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Welcome to the latest edition of Australian Dolls, Bears and Collectables. We hope you’ll love our fabulous projects, including classic bear Jingles, pretty Penelope the reborn baby, and Part 2 of cloth creation Gerard and his frog. DIY enthusiasts will be tempted to make our gorgeous doll’s carry case from a wine box, miniaturists will be shown how to create French-style water jugs, and there’s sewing and knitting patterns for delightful cloth dolls Janey and Benny. We look at the history of bonbonnières – complete with glorious photographs featuring flocked animals, papier maché people and porcelain half dolls. There’s also a wonderful article on antique dolls with moulded bonnets and moulded hair decorations, accompanied by beautiful photographs. We are thrilled to share the profiles of artists Annie Wahl and Nerida…
Dear Ed I love reading about all of the new trends in reborns from your News column. It’s such an exciting hobby, and I’ve now been reborning for five years. Thank you to Lyn Conlon. Jenny, WA Ed: Thanks Jenny – and we’ll certainly pass on your thanks to Lyn. We’d love to see one of your reborns – please email us a pic. Dear Ed I thoroughly enjoyed your article on Pedigree dolls (DBC 22.3). My sister Beth and I each had a Pedigree doll when we were growing up, and they could not have been more loved. Sadly, a few years ago I saw the head, body and a couple of limbs of my doll in my grandchildren’s sandpit. My sister still has hers, looking the worse for…
Nothing motivates and delights a reproduction doll maker more than the release of a new doll mould. When that mould is the only commercially available authentic mould taken from a Huret doll, the excitement is remarkable. Last October I was fortunate enough to attend the Doll Artisan Guild* International Convention in Chicago, where the Huret reproduction - a project, which had been many years in the making, was finally unveiled. Thanks to the collaboration between Louise Hedrick, well renowned antique doll expert, Mary Raleigh, D.A.G. Instructor and Doctor of Dollmaking Educator, and Sheryl Williams, D.A.G. Travelling Instructor and Doctor of Dollmaking, and the Doll Artisan Guild, the beautiful Huret reproduction ‘Adelaide’, with the “hooded” sleepy look of the eyes, characteristic to the Huret dolls, came into being. Taken from the…
If you were excited by the Terrier dogs that were available through Doll Dreams some time ago, you will be doubly excited with the Pug dogs being sculpted by our Australian sculptor Jade Warner. At the time of writing this column, this pup was in the throes of being sculpted and not yet perfected or completed. Pictures of the pup will show a few rough edges, but I was so excited about it that I had to include it to whet your appetite, especially for the dog lovers. The pup’s name is Baxter, and Jade hopes it will come with a full vinyl body and moveable legs which would allow it to sit or stand. I personally can’t wait for it. I am hoping it is sculpted in both a…
This year some ladies travelled to Lower Portland on Monday afternoon as a few extra days were requested after last year’s retreat. We had other ladies arriving everyday till Friday. We had two new interstate ladies joining us this year, Sue from Brisbane and Christine from Albury. On arrival we organized ourselves in the conference room, putting out all our goodies that we had planned to do over the weekend. All those UFO’s (unfinished objects) that we seem to have in our stashes emerged into the light. We organised our own dinner for Monday night and what a feast we had. Ans brought the most magnificent pavlova; I think that this will be hard to beat next year. Maybe we can just put in an order with Ans for the…
Annie Wahl’s doll making motto is to “celebrate the ordinary”, but her creations are far from being commonplace. She always knew she would be an artist, but Annie didn’t think she would find her passion in doll making. After studying art at the University of Minnesota, USA, Annie found watercolour and figurative drawing to be her highest attraction, but clearly there were other plans for her future. Annie says, “I thought I would seriously be a watercolour artist, but something happened when I started making some dolls for fun, using mixed mediums while totally enjoying the process”. It was from here that her business of making dolls soared, and Annie’s dreams of being a painter were put on hold. Annie grew up in a large, loving family, and remembers her…
