Blog 11  –  Dolls…..characters….

I love dolls - I love the characters that they portray.  I think it helps that as I was growing up, my mum collected dolls and we had a big display of all her dolls in the living room.  I learnt all about them and, when one by one they went on their way as my mum grew older, a couple of the more special (to me) dolls came home with me. 

Most of the dolls my mum had were vintage or antique.  They were the old English Pedigrees, Roddy’s….the German bisque dolls and the gorgeous French Jumeau.  Walkers, Kewpies, crying baby dolls and fashion dolls.  Even a couple of really odd-looking ethnic puppet-type dolls.

So it stands to reason that I’m the type of miniaturist who likes to have residents in my properties.  They all have names, back-stories and very definite personalities and they’ve all come to me in different ways. 

My first two were Norm and Val who are the oldies living in the Pierce.  They have their grandchildren with them – I’m still not quite sure why.  They’re quite private about that.  Norm and Val were unpainted, unassembled doll kits from Sherri Colvin’s Mini Doll Kits website.  They took a lot of effort however Sherri is fantastic at answering questions and she now has a heap of video tutorials on her site and on Youtube.  Val is an artist – she loves colour.  Norm is a retired historian who fell in love with the colourful Val when they were both at university.  They’re devoted to one another like two sides of the same coin.  Since he retired Norm has become quite adventurous....

I have the gorgeous Hester who came to me painted and wigged (thank goodness) but unassembled from the talented Karin at Blue Moon Doll Studio.  I’m not normally a fan of porcelain dolls as I feel they don’t have the same character filled faces as those molded from clay.  However Karin is a superb artist and her doll’s faces are truly beautiful.  Hester is my wild but gorgeous Gypsy who lives in her traditional Vardo.  She’s quiet and somewhat serious but has a playful nature and seems to get on very well with Raymond….

Raymond, Master Raymond, resides in my Outlander Apothecary.  He was another of Sherri’s dolls.  I did try to alter his face slightly using a knife.  I was of course working from the photo of the man who played Master Raymond in the Outlander tv series.  It took effort but I was really pleased with how he turned out.  His wig is pretty good, his face not bad but it’s his clothing that I truly excelled with!  It was one of those projects that if you’re not prepared to put in the effort to get it right, don’t bother with it.  Trying to copy and miniaturise his incredible outfit designed by the amazing Terry Dresbach was a huge mountain to climb.  I lay in bed many nights trying to figure the best way of doing it.  From painting by hand to printing……I finally figured that I had to print the symbols not directly onto the dark green but onto a light coloured cotton.  I simply printed the whole jacket pieces including the colour so that I could control how the symbols showed up.  It was probably about 20 hours of work for just the little jacket.

I have Mother Nature – Willow….

And it was here that I decided it would be a really good idea to have a document with all their names and places of birth!  So off I went to create that….now I can continue!

Willow was made for me by Irina Martin of Mini Life Studio on Etsy.  I contacted Irina and we discussed what I was after.  Willow is gorgeous and she is just perfect as the humble and loving Mother Nature.  She lives in the lantern house where the spiral staircase treads are leaf shaped and most of her lights are a nod to nature.  The lantern will one day sit on top of the burrow in which Craig and Charmaine (the bunnies – they came named) live.  Craig and Charmaine are the cutest fluffy bunnies made by a very talented lady in one of our local Auckland groups.

I have Phaedra the Phicen who is just too cool to live anywhere I currently have.  She’s bunking in with Willow at present but I’m not sure how well that’s turning out.  Actually she’s had a couple of weeks on holiday at my daughter’s place who was trying to sew 1:12 size clothing….

I have Jennifer the Zjakazumi doll (Zjakazumi on Etsy).  She is the sweetest most beautifully natured girl.  She’s giggly but not silly – the poor thing is freezing (we’re in winter here in NZ) as I’ve been waiting on a dress for her from Russia for a few months now.  Hopefully it’ll turn up sooner rather than later.  I won't share a photo until she's dressed!

I’m planning on building a Mid-Century modern house at some point and Jennifer will live there.

In 2020 I fell in love with the most beautiful, hippy lady made by the amazing Minna of Minna Miniatures (Etsy and IG).  Minna herself had kept this lovely hippy lady and she’d be seen in all sorts of photos taken from many different places in Finland.  I kept an eye out but none of the other ladies quite captured my attention the same way so I approached Minna to ask if she would make me my own hippy lady.  She was quite happy to do so and very shortly thereafter Tynne Valtameri (Toonay) arrived in NZ complete with her backpack.  I wanted her to retain her Finnish nature and culture so I chose her name carefully.  After chatting with Minna I found out that Tyyni Valtameri actually means the Pacific Ocean in Finnish!  I had already chosen the first name Tynne which is a derivative of the Finnish word tyyni meaning calm or serene. Given that she was coming to live here with me in New Zealand, less than 500m from the Pacific Ocean, it was perfect!

I also built a cottage specifically for Tynne.  I have tried to keep it Finnish in overall style but of course she has elements of NZ.  One thing I love about this cottage is that I included many miniatures that had been made for me by other miniaturist friends.  It’s so lovely, when showing others, being able to point out the various special minis and who made them.

When Tynne arrived, she came with two friends.  Both of these dolls (also from Minna) were in kit form so while they were painted, I still had to assemble, wig and dress them.  Hence Anneli and Paavo were created. 

Paavo is a retired carpenter (much like my dear Uncle Paul who passed early 2020) and Anneli is a retired teacher.  Currently they’re living with Norm and Val.  Norm is hugely relieved to have another male about the place – he was feeling overwhelmed by all the ladies!

Anneli and Paavo have a lilac Morris Minor and they hope to attach a caravan so they can do some travelling.

Just in the last month I have also acquired two Heidi Ott dolls – both came pre-loved from a couple of local ladies.  I have not had the chance to pay much attention to them as yet. So their secrets are yet to be uncovered….

Lastly I have two more Sherri Colvin dolls from Mini Doll Kits.  These two are for my 2021 HBS Creatin Contest entry.  I have painted and wigged both of them and I’m working on dressing them.  One of the things I love about having to paint, assemble etc the dolls, is that they become more ‘mine’ somehow.  They also turn out with quite specific personalities that perhaps weren’t what you were after.

My male ended up looking very different to how I had intended.  His hair and facial hair sort of fell into place although I hadn’t specifically been working towards that style.  Still – he will work in perfectly with what I have planned.

Painting them seemed to take longer and be a more difficult process than I had remembered.  I had to completely scrub them clean twice before I was happy with them.  Maybe I expect more from myself given that I have done quite a few now and I’ve much more miniature-making experience.

I have dressed my man and intend to share him although I’ll be keeping my lady under-wraps for now.  His name is quite sophisticated – but it is what he required.  Hugh de Gardien du Savoir has quite a ring to it when you say it with a French accent!  His family history is quite extensive and he prides himself on being the latest to take on this important role. 

I have to say, using fabric glue on black cotton is HORRIBLE!!!  Note to self – have a wet sponge to wipe fingers every. single. time. I use the glue.  I’m not quite finished Hugh’s outfit and I have yet to make his shoes….he’s a work in progress.  Forgive the fluff on his suit!  

What this lady will be like I have no idea!  I have no idea of name yet and I’m waiting on material to show before I can dress her.

And so….those are my mini peeps for now!  At least my mini dolls take up far less room than my mother’s collection at my age!!

Please remember to leave me any questions or comments and I’ll be happy to answer when I can.   If you can recommend any doll makes please do!  I’m always searching for the next person to join our crew.

Stay creative and enjoy your quirks,

Rebecca xx