Cult of Doll Almanac Published

The Cult of Doll Almanac is a collaborative project made of a collection of beautiful dolls with their own intriguing stories, all around a theme. You can read for free here.
Congratulations to Yve and the whole team.

Crochet Patterns DVD

Maggie's Crochet, a site for aficionados of the craft, is selling a charming instructional DVD of doll clothes and accessories patterns. The blurb describes over 500 patterns for 18 and 13 inch dolls, as well as whole toy patterns.

Enjoy.

Downloadable Doll Clothing Patterns at Pixie Faire

It's been quite a while since I posted a resource here, but this is definitely a site worth exploring. At Pixie Faire they have hundreds of reasonably priced downloadable patterns and instructions for dolls clothing and accessories, conveniently sorted by doll type or name including AG, Karito Kids and Ellowyne Wilde.

I am attracted by this millinery pattern for felt dolls' hats - wonderful for creating historical costumes for dolls. They also have a section to make matching items for doll and owner, a few choice freebies, and video tutorials for certain skills.

Asian Art Figures at Auction.

It's a little cheeky, I know, but here is an online auction at Paddle 8, of Asian Art pieces that were owned by my late mother and father-in-law. These pieces were some of the art and decorative objects that my husband grew up with in his childhood home on Tower Road in Beverly Hills in the late 60's and 70's.

Both his dad, the actor James Coburn, and his mother Beverly, were in love with Asian art, especially textiles and spiritual art work. They slowly amassed a collection that they purchased on trips to South East Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, as well as from local dealers. Every piece was one that they lived with and enjoyed in their home.

The artist and designer Tony Duquette was a personal friend and designed the interior of the home as well as creating a number of custom works - including the very unusual Bird of Paradise sculpture that is part of the auction.

Of some interest to doll lovers, included in the auction are a pair of cool antique carved wooden figures from India. Around 4 feet tall, their hair and costumes are painted directly, in trompe l'oeil style, including the jewelry and trims.

Also included is an amazing vintage articulated wood snake from Japan. I've held this one, and it is amazing how carved wood can be so extraordinarily flexible and fluid. It's really very beautiful and unusual.

There are several Indian paintings in different media, including a gouache on paper of a couple in a sumptuous room. The details of the textiles are beautiful.

The auction is happening now, but is only for a limited time - until October 24th.
Please share!

New A for Artistic Site

The new A for Artistic Site is up and looks lovely. Finally Adele is charging a tiny fee for that incredible newsletter she puts out (it's worth three times the price). The list of teachers reads like a who's who of doll artistry. Very best of luck with it!

Adele Sciortino Pinterest board

Here is Adele Sciortino's  art doll Pinterest board. I'm not sure if the dolls inspire me to do better, or make me want to give up altogether. I think I'll choose the former. What amazing beauty and wonderful photography too. Please follow.

IDEX has ended

A few days ago I received the dreadful news that IDEX, the doll and teddy bear trade show, has been cancelled most likely forever. I immediately contacted Dolls Magazine to confirm that this was legitimate and not some hacker type prank. Unfortunately Joyce Greenholdt, the Editor was able to confirm for me that the news is true.

However the good news is that Dolls Magazine and Jones Publishing does intend to continue conducting the Annual Dolls Awards of Excellence.  The contest is two tiered with the Industry Choice awards going out, which then become the nominees for the Public's Choice ballot. This year's voting has ended but everyone interested in that preeminent contest for doll artists should pay close attention to the upcoming December issue of Dolls, when the winners will be announced along with next year's contest.

I don't know why the show has ended, but I do know that magazines only stay afloat if people buy them. If you are not a subscriber to Dolls, which is available digitally and newly for Nook tablets, maybe now would be a good time to become one.

Horrible Adorables - MS American Made nominee

Here's another cool soft critter maker on the Martha Stewart American Made contest. They are hand made of felt over foam - animal friendly reimagined taxidermy, according to artist Jordan Perme. You can see more on the Horrible Adorable website - the visual design of which echoes the humor, and retro influenced aesthetic of the animals.

Shawnimals stuffie dolls Martha Stewart American Made nominee

...and can use votes. It's easy to log in and vote - including via Facebook. I've seen these happy little toys before. I think they did a kickstarter for something fairly recently.