Ryan Roche Miniature Mannequin Doll Collection & Kadira from Phyn & Aero

Ed Note: This is a re-done version of a post I made two days ago.



Yesterday, Phyn & Aero debuted their Summer 2018 releases.

The promotional text:

Ryan Roche Miniature Mannequin Doll Collection

Ryan Roche's full size work has been featured extensively in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and WWD and is sold only through the finest retailers in the country. Subtle, feminine shades and luxurious textures are inherent to each collection and tell the poetic story of the distinct sensibility in which it is rooted.
Now, for the first time, exacting miniaturized replications of her designs are available for the doll collecting community! Every Ryan Roche mannequin outfit is designed to represent the look and feel of the exquisite work of renowned designer, Ryan Roche.  Extremely limited, every RR cashmere outfit is made by a womans cooperative in Nepal with the same yarns and colors that Ryan uses in her collection. Ryan oversees the production of the prototypes to her exacting specifications.
Estimated shipping is Third Quarter, 2018.

The basic doll comes in four different rooted saran hair colors: midnight, sable, platinum and copper. The retail price of each of these basics is $130, dresssed as shown.

The body used is the same used for the new Wonder Woman, Scarlett O'Hara and Outlander dolls.

The perfect model for the most exclusive fashion doll clothing ever made. The Ryan Roche mannequin stands 16" tall with 15 points of articulation and is made of meticulously finished hard plastic and vinyl...The Ryan Roche mannequin has an exquisitely detailed face up designed and directed by Ryan Roche. Wearing a mid-length, bias cut slip dress of nude matte charmeuse and matching high heel, faux leather pumps, she looks every bit a Ryan Roche muse. Stand with acrylic base is included with each mannequin.

Really? "The perfect model for the most exclusive fashion doll clothing ever made?" It doesn't look it to me. I think their faces are dull and lifeless. I also think the photographs are poorly done and difficult to see clearly.

The crocheted horror on the doll above reminds me of a holiday gift I was given when I was a teacher. A parent of one of my students made it. It was a doll with a huge skirt intended to be put over your extra roll of toilet paper which you certainly kept on the toilet tank. No thank you. 

The photo on the right is one of Roche's human designs.

Below a runway version you see on one of the dolls. I like it on the model, not on the doll. Not everything translates well on dolls.

The dolls are open editions. The outfits are LE 100 and are priced separately from $225. for the cable dress with wrap sweater, to $180 for the trousers and sweater outfit, to $150 for the crocheted dress.

If I needed 16" vinyl and hard plastic dolls again, I'd buy Tylers and Sydneys off eBay or from other collectors. At least they're attractive. Ms. Roche, don't give up your day job. Jason Wu is successful at interpreting his own fashions for dolls. But he started with designing for dolls and then became famous for human designs. Working in reverse clearly doesn't always work. Check out his work.

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Andrew Yang's "Kadira" now offers an extensive set of options for blanks, open and closed eye painted heads, painted nudes, wigs, outfits and dressed dolls in two skin tones.
Kadira's premiere collection reflects the ever-changing landscape of modern doll collecting starting with her 12.5" sculpt, raw and striking in its blank form, tightly strung together, delicately articulated and crafted from high quality resin.
She is a doll with a story but one you get to create through your own designs, a curated selection of painted nude dolls styled with wigs, outfits and accessories or fully dressed beauties for those who are ready to pose and play.
Estimated shipping is third quarter 2018 except for the Kadira blank pale and tan dolls which will ship at the end of June.

Full body Blanks $295 .

Blank Heads $50.

Closed Eye Heads $85.

Painted Bodies Nudes (Dramatic and Classic in Pale and Tan) $345. LE15 and LE20

There are two dressed dolls, separate fashions, a wig set and a shoe pack available as well.

 

For more details and descriptions, I highly recommend Happily Ever After's website at: https://www.happily.com/category-s/135.htm

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Nancy Ann: http://www.phynandaero.com/Nancy-Ann_c_19.html

Lady la Fay Kingdom Doll - London Fashion Doll Festival Charity Auction

This stunning OOAK doll called "Lady la Fay" is one of the dolls being donated to the London Fashion Doll Festival to be auctioned off on eBay for the benefit of the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital Charity.

