Counting My Blessings

I don't want to get all mushy here on a public blog but.....with the headlines being what they are and knowing that thousands have lost homes to foreclosure and thousands have lost jobs due to the tragic losses in business and the stock market decline, I am so blessed to have been able to attend an amazing function like the Wu Convention. It's pretty hard to believe that a few hundred of us got together to celebrate our love for these little vinyl objects of art while the world's economic markets are in economic chaos and decline. We are well fed (sort of), well-dressed and funded to the degree that we could spend at least $2,000 for a four day event and a few dolls!

There are several people trashing the convention collection on the doll boards. These are people who did not (could not?) attend. My suggestion to them is to move on to another hobby. Envy in any form is unattractive. End of rant.

My booty from this convention exceeded my every expectation. My Mom used to tell me not to 'brag' or someone would give me the 'evil eye.' LOL. But just in case the evil eye is on it's way to me I am protected by mirrors and if you send me the evil eye it is reflected back at you. Now that you all think I am completely crazed, I will proceed to say that hubby and I were lucky enough to be able to purchase every centerpiece! I had all my dolls shipped home and they are not here yet. Boo hoo. I did take my raffle win home. I won the 2008 Gene Convention doll, Distant Venus. I put all my tickets in her box and got lucky. (Sorry, Nise.)

Distant Venus

Since I don't have my own dolls to photograph yet, I am posting the official Integrity Toy's photos of the centerpiece and convention dolls here.

Fine Jewel Eugenia

Josephine Baker

Truce of the Matter Kyori Sato Giftset (Unknown Photographer)

"Shirred, Not Shaken Vanessa"

Tatyana Alexandrova Convention Doll

Another Successful Convention Comes to a Close

Let me just get the bad stuff out of the way. The food sucked. We were served pasta three times in a row. Friday lunch was curly pasta swimming in an appalling sauce. Friday night was pasta with different toppings, Saturday at the W Club luncheon was more pasta, this time in the form of manicotti. Pat Feick found a good sized piece of cellophane mixed in with her food!
Next year I am filling out the food allergy form thus: no pastas, no gravies, no high fat-high cholesterol foods. What ever happened to vegetables and animal proteins? The desserts were good but I would have preferred to have consumed healthy main meals. This was like dormitory food. Very disappointing. And I would like my coffee with my dessert, not 30 minutes afterward. I must add that the coffee served in the hotel was excellent-even the decaf!
The hotel was very cold and the thermostat in the room had difficulty maintaining a comfortable temperature.
And now to share the fabulous rest of the convention...
At each event, the tables and the entire dining room were decorated beautifully. The centerpieces were not just standing on the tables, they were displayed on different stands which were lit from below. The tables themselves were dressed in frothy linens and the chairs were wrapped as well. It was beautifully done. Carol Roth and Alain Tremblay co-hosted the events. Thursday night's centerpiece was Eugenia dressed in a red version of Color Therapy Vanessa's green dress. She is fantastic. Friday luncheon centerpiece was the new character in the Hollywood Royalty line, Josephine Baker. At the W Club luncheon on Saturday afternoon, the centerpiece was a wig-less Kyori who came with two wigs, a coat and shoes and boots. Much of the items in the set were items we had seen previously. Saturday night the centerpiece was my love, Vanessa. She was displayed on a very, very tall pair of vases. One of which was filled with bubbly red gel which diffused a light at the bottom. It was very atmospheric and very dark in the room. The ice sculpture in the center of the dining room resembled a Russian palace. It was gorgeous.
In following installments, I will show and discuss the dolls from the convention collection and the convention doll herself. She is a new character called Tatyana. Her skin is like porcelain and I think she is a very fine looking addition to the line.
I'm exhausted from having so much fun! A big thank you to my wonderful table mates for making this my favorite convention, ever.
Tune in for more installments.

36 Hours to Go

I'm excited! In about 36 hours we will be in Pittsburgh awaiting the start of the Fashion Royalty Convention the following day. I started this blog almost exactly two years ago during the Baltimore convention.

One year ago at this time it was a Saturday night at the convention and we were wondering who was in the box we were going to open after dinner. It turned out to be Going Places Vanessa, my favorite Fashion Royalty character and a ho-hum example of the same. Little did we know that there were to be three more Vanessas on their way whose value would plummet to never before seen depths. Horrors!
(If you had read my story called The Vanessa Reunion, you would know that True Royalty was right when she predicted that the more Vanessas produced the lower their value would be.)
Who will it be this year? I'm hoping for a fantastic Eugenia or the newly sculpted Veronique.
Watch this space for my links to my photographs from the convention. There will be many.

Prior convention dolls in order below:
Midnight in Monaco Veronique, Diamond Dusted Veronique, Cosmetic Takeover Natalia, Born to Gamble Kyori, Intoxicating Mix Vanessa, High Roller Veronique, Concerto in M Agnes, Intimately Acquainted Luchia, Going Places Vanessa, High Gloss Agnes and Back to Black Natalia.

(Intimately Acquainted Luchia
missing this image)

(Back to Black Natalia
missing this image)


 (All images are mine except Intimately Acquainted Luchia and Back to Black Natalia. Courtesy of Integrity Toys.)

Lana Turner "Iconic" Ships

Yesterday the re-sculpted Lana Turner Hollywoood Royalty doll arrived at my door. It didn't take very long before I was ripping into the package to get at her. I love the new box in which she is packaged. It's a window box. I'm sure those who do not debox their dolls are thrilled. The box can sit on a shelf and you can see the doll right through the window. At first, I wasn't thrilled with the appearance of Iconic. She looks bald wearing the head wrap. Today I redressed her in a gorgeous red beaded Ovaz gown and I fell in love. She is magnificent, classy and aloof-looking. I am very pleased with her and I recommend the purchase of this doll to those who may be undecided. She is selling for $89.99 which is bordering on the extreme end for such a basic doll, but prices for everything are rising and that's where we are today unfortunately.


Photo is the property of Integrity Toys and used by permission. My own pictures will appear soon.

Gothic Dream Misaki Doll Collection

Photos of the new Misaki line were published today. Up first we have "Pure Evil Misaki."
Personally, I don't see the evil in that blonde hair, white costume and sweet face. She looks like an angel playing ringmaster. However her baton is black and silver and maybe it is an evil baton. ;)
I love the look of this doll. To me the edgy styling of the premier Misakis has returned and that's a wonderful thing. This collection will be wildly popular.
This is Witchie Witch Misaki. Who named these dolls? I love her hair - again it is reminiscent of Tokyo Here We Go. The boots are great-looking. The outfit - OK.
This is The Outsider Misaki. He or she is wearing a fabulous coat over jeans that are embellished with a wraparound knee strap and big cargo pockets . He or she is wearing a white shirt and a tie. I'm guessing it's a male figure but...I could be wrong. I could live without the blue/black hair but I suppose it ties in with the Gothy look. I don't see this doll as being dressed Goth, however. It's just a really sharp outfit a kid might wear to school.

All Images are courtesy Integrity Toys, Inc.

Grey Lady Gene Marshall

Michael Basala, was trusting and generous enough to lend Grey Lady to me for a few weeks in order to photograph her. It's as close as I will get to owning one.She is lovely.