Stardust Wrap-Up ~ Is It Really the End of the Line?

I've had a whole day and a 190 mile drive to think about the answer to that question. I don't think it's the end. Someone will come up with something. What do you think? I'd really like to know.
.......

The day began with good news in that my defective Stardust doll was replaced. Thank you Joan and Melissa.
I thought checking out was going to be a hassle but the hotel was so organized and prepared with extra staff that instead of the 30 minute wait for a bellhop, they arrived in 10 minutes. There were many carts being pushed through the lobby piled high with Integrity Toys boxes and being followed by tired but happy collectors. Loews Philadelphia is a well-run hotel. The staff is extremely friendly and polite. The hotel was clean; the room was comfortable. I would definitely choose to stay there again.

It took me 3 hours and a large cafe Americano to get home. When I was about 30 miles from Woodstock the skies opened up and for a few hair-raising minutes, visibility was akin to looking through vaseline covered glass. And then the sun came out. And then the wind started blowing. Earlier this evening we had a tornado warning. What's next? Locust?

My baby (the dog) and my husband were very happy to see me. The spousal unit emptied the car. Men are so useful. :-) This is only the boxes that contained dolls. There was much more in my suitcases.
Then the unpacking began. Now the suitcases and cartons are empty. Dolls, outfits and swag are everywhere. I have tentatively decided what to keep and what to sell. I took quickie pictures of the boxed dolls and I dressed my flocked Trent in Matt's lounging pajama outfit. Isn't he great-looking? Only those who were signed up for Alain Tremblay's flocking class were able to purchase this doll. Most came with a different color flocked hair. Alain did beards and moustaches for those who desired them. He's definitely a unique Trent. Here are some pictures of the boxed dolls:Above: The souvenir gift set called "Daily Threads" that we were given one a piece at a time. On the left is the convention sheath and on the right is a Kio wig that was presented along with the doll on Saturday night. Above: Midnight Madra.Above: Men's Club Trent, the centerpiece doll from the Trent Luncheon. I believe everyone who paid $55. to attend that luncheon should have been able to purchase one of these dolls. We were all handed credit card forms to fill out in advance. These were pre-printed with our names! This led me to believe that everyone who wanted a doll would be able to buy one. What a let down it was to find out differently. I know a couple who didn't get one between them. They felt that the Philly cheese steak sandwiches were not worth the fee of $55. each. I agree with them. For $55. one would expect a really nice luncheon and not a sandwich buffet with very limited choices. I thought the food was fine but certainly not worth the price. I'm lucky that I was able to get a doll from a tablemate.

Above: "Fringe Festival" Ivy "Vee Jay" Jordan.

Above: "Moss Rose" Ivy "Vee Jay" Jordan. This doll was given as a table gift on Thursday night to all attendees.

Above: "Hostess with the Mostest" Zita Charles.

Above: "Dreamy" Trent Osborne.

Above: "Bellwether" Oona.

Above: "Midnight" Madra Lord.

Above: "Triumph" Gene Marshall
This doll was not received well at all. Many expressed disappointment at her severe hairstyle. I like her gown.

Above: "Parfait" Zita Charles. I think this is my favorite doll of all. We were given this doll on Friday afternoon at lunch. What a surprise!

Above: The convention souvenir doll "Stardust" Gene Marshall. In the box, it's difficult to tell how very pretty she is because her hair is secured by a net. But she is gorgeous and so is the gown. Mel told us the original designers of these gowns. The fashion sleuths on the Studio Commissary board have been posting photos that they're finding of the originals.

More tomorrow.