Alexandra Forbes and Amanda Arnold of Kingdom Doll are the very generous donors.

Auctions go live on the 20th June and end on the day of the festival, the 30th.

Look for her on the LFDF 2018 eBay page.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/londonfashiondollfestival

She is going to garner a lot of attention and a huge winning bid, I'm sure.

Behind the Scenes Photo Set-Up Featuring Kingdom Dolls Savile, Viola and Nimue

I was inspired by Nimue in her floral gown to create the following backdrop.

My photography studio has a huge bulletin board on one wall. I pinned up a poster showing a classic greenhouse interior. The brick floor is a magnetic sheet from Room With A View. 

One of my favorite props is Gene's gazebo. While there was no room for the matching table and chair set, one chair did the trick. 

The tiny terracotta flowerpots are a breeze to fill with silk flowers, they can also disguise seams in the flooring. 

All the other greenery was purchased at Michael's, an art and craft supply mega chain store. Some are sticking out of the gazebo and some are tacked to the bulletin board. The potted trees are also from Michael's.

What you don't see are my strobe lights on stands or my camera on a tripod. 

Here are some of the ladies in the greenhouse garden.

All their gowns are from Aquatalis. Wigs by Ilaria. White hat from a Dutch hat maker. Silver shoes on Viola are from Kingdom Doll. Savile's neckpiece is by Superdoll. 

How to Re-Cover a Horsman Lounge Chair by Miriyum of Yum Yum Couture

1.

You will need 1/2 yard of fabric, 8" X 12" rectangle of 1/4" foam cushioning, 1/8" stiff cardboard or posterboard, Fabrictac glue, spray adhesive, small Phillips screwdriver, sewing machine and paper towels, marking pen whose marks disappear when ironed. Get them all together before you start to work. 

2.

Using side pieces of fabric peeled off the chair as templates, cut 2 side pieces from your fabric.

3.

Apply glue to cardboard edges ONLY of chair sides and press side pieces to chair. Notch inner curve of fabric to fit the chair and prevent overlapping fabric. Clip wider curved side of the fabric to fit the curve of the chair. Notch fabric at the front of arms so that you have smooth corners.

Apply extra glue as needed.

Let dry.

4.

Using cardboard from back as a template, create a fresh cardboard for the back of the chair. (15cm wide and 38cm long) Mark the holes where screws were on the template. Place new cardboard back on fabric and trace rectangle allowing about an inch of fabric on all sides.

Cut out back section of fabric.

5.

Spray cardboard back with adhesive spray on one side. Lay sticky side of cardboard on wrong side of fabric for back, making sure it is centered on fabric.

Smooth fabric to make sure there are no bubbles or creases. 

Make a line of glue on long sides ONLY of cardboard and fold the long sides of fabric onto cardboard. Leave short ends free/unglued. 

Let dry.

Use a tack or reamer to mark where the holes for screws are on the finished side of the back.

6.

Apply glue to rectangular top of chair and to the top of the inner edge. Matching cardboard of back to the top of the seat, press fabric overlap onto the chair and gently press back onto the chair, folding the back to fit the edges of the chair.

Apply more glue to the back of the chair and press the back section onto the chair. At the foot of the chair, once again apply glue to rectangle and a line of glue on the inner chair edge and press remaining back onto chair, pressing crease into back and matching cardboard to inner edge of chair.

Let dry.

Match up holes on legs to holes in back and screw legs of chair back.

7.

Upholster seat cushion.

Use cardboard peeled from seat cushion as a template to cut fresh cardboard seat. (It is 15mm wide and 24mm long.) Use new seat cardboard as a pattern for the seat. 

8.

Cut a section of fabric at least an inch wider on all sides than the template. Using disappearing marking pen, mark the template rectangle on the right side of the fabric. Mark the quilt lines on the right side of the fabric. The quilt sections on mine were 38mm wide by 48mm long.

