ebay.com/OOAK-SAWYER-LOST-PORTRAIT-REPAINT-DOLL-LUX-GIFST-/250633258812?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5ae8073c

"...breathing fairy glitter must somehow damage one's ability to think clearly and cause bizarre and duplicitous behavior."

I think so, too.

Picture of the Week Award ~ May 16, 2010 ~ Karine at Fleur de Lys

When I look at Karine's photographs, it's almost impossible to pick a favorite. This one jumped off the monitor and grabbed me! The pose is so unusual and well done. The fact that one cannot see part of the doll is intriguing. The doll is a Sybarite named Tock. She was released at the Paris Fashion Doll Festival earlier this year. Be sure to click on the image to see it full sized. See more of Karine's gorgeous Sybarites and other dolls at this link.

Congratulations, Karine, on the picture of the week!

Not Doll Related - although you can save money to spend on dolls later!

My son originally turned me on to this site and whenever I plan to purchase something on line, I check with Ebates first. This is a legitimate site. They send you a check with your rebate.
Email me if you want more information. Better yet, go there by clicking on this link and see for yourself.
It's free to sign up.
Stores like Macys, Sephora, Staples, Barnes & Noble and hundreds more participate in this program. They send out an email every week with the savings rates and specials of the week.
Please check it out.

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=FSCZRwGmaGO6DZjZwg6buw%3D%3D

Misleading Auction Statement of the Week

The seller is describing a Tonner doll and after telling the color of her hair and eyes she adds:
"She has a loose lock of hair, a chip on her left shoulder, stains on her left arm (see photos), and small stains on her feet; over all excellent condition, smoke free home."

Deconstruction Site Eugenia & Magnetism Monogram Dolls

I had time yesterday to redress several dolls and photograph a few of them. For me this is the most pleasant way to spend time with my dolls besides gazing at them. For the backdrop I tried out some mylar coated stock. I'm not quite sure about the best way to use it so the results are accidental. I'll have to do some research.
Here is Eugenia wearing LifeBall's gown. The bust was quite tight but I managed to close it and I like it on her. The headwear belongs to Flame Blue Vanessa and the purse is from an early Fashion Royalty doll. Jewelry is by Facets. She looks gorgeous!
I purchased the Monogram doll called Magnetism as a nude so she really needed some wardrobe time.
The Randall Craig fashion, Kelly Girl, looked great on another collector's doll so that's what mine got to wear. Fur is by Dimitha and shoes are her own from her original outfit.
This particular backdrop is an older tri-fold cardboard Ashton-Drake Gene item meant to represent the Biltmore Hotel Ballroom. I added the gold chairs and columns. The columns are Wilton cake decorating accessories which I spray painted gold.
The jewelry was produced by Sandra Stillwell for the 2004 Gene convention. It is a replica of jewelry worn by Susan Hayward in the film Smash Up. The fur was also made to fit a 16" doll however it works well with this scale and is quite glamorous. It is real fur.

Hope you like the pretty pictures. ;-)

Revision note: Information about the jewelry Magnetism Monogram is wearing was provided by Mike Basala. Thanks, Mike!

Vanessa's First Photoshoot

Flame Blue Vanessa is pretty close to perfection. All I have to do is glue down the curls on her hairdo and she will be. She is actually better in person as the construction and fine quality of the gown can be appreciated only when holding her in hand. This is her first photoshoot. There will be more as I'm not really satisfied with these images.

A Collector Reports on her Experience with Superfrock

I get a lot of mail from my readers who identify with what I post and otherwise. I thought this email would be interesting to post as I don't collect Sybarites. The two purchases I've made from Superfrock were not for dolls and went very smoothly.
The writer has given me permission to publish her name along with the content of her letter. In two instances I have substituted XXX for the name of a company.

Dear Ms Gold!
I am a frequent visitor to your blog and just today I read about what your buying experiences with XXX were like.
This might not be a big comfort, but anyway: I bought this ultra-expensive Tock doll from Superfrock. They had put me on a waiting list and then recently e-mailed me that they had one left and if I wanted it. I did. What I received was a doll with indentures, filing marks and bad creases and scratches on her back and shoulders and front upper bosom part.
And it was no fun arriving at being able to return her and receiving a full refund, i. e. one including my shipping cost back to the UK. I am still waiting for my credit card to be refunded with the amount for the doll, I got my shipping cost back via Paypal. Hopefully this credit card refund delay is only due to it being week-end.
Anyway, I would have never expected such an inferior quality on such a highly priced and allegedly high quality doll.
I was told that "oh, this was out of our hands" and that "the quality check in China was bad" etc. Furthermore, the e-mail address given on Superfrock's home page, i. e. "sales@ superfrock.com" leads straight to China. So it's the customer's fault if they write to the wrong address...I wouldn't want to say Superfraud.
What annoyed me even more, however, was the Lady I talked to on the phone hanging up on me three times and thus making me call again and again. On top of it all, she sighed into the phone annoyedly. The connexion was admittedly bad, but only in one direction. In case you're interested I can send you some photographs of the faults described above.
This whole affair reminds me of what you wrote about getting the last Fashion Doll Agency doll from XXX This kind of behaviour really provokes a customer to think that the sellers are trying to get rid of their last dolls which had come back before (for who knows how many times).
...[Shortened for Clarity]...
Thank you very much for taking your time to read all this and for all your endeavours. And for not sweet-talking to the sellers all the time on your blog. Their success has already gone to their heads far too much.

