Picture of the Week Award ~ February 14, 2010

The award this week goes to Lisa Irinyi also known as Alex's Doll.Lisa has shot a redressed Eden doll against a background of a stream. The sharp focus of the doll creates depth and separates her from the background effectively. The composition takes the viewer directly to the doll's face. Notice the diagonal line of the path or road in the lower right hand corner of the shot. Whether it was intentional or not, that technique is a well known one used to draw the viewer into the frame. The diagonal line of the tree branch in the upper right serves the same purpose. I might have cropped out the bench which would have strengthened the diagonals. The bench is interesting and I'd like to see more of it or none at all. It also helps that the doll is not dead center.
It's a great picture of a very popular doll.

Lisa's advice to doll photographers: "Take a doll and a camera with you (in the car, out for a walk) whenever you can. You never know where the next photo opportunity is going to be. Also, take lots of pictures. The more photos you take, the better you get."

See more of Lisa's work at these links:
Flickr
Blog: Every Day A Dollie

Congratulations, Lisa, on the Picture of the Week Award!

Two Dressed Dolls from Joe Tai

Every fashion from Joe Tai ought to include sunglasses. Moderation is not in his vocabulary.
That's not to say that I haven't had many of his fashions because I have. I love his wigs, which are often over-the-top, and his new, separately available 16" bodies are excellent. I will cover them in another post.
Below is "Classic Silvery Rose" Ingrid, a 12-inch dressed doll. The outfit consists of a separate bustier and a sequined ball gown skirt. Included: jewelry, underwear and hosiery, shoes, wig and stand. I'm assuming the gloves are also available although the description has left that out. If you like this doll, the price of $118.88 is not bad. They have excellent articulation and good weight. I don't care for the sculpt or the facial screening but the bustier and wig would be fun to have.

Another new 2010 12-inch dressed doll is "Spring Water Lily" En. She is wearing a traffic-stopping amount of sequins that cover her qi-pao and matching coat. Her boots pick up the mint green of the outfit. The jewelry repeats the color scheme endlessly. I wonder if the doll can lower her arms with that amount of sequins under the arm area. En comes with a wig and a doll stand and is priced at $108.88.
Both dolls are limited editions of 50 pieces and may be available from several doll dealers including Manika, Doll Market, Angelic Dreamz, Cherished Friends and The Doll Peddlar in the United States.
Go to Joe Tai's website to see other dealers and to get more information about his dolls.

Twilight Werewolf, Jacob Black from Tonner Doll Co.

I like his sneakers and that's about it. The pretty boy face belies the raging wolf inside. He doesn't even look native American. But then again I didn't like the Edward or Bella dolls either.
Jacob Black has Tonner's athletic male body and is 17" tall.
The retail price is $149.99 and there are 3000 of them being produced.
My suggestion...wait 4 months for the first discount. In one year you will be able to get him for much less.
Mattel has a Barbie Twilight Jacob Doll. He's $29.95, 12" tall and looks even dorkier than Tonner's.

What Makes This Doll Worth $150.?

"Dolly Forever" Barbie by Christian Louboutin was announced today and Mattel is collecting names for a VIP wait list. Those whose names make it to the list are guaranteed to learn when she goes on sale. What a bunch of marketing hype. A total of 7,700 dolls will be produced worldwide for the price of $150.

The boots and shoes are very nice. The rest of the doll is average. The safari style dress is a bore and looks cheap. And the anorexic, unarticulated body of these dolls leaves me cold. There's nothing exciting about Dolly Forever above her knees.
You don't really need to get on the VIP list at all. The doll can be pre-ordered from your favorite Barbie dealer.