Licca's Here!

Licca's Here!
Originally uploaded by Zanalee

Why I ever disliked Licca bodies I'll never know. Except for the boobs which I will never be a fan of, I love them! I like the flexible arms that make it more possible for her to do things like this. I hope it takes the spray paint well. I heard it does. It's pretty likely I'll find out for sure this weekend. Weee!
: )

Another Camera?

Another Camera?
Originally uploaded by Zanalee

I have a bit of a camera addiction. This Kodak Brownie Twin Lens Reflex camera was just an impulse ebay buy. It was not expensive and it may very well be a relic but it might even work. The point is, I just really liked it's charming analog patina and I've been wanting a twin lens for a while. My dad used to have a Roleiflex when I was a girl. I really liked it. Maybe I'll get a more advance one, one day. This makes my seventh camera so far. ...Ahem! I like cameras. What can I tell you?

Top Model Nikki

311/365 toy project
Originally uploaded by girlplanet

Taken by girlplanet, one of my all time fave doll photographers.

I had no idea that Mattel manufactured such fierce looking black dolls. I am becoming a hug fan of Top Model Nikki. And yes, I will be getting one soon. I mean COME ON! How could I not?
LOL!

Scalp Swapping!

I like this scalp mommy!
Originally uploaded by Zanalee

The great think about RBL Blythes is not only that they come apart easily in three pieces (face plate, scalp/dome and back plate) but you can also swap their scalp seamlessly amongst them. This is Sabine, my Prima Aubrey Doll Blythe, wearing Neige's old "Simply Mango" scalp. I love it! It's like being able to change my Blythe identity or experimenting with switching them around simply by changing hair. You can still see it's Sabine in there though can't you?

I can.
: )

Wild Spirit

"Wild Spirit" mohair is a fiber specially selected for the OOAK artisan who wants to bring a little more drama and personality to their creations. This fiber has a slightly more fly-away, wispier texture than regular mohair but it is not frizzy or coarse. It is also perfect for African-American and bi-racial hair textures."

This is a description given by one of my favorite mohair sellers on etsy because yes, I am considering getting a custom made scalp for Neige and that's big bucks. Back to the description though.

Several words jumped out at me while sitting here in my living room reading this. "Wild," "Dramatic," "African American and bi-racial." Wow. I guess this is equivalent to how kinkier hair would be described if it were sold to the larger fake hair market except that there is no market among most women who where fake hair for this type of texture. It's kind of a trip thinking about it. I live for this mohair for a Black Blythe doll though. I just know it would be perfect and it's just what I want. So occasionally I just got to the site and stare at it. I may have to stop staring soon.

New Girl!!!!

Just bought her, haven't paid for her yet though. I'll  take care of that Thursday. Gotta love that three day ebay payment window.

So the main reason for purchasing this particular Blythe is that she already has the hair I might just keep on a  Black Blythe so there would be no need to go in search of other scalps, scalp re-rooting or dying  light colored hair on existing scalps as I attempted to do with Neige's "Simply Mango" scalp last night.

With Black Blythes, hair is always a huge issue for me. I mean Ideally, I would love for her to have a fabulous fluffy structured fro but I mean if you ever saw "Good Hair" (not a very good movie about hair by the way) you would know only a fraction of what it means when I say that little no value is placed on natural kinky hair as a marketable mainstream commodity. Long straight, wavy, loose curls are what sell. Therefore this is the kind of hair that is more easily accessible. Once in awhile I have seen just a few really nice custom afro'd Blythes on flickr but believe me, they are starting from scratch with these scalps. They are not made anywhere near as readily available as nice long straight haired scalps are. So that's the reality. I hope to get to point where I can start to do all that work myself as well but for now I kind of need to speed this along and focus on the customizing skills I'm good at.

By lilitix
For instance, I am loving how good I'm getting at lip carving. Before I mucked up Neige, I was really starting to bring out some expression and definition in her lips and I realized why Blythe collectors who customize love doing it so much. Of course there are some I'm seen that go way over board but the ones that get it right produce some really great results and the doll really comes alive.

Stay tuned!!!!

Shhhhhh????

Okay, ummm I think I may have just found a Blythe Doll Goldmine on ebay. I can't really say where it is but I'm certainly not the only one who knows about it since I learned about it first from a flickr contact who recently received an order of Blythe Doll face plates only! Can you imagine? She was very gracious to tell us the name of the seller but even then, I couldn't find her on ebay. But just now, while I was doing a search for Neo Blythes, I found the seller totally by accident. Listen, I have combed ebay thoroughly countless times in the past and never found any Blythe Doll for under a hundred, not even used! But now I've found like five! Okay, I need to calm myself! All I see are customizing oppotunities and I'm losing my mind just thinking about it. Also, I'm pretty sure I'm about to buy one right now.
*SIGH*  Okay. I'll report back later.