Stardust ~ Saturday, June 5, 2010

Mel opened the door tonight when he said if someone comes up with a new way to present Gene, he's open. If that wasn't an invitation I don't know what is.
Today was a busy and fun day beginning with the Trent luncheon. As Alain had told us the day before, the room was originally the bank part of this historic building. It's walls are marble and the windows appeared to be at least three stories high . One of the original bank vault doors was on display and looked like a Louise Nevelson sculpture. There was a bright, airy feeling to the room which was very pleasant.
The centerpiece doll was, of course, Trent, dressed in a business suit and wearing the most fabulous black patent leather tassled loafers. Mel spoke briefly and introduced a good friend of his, Steven Hayes. Steven's presentation was a riot. He spoke lines from many different movies which were originally spoken by leading men of Gene Marshall's era. Taken out of context, these lines were hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed his talk.
The food was served buffet style and consisted of assorted hoagies and miniature cheesecakes for dessert. After lunch a few of us went with George/Angelic Dreamz to see Deneuve, the new Jamieshow doll. I was very impressed. The resin is absolutely fabulous; the dolls joints are attractive; she poses very well and looks great without clothes! The resin feels like a baby's skin. I will be photographing her in the future. I've been told that she can wear Avantguard, Gene, Alex, Cami and Antoinette clothing lines .
While many attended the movie screening, some of us went off for a sweaty, hot walk to the historic district. We gazed upon the Liberty Bell but none of us knew for sure if it was the real one or a substitute. It is worth noting that there is a huge amount of security at these historic sites and every purse and backpack is searched by gloved security guards. There are guards at the entries and exits and I assume they are armed. On the perimeter sidewalks surrounding the historic buildings are spaced concrete pillars to keep vehicles from driving onto the sidewalks. It's like living in a prison these days. Ugh. That's why I don't think it's the real Liberty Bell. It's too exposed. I remember when it was just in an open park setting and not even in a building. Of course I was just a tiny child then. LOL.
On the way back to the hotel we walked through Chinatown which is similar to Mott St. in Manhattan in that there are many restaurants and the smells are a mixture of soy sauce and garbage.
It was hot and humid but we pressed on as our goal was to get some icy refreshment at the Market.
My reward was mango/something sherbert. It was delicious. I wanted to rub it on my forehead and neck because it was so cold and I was still hot. I did refrain from that behavior, however, as I did not want to attract flies.
At the cocktail party I was impressed by the few women who were dressed up glamorously in sequins and beads. Everyone looked great!
My tablemates were very generous and gave all sorts of swag. There was a Kio wig on our seats along with the Gene doll for the giftset. The table centerpiece was a lovely Zita. During dinner the lottery winners were announced and the drawing for the Grey Gene doll was held. Our hostess won! I was really happy for April.
Back in my room, I opened the gorgeous Stardust Gene, the convention souvenir doll, to photograph her. To my dismay I discovered that her eye screening is defective. One lid is much lower than the other. I took several closeup pictures and immediately sent them to Alain with an email expressing the desire to exchange her, before I go home, for a good one. I do hope he checks at least one of his email addresses by tomorrow morning. I don't want to take home the most special doll of the convention with a noticeable defect and go through the process of waiting for a replacement. This is what she looks like:
I have several hundred photographs to upload and edit. I may even have a video or two to upload depending on the quality. Keep an eye out for future posts.
I can't wait to go home and spread out all the stuff I got. I will be selling some of the convention collection and a few other convention items but I need time to decide what stays and what goes. I can't keep it all! There's no room at the inn.

Stardust ~ Friday, June 4, 2010

Reporting live (but only partially) from Philadelphia at the end of day 2 of the final Gene convention. Mel did say that if people were to hold a Gene party, he would come if invited so calling this the 'final' Gene event may not be accurate. He also said that contrary to some of the dioramas, Gene is not dead. In the competition room, there are several dioramas (that are just spectacular) that depict a funeral for Gene and the people in mourning. In one diorama, Trent is shown dejected and about to shoot himself. These are pretty amazing and amusing as well. Back to Day 2: My day was supposed to begin with a class taught by Denis Bastien but, as some of you may already know, he was denied entry into the US because some nutty border guard demanded that Mr. Bastien produce a work visa which he did not have. He did not need one as he was putting on a demonstration and as far as I know, he was not being paid for his participation but I don't really know all the facts. On the surface, it appears that the border guard had a stick up his ass and demanded things that were above and beyond reasonable. Denis was threatened with a 5-year entry ban if he attempted to cross the border into the US in the next few days. Unbelievable. I spent part of the morning doing more shopping in the vendors' salesroom. The line for the official store was ridiculous so I never made it in there. At 11:30 the doors of the dining room opened for lunch. The centerpiece was a Madra entitled "Love, Madra." Mel told the story about how Madra came to be called Madra and why a female character was added to the line before a male character. We got the second part of our big giftset and were all given an Ivy doll as well! The "Fashion Sleuth" has provided this image of the original Dior designer fashion: After lunch, I attended two workshops. The first was with Alain Tremblay who demonstrated a unique flocking technique using positive/negative electrical current to cause flocking fibers to stand up straight on a glued surface. The results are so much more attractive than shaking powder flock onto a glued surface. We got a Trent doll who had been previously flocked by Alain. Some of us had him apply beards and mustaches to our dolls. It was a fun group of chattering, joking collectors. I am very pleased with my Trent!

My next class was called Taming Her Do. We had the option to purchase a Madra head which had a beautiful mane of black hair.

The Before View of Madra

My doll came out looking like a cross between Princess Leia and Pippi Longstocking. Luckily for you, I did not take an after picture. When I got home, I had the last laugh and took out the pins and bands and rinsed out the gel. Much better.

Several of my tablemates and I went to the famed Jim's Steaks on South Street in the Waterfront District.

If you ask me, it was kind of a dive and although the food was decent, I didn't see the thrill. The rest of South Street was pretty seedy but we had fun - especially in Condom Kingdom. No description is necessary. We walked to and visited Happily Ever After and stopped in to chat with Ed for a while. We arrived back at the hotel at about 7:30. All I wanted to do was go to bed but not wishing to miss anything, I showered and changed and went down to the cocktail party. Some guests were really into the entire thing with their period fashions and poses but the ballroom was dark, very noisy and not my scene. I stayed in the surrounding area with a bunch of people and had fun. I am falling asleep as I write so I'd better end here.