Pin fabric to foam. Using a relatively long stitch length, sew first all around the edges of the marked rectangle. Don't stitch beyond marked lines or back stitch. You can pull the hanging threads to the back after you are done to secure them. 

Sew the long lines on the rectangle and then the short.

After securing all your threads to the back, trim the foam to the sewing lines.

9.

Apply glue to edges of seat cardboard and fit cardboard to the back of cushion, matching corners. Press unquilted fabric sides to the cardboard, trimming if necessary and notching the corners of the fabric to ensure a smooth fit.

Apply glue all around edges of chair seat and to the seat itself. Press seat cushion onto chair making sure corners are even with chair and that no raw edges of fabric show at corners.

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Thank you, Miriam, for permission to publish this!

If you'd like to visit Miriam's fashion website: http://www.yumyumcouture.com

Amazing Adeles 2017

I had completely stopped buying new releases of Fashion Royalty Adele as I was not fond of the sculpt change; however, 2017 was a banner year for Adele.

"Frosted Glamour" Adele was the convention gala dinner centerpiece. It took me one second to decide to purchase her from a collector who had attended. She is just gorgeous...princess gorgeous.
The gown is smothered in sequins and balloons at the bottom. Her platinum hair is simple which is perfect for her not-so-simple earrings and neckpiece.  I adore everything about her!

When Adele "Exquise" showed up as part of the FR collection, I was stunned. This fashion - the entire look of sophistication and elegance just knocked me out. I was very lucky to get one as she sold out lightning fast. Another perfect Adele joined my tribe.

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There was another Adele surprise, "The Faces of Adele Gift Set." IT has never done this before. It is a W Club exclusive which consists of one of each Adele sculpted heads on a special stand which displays both the bodied doll and the two heads the collector isn't using. The fashions are a gown, dress, lingerie and accessories to make three complete fashions.
Optionally, one could purchase an additional Adele bodies set in order to have three complete dolls!
I don't know when this will ship so I'm posting Integrity's promo photos here.
Price of the gift set is $200. Price of the additional bodies is $35.

A lot of thought and talent went into these three dolls.

There were many more in 2017 that I liked but my collection focuses on the 16" BJDs now and the dolly funds go there for the most part.

I would have loved, but did not get, Vanessa's, Erin's or Poppy's outfits shown below...so if you would like to send one or more, just do it.

A Look At Madame Alexander's Cissy

There are just two Cissy dolls remaining in my collection and although I think they're beautiful, I'm preparing to sell them. It gets even more difficult to part with a doll after handling her and photographing her anew.

This is Vice, one of three Cissy dolls designed by Jason Wu.

The other two were Lust and Envy.  Their names remind me of the dolls from the Kingdom Doll convention, Sinful. Left: Lust in pink jacket and (Right) Envy with a martini.

They were radically different from the sweet, baby faced Cissy dolls that had been around forever.


Sometimes it feels like a curse. I just want them. There's really no "good" reason to have more dolls. (Yeah, yeah, I know I don't need a reason so don't offer lectures.) I can barely play with a fraction of my collection. I want to sell off most of my non-BJD resin dolls but then I look at them and see their beauty and their lovely fashions and I put them back in their showcase and that's that.

My other remaining Cissy is Riviera Posh. She is so unlike the dolls I collect now it's like day and night. I love them all.

She is a sweet, baby-faced Cissy in a lovely two piece dress. The skirt opens up to reveal black sequin tap pants!

Above, an older photo when I still had her short, curly wig. So cute.

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Here are a few other Cissy Dolls.  I don't have these girls anymore.

Couture Noir accompanied by a reproduction Ginny and the same doll in her gown and 2nd wig.  The red wig is made from feathers! She was pretty amazing.

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Southwestern Style Cissy's is wearing something I'd wear. The fashions were of a very high quality as were the wigs and shoes.

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I call this IDEX Cissy. She was one of 6 centerpieces at the Madame Alexander 2010 event I attended in Orlando.

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This doll is called "Velvet Deco Dream." I never had her original outfit but the one she is wearing was beyond gorgeous. It was embellished with hand beading. The shawl was extremely heavy due to the weight of the beads.

Goodbye, Cissy!