Best regards
Petra

Picture of the Week Award ~ May 9, 2010 ~ Laura Bigger

My featured photograph this week was made by my dear friend Laura Bigger, also known as Laura/LA. Using her Nikon D90 on a tripod in natural ligh, she presents us with an image straight out of a fashion magazine. Everything works together in this photo: the directional lighting, the composition, the limited color palette. The doll is in a very natural pose supported by the angled prop while she is shielding her eyes from the sun. I love it. The doll is Fashion Royalty Dania Zarr "Exclusive Interview." Her hair was restyled by Uriah and the dress is by HJ Couture 2010. Laura's byline on DollyDaily.com is "Professional Enabler." She has certainly earned that title with me. As a result of seeing this fashion and finding out who made it, I purchased one of his creations. (Huckleberry Jackson aka HJ Couture)

I asked Laura if she had any suggestions to offer doll photography beginners and this is what she said:
"Spend lots of time looking at the doll pictures on Flickr, the doll boards and in magazines. After looking at hundreds of doll photos you will start to have a sense of what is possible, what you like and what has already been done. Pros like Terri [Thank you, Darlin'] will show you what a perfectly lit shot should look like as well as how to use a few props or many props to create an interesting composition. My second bit of advice would be to go ahead and experiment. Now that digital cameras have made each picture more or less "free" try every angle you can think of. Experiment, have fun and play with those dolls!"

See more of Laura's photography and collection at: http://www.flickr.com/people/laurala2008/

Congratulations on the Picture of the Week Award.

My Flame Blue Vanessa is Where?

It's nine days since I paid for her and I just couldn't wait any longer so I emailed the liaisons at the W Club.
I received a very kind response from Luanne (who is always very pleasant and helpful). She told me that she would contact the business office of Integrity Toys. I'm assuming someone there actually read her email because about 1 hour later I got a shipping notice.

I know I'm not their favorite customer but really.....

Image Source: http://www.nataliedee.com/archives/2006/Apr/

Misleading eBay Auction Title of the Day

"NEW 14 Pairs Shoes for Fashion Royalty, Lots"

These are all Barbie shoes, many of which would not even fit a Fashion Royalty doll. This auction popped up in the Integrity Fashion Royalty category.

Seller's Feedback:Here's the link to the auction:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-14-Pairs-Shoes-Fashion-Royalty-Lots-/290425603027?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item439eb703d3

Bella Productions Offers New Slim RWV Wall Units

The original Room With a View standard wall unit opens to 53" wide and is 20" tall.
I bought the one that is magnetic on both sides and it's very heavy but quite sturdy. (I believe the double sided one has been discontinued.) I've used it tons of times with large and small dolls and I recently purchased several new wall papers and floors. Tonner and Gene furniture items are perfectly scaled for this size unit. My doll photography style tends to zoom in so that the entire room is never fully visible. But it's fun to set up an entire room even if it doesn't make it into my pictures. I can really play. A while back I purchased several flexible magnetic panels elsewhere with the intention of creating some unique items for my RWV. Did I get to it? That would be NO. So full of ideas and so little time.

For those of you who are not familiar with the RWV here is the description from the website:
"a magnetic wall system which consists of a foldable wall unit and a large range of decorative panels and parts. The parts stick to the metallic side of the wall unit. Collectors can easily create their own miniature doll sets and dioramas. And, when it's time to put the fun away, RWV collapses for easy storage under a bed or in a closet. Perfect for 10" to 16" dolls."

Several months ago a second, smaller size was introduced called the RWV Slim. It is 20" tall and 43.5" when opened flat. Today an even more compact size called the RWV Folio was introduced. It consists of two 14.5" panels which open out to create a corner backdrop. That sounds really useful and easy to use!

Bella Productions has also begun to offer new solid color magnetic wallpaper panels and they are on sale this month.

Check out all the options at this link.

Here are a couple of different shoots I did using 16" dolls.

Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter Dolls from Ashton Drake

I don't have any familiarity with the Dark-Hunter series at all. I'm guessing they hunt vampires and I like vampires so there you go.
The artists over at Integrity Toys (who could that be?) have designed these dolls but AD is handling the distribution.
The first two dolls are called Acheron and Simi. AD's website for these characters states that "Each collectible Dark-Hunter doll is meticulously detailed with clothing and accessories straight off the pages of your favorite book. Symbolic of quality and collectability, each doll is handcrafted in premium materials and entirely hand painted." Entirely? Really? I'm impressed.
The images currently on the website are artist's renderings. Be forewarned. However, today, Integrity posted real pictures.