Stardust ~ Thursday, June 3, 2010

Live from the Loews Philadelphia Hotel is one exhausted blogger. This was a full day. I drove about 1 hour from Hatfield, PA to the heart of this historic city, pulled right into the hotel parking garage and was taken to the lobby with my luggage. It was only 11AM and the rooms were not ready for checking in yet so I went upstairs to register for the convention. That took all of 30 seconds. I was handed a large Integrity shopping bag with a giant sized doll box inside. It was empty, ready to be filled at each meal with one part of a giftset just like they did at the FR convention with Natalia.
Collectors were gathering in an area outside of the hubs waiting for the shop to open. At noon the spending spree began. I took photos of all the stuff I purchased today. It's obscene. The prices in the store were ridiculously cheap; how could I resist? A little room shopping rounded out the day's hunting and gathering.
Then I was off to the Reading Terminal Market. I loved the aisles and aisles of food stalls offering up cakes, breads, chocolates, poultry, meats, fish, cheeses, 100's of different vinegars and condiments, ice cream, prepared meals and snacks. I wish there were a place like that near where I live instead of health food stores and Shoprites. I had the most delicious bagel - a walnut, cherry, cinnamon, sugary thing. It was more pastry than bagel.

At 7:00 PM the gathering outside the dining room began. It was a very happy, chatty crowd. We entered the room at 7:30 PM to be greeted by the centerpiece which was a beautiful Gene in a lovely blue dress which was offered to 5 people for purchase by lottery.

"Blue Avenue" Gene ~ Image Property of Integrity Toys

Dinner began with a delicious artichoke soup. I'd love the recipe. It really was one of the best soups I have ever eaten. The main course was chicken and vegetables prepared in a straightforward fashion. The dessert was a white and dark chocolate mousse layered cake and coffee. The servers were excellent and solicitous.
There was a band playing and a woman singing way too loud throughout the entire meal which made getting to know most of the other people at the table impossible.

Mel was greeted to a rousing round of applause and spoke for about 10 minutes.

And then we were surprised with a gorgeous Zita doll, "Parfait."

Image Property of Integrity Toys

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz sleeping.

Gene's Final Curtain Call ~ Part III ~ More Favorite Gene Photographs

Rogue Rose wearing rhinestone bra and panties from a Metrodolls event.

Essentially Gene "Vixen" (Hair restyled by Jim Gaddis)

Essentially Gene "Blush" (Hair restyled by Jim Gaddis) Wearing Tonner

"Heavenly" Gene wearing "A Woman of Means" Fashion

"Distant Venus" wearing Madame Alexander

Wearing Tonner's Swept Away

"Star Entrance" wearing Incognito

"Suited for Fur" Gene wearing "Hello Portland, Hello"

"Blush" wearing "Rondelet" Fashion

Above are a few more of my favorite photos I have taken of Gene in the short period of time I collected her. I have more but not now. :-)

I wanted to finish up this homage to Gene because I still have a bunch of stuff to do before leaving for Pennsylvania on Wednesday. I'm combining my trip with a visit to much loved cousins who live 1 hour from Philadelphia. Staying there overnight on Wednesday will enable me to arrive at the hotel early Thursday having traveled only a short distance.

Thanks to all who commented on the doll boards about my Gene posts. I will see you soon!

This Is Not the Miss Revlon Doll I Remember!

I am so bummed about the new Miss Revlon doll. I keep hoping that each time I look at her I will find something pretty about her face but it's not working. I wanted to adore this doll because I had a Little Miss Revlon doll as a child. I found these images on the web:This is what the fashion dolls of the 50's looked like. I thought she was truly something special. She wore high heels, had a developed chest, wore lipstick and jewelry! Her clothes were lovely. - Like Cissy dolls, an immature, baby face on a maturing body was the accepted style.

Beautiful vintage Miss Revlon dolls from the past were pictured in an article written by Robert Tonner for a special edition of Dolls Magazine and distributed to Tonner convention atttendees. Here is one of the pictures from that piece:This is the new doll. No matter which way I turned her head, it looked wrong.
There is something very 'off' about the sculpt. Her head is too large and she has no ankles. The vintage doll has a big head and big jaw but it works on her baby face. It does not work with this face in the least. I was hoping for a vintage reproduction doll that resembled the original in some way. Boy, was I mistaken. I think my doll may be defective due to the strange spots of black paint on her eyelids.

I pre-ordered her from a convention-goer who got to go to the event. She cost me more than $160. Ugh. What a waste of money.

And what's up with the scraggly, crunchy long hair?This is a WWTT moment. Maybe it was a mistake and too late for the factory to change it. One can hope that the future releases are 100% better. If not, there won't be another one in this house. I'm not even sure what to do with this one.

Bring Tiny Kitty back. That's another story.

An amazing website about Miss Revlon and Little Miss Revlon dolls is here:
http://my.pclink.com/~jjdow/default.htm