2/05/2010

IDEX - Brides of Dracula Dolls

I had seen promo pictures of the the three Brides of Dracula dolls before seeing them in person and decided that I wouldn't be getting them. The last set of vampires that attracted me were from the pen and mind of Anne Rice. I have a vampire slayer in my collection and she's staying. I can't imagine the violence that would occur in my showcases should these 'ladies' arrive on the scene.
But...when I saw the dolls in person, I liked the fashions on two of them enough to consider purchasing them just for the clothing. They look better in person than in the photos.
I don't think these dolls go far enough toward representing vampires. They're just pretty dolls with fangs in gothy fashions. At a price of $149.99, one really needs to like fanged dolls with red or yellow eyes.
The dolls are manufactured by Integrity Toys and distributed by Ashton-Drake Galleries. However, some individual dealers are selling them. They have the 12" Fashion Royalty body. I will find out if these are limited editions.

The blurbs about each doll are very strange. Very, very strange. Some excerpts: "This is one lady that you will never see wearing a crucifix." "...the perfect fashion for feasting on human flesh." "...do we see some dried up blood in the creases of her lips?" Who wrote this garbage? By the way, vampires do not eat flesh.

Why can't a female vampire have several male vampires for husbands? Is this the vampire version of Big Love?

IDEX - Tonner Breakfast - Sunday, February, 2010

I love Robert Tonner's sense of humor. He was presenting the new lines and when he got to the Sinister Circus line he said, "I don't know what you people are doing with these. I don't know what you're smoking." I agreed with him. These dolls are truly freaky...well, they are freaks. As a special treat, we were gifted with the first copy of the Sinister Circus comic book!

The Bearded Lady

I think they are brilliant and bravo to a company that is not afraid to take risks. No, they will not find their way into my collection but I enjoy looking at them.
This doll is really scary-looking. She is called "Painted Lady."

This is two views of the same doll called "Shehee."

The table centerpiece was the beautiful Evocative Antoinette in red velvet. Marcia Friend was lucky enough to win her.

At each place setting was a set of two pair of Antoinette shoes. The room was packed full! Raffle tickets were sold and the line-up of possible winning items was excellent. I almost fell off my chair when my number was called for a doll I had wanted since I saw her, Antoinette Extravagant! How lucky I felt. I can't wait to get back home to play with my new dolls. (I'm still in Florida.)
The food was excellent and beautifully served. Nothing was skimped on. Our souvenir doll was the new blonde Cami from the Cami & Jon line. I'm in love with these dolls. From their curly hair to their Antoinette bodies, they suit me just fine. We were permitted to purchase an extra souvenir by lottery. My extra is already promised to an Australian collector.
Another highlight of this breakfast event was that I sat next to Denise Van Patten, the woman who writes about dolls for About.com. I had seen her name over the years but when I saw it on her ID tag, I couldn't place it. We introduced ourselves to each other and the lightbulbs went off. We hit it off famously. I came away from that event with beautiful dolls and a new friend! What could be better?


2/03/2010

IDEX ~ 1/30/10 ~ New Tonner Dolls - Cami and Jon

At 11:30 AM I was scheduled to view the new products in a private Tonner showroom. I knew I would be seeing Cami and Jon but I had no idea what else to expect. I figured they'd just let me roam around and look. Instead I had a one to one product introduction with Jack Kralik. It was the one of the three high points of my entire weekend. The concepts behind each line were explained to me and all my questions were answered. I loved the concept behind the Cami and Jon line. It's apparent to me that the TDC listens to it's customer base as this line was developed to consist of basic dolls and separate fashions. There will be no dressed dolls. I've heard collectors clamoring for this all over the place for years.

Not only is the concept excellent and "accessible" the dolls are adorable and their fashions are very today. These pictures are from the Tonner web site. I want everything!!!!

NOTE THE FOLLOWING MEANS THAT YOU HAVE TO ORDER NOW IF YOU WANT THE ITEMS.

This collection will be presented to retailers at IDEX and online. Retailers will have the opportunity to place their orders, and production will ONLY be based on orders received in one production run.

The Basic Dolls:


Cami Basic Brunette, Blonde and Redhead come dressed in lingerie with shoes and a display stand.
Retail $79.99. Cami's sculpt is that of Cinderella.
Jonquil Basic (Jon) has the Jac sculpt and skintone.

The Fashions:
80 Degrees $79.99

Hitting Midnight $99.99

Escapade $89.99

The Romantic $79.99

Fanfare $89.99

Starlight $99.99

With a Twist $89.99

Mood

An accessory pack called Next to Nothings ($19.99) is available but photos are not yet published.

I recommend a visit to Tonnerdoll.com to see all of the new releases. There are many more goodies for Tonner Doll collectors and hopefuls.