Who took these pictures? They do not show off the dolls well with the use of a soft focus and red lighting. I'm sure I could do a better job but they won't be here unless someone sends me one or two for free.

I would like her coffin handbag, though. Doesn't she look alot like Veronique? Integrity vehemently denies that it is the same sculpt. They say the two are completely new sculpts.

Retail Price: $149. each.
Availability date has not been announced as yet and although he was asked more than one time, David Buttry of Integrity Toys would not answer the question about edition numbers. I'm guessing because there are no edition numbers to be had.
I wouldn't order until I saw real life pictures and read reviews from buyers.

Joe Tai's Doll 16 Inch Body

Joe Tai has created a body for 16" dolls that can be purchased as a replacement body for your dolls. I pre-ordered one from Manika and received it in January. I was so surprised at it's heft. It's at least 3 times as heavy as a Tonner or Gene body.

The other features of note are not hard to see. They're right out there - large breasts standing at attention. There is a great deal of body blushing all over including the palms of the hands. Joe doesn't design anything with an eye toward moderation. Joe may have gone overboard with the breasts but he got the articulation right. This body can pose like a dream.
I had such a good time posing her and taking pictures that I didn't even want to dress her. But here she is in a Tonner fashion created for Tyler's body. It fits perfectly. The ankle joints have a great range of movement and I'm guessing that Deva, Sybarite, Avantguard, Gene, Antoinette and pretty much any high heel shoe made for a 16" doll will fit.The skin tone matches the "Exceptional" Antoinette head perfectly.
The price of the body was high at $62 plus $10 for shipping. You probably won't be replacing all of your doll bodies at this price. Cherished Friends will be carrying them but I don't have a date or price.
Recommendation - get one just for the experience.

Picture of the Week Award ~ Christina Goodison - Shuga Shug

The latest Fashion Royalty doll, Flame Blue Vanessa, that's been causing rending of garments and begging, is beginning to arrive at collectors' homes and Christina, often first on the scene, has posted several gorgeous shots of Vanessa. (Is that a run-on sentence?)
This is the same doll as in my previous post. Christina's photograph is so good one wonders which of them is the promotional shot as hers certainly could be! I like Christina's better.
The camera used was a Sony Alpha DSLR. Shot was made outside in natural light with a black velvet drape. Settings for the techies out there: f/3.5, 200 ISO and white balance - natural. A tripod was used.
Christina told me that she used natural light as she is trying to grow her abilities by challenging herself to do things differently. She usually uses a light set indoors.

I asked her is she had tips for other doll collectors' photography and this is what she said:

"Say NO to your flash! If your photo is too dark then just change your exposure. My suggestions to those trying to improve their photography is to really get to know their camera. Getting a better camera isn't always the solution to getting better pictures. Most people don't even use their camera's capabilities. Learn to change the settings such as the white balance, saturation, exposure until you find what gives you the best photo with the lighting you are using for that shot. "
(I agree with learning to use the different settings on one's camera. But you have to have plenty of light to keep the flash turned off and that's another setting to learn about. Sometimes I use the flash out of doors intentionally in a technique called fill flash. Photographic lighting has a steep learning curve!)

To see more of Christina's beautiful photography check out her blog and Flickr photostream at the links here:
http://shugashug.wordpress.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shuga-shug/

Congratulations on the Picture of the Week Award, Shug!

Good News!

Integrity Toys has come forth with a statement concerning the defective Regal Estate Agnes dolls. If you have a doll that has been affected by the mold issue you must immediately contact PatientCare at patientcare@integritytoys.com. Do not wait. There is a voluntary replacement policy that will expire in May. Alternately, if you have taken care of the mold on your own and can document it, you may be eligible for a $25 gift certificate.

The other good news is that I will be getting the new Vanessa. That will make a total of 22 Vanessas that have been created since the beginning of time. ;-)

Having one of each is an obsession with me.
This is Flame Blue Vanessa a W Club exclusive doll with an ultra limited edition of 300. She is part of the "re-edition" line of dolls that celebrates the best of prior dolls in new editions with similar styles.
Her name is taken from that of "Flame Rouge" Veronique whose gown also consists of a bustier with mermaid skirt plus large train.
I had Flame Rouge for a time and sold her because the dress was just too big. Jason used a similar formula for Lush Life's gown.

I love the new Vanessa's hairdo. It's the type that stays in place forever. No frizzies or uneven ends. Yay!

The doll was by lottery and I'm guessing that pretty much everyone entered. I didn't read a single negative statement about her.

Here's hoping she arrives mold-free and swiftly.

The images in this post are the property of Integrity Toys.

Temptation Vanessa — De-Bumped