Neo Blythe "Nicky Lad"

Neo Blythe "Nicky Lad"
Originally uploaded by MissBlythe

Ahem! She's due to be released in June of this year. Yeah, I'm a junky. I cannot wait to see her. I love the long haired Blythes but I have to admit I have a thing for the ones with the smart short hair cuts. They just have so much character! I also love Nicky Lad's stock outfit! The t-shirt and that Poncho! And those glasses!! Oh I cant wait to see her!!!

The Show Must Go On

The Show Must Go On
Originally uploaded by Zanalee

So I f'd Neige's faceplate up this weekend but I salvaged what I could. The short story is, I am a victim of over perfectionism which is okay when you know what the heck you're doing and I, in this case, very often, do not. Briefly, I will say that I was very very very upset over this and had to go out and hang with a friend at the beautiful Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and go for a walk just to take a breather and get away from it for a while.

I have to give myself credits for doing an incredible initial job even if I did muck it up a lot in the end. I will not be trashing Neige anymore, nor will I be scrapping her. Lets face it, I can't afford to.

Next: hair.
....*sigh*

LBL2 (Little Brown Blythe) Progress Pt 2

Originally uploaded by Zanalee

My lip carving's a bit wonky but I have to say I had a lot of fun doing it and seeing what would take shape. I'm not sure about my expertise in eyelash implanting though, This was my first time doing it and I just couldn't imagines having to insert each lash manually so I ended up stuffing them in on tiny tracks that I cut from a pair of falsies I've had for ages. They're kind of bunchy but I'm leaving them in for now.

LBL2 (Little Brown Blythe) Progress

"It's time to turn something beautiful into something else that is beautiful."
-E. Gilbert
"Eat Pray Love"

Let me just say that my heart was racing when the mail lady delivered the box to me on Friday. I could feel the excitement spreading from the pit of my stomach. I knew before I opened her up.

This is "Simply Mango Blythe" who was released this year I believe with her partner, "Simply Guava." Guava has pink hair and I wasn't digging it but I loved the pics uploaded to Flickr of Mango so I decided on her. They're probably the cheapest Blythe Takara dolls on the market right now, starting as low as $77 not including shipping. Still it took me weeks to commit to a purchase. I had to keep a clear goal in mind. I cannot keep her. She is to be customized and sold. Got it.

I still fell in love with her on first sight and had to take a few pictures before her transformation into Niege, which is French for Snow because "Simply Mango" is very white and reminds me of winter. It is pronounced "Nejay." So here are some pics of the process so far which I decided to undertake this morning in my living room with all windows wide open.

I changed her front facing orange eye chips to a dark brown pair I had lying around, took her apart, (easy as pie because she's an RBL) sandmatted her face and back plate, removed her eyelashes (first time and pretty easy when I applied with cotton balls to loosen glue) did a little lip carving for definition, which I have not perfected yet but am really getting into and then sprayed her face parts by an open window on some newspaper. I am loving it! OH GOD!!! I'M SO PSYCHED TO SEE HER WHOLE!!

What's New

Hello all! I can't believe it's been so long! Well I've been busy with a lot of non-Blythe activities but I have several little Blythe projects in the works which I will be unveiling here and not on flickr for a bit. It's a bit of an undertaking and I sort of want to keep it under wraps until I'm positive it will all work out.

1. I have two dolls on the way to me. That's right! Two. And they are both going to be customized and sent away again. One to a friend and the other to the highest bidder. That's right! So get your ebay paddles ready! A beautiful Black Blythe could soon be yours!

2. I sold my second Blythe Postcard over at Blythe Post a few weeks ago! I was so juiced! I just put two more items in stock last night. I need to start doing more summer themes though. A lot of the stuff on there now is Fall inspired.

3. This summer (with encouragement from shershe, the worlds best Blythe scalp re-rooter) I will attempt to complete Emily's scalp re-root with the thermal color changing orange saran I so enthusiastically began with in the fall. 

So that and more is what's to come in my Blythe World this Summer and I know it sounds crazy but I can't wait until my classes are over (and I love my classes) so I can fully commit more of my time to something I may want to make into a more profitable venture in my life. It's an impractical hobby but it doesn't seem to be going away so may as well try and support my habit by getting some income from it.

GIna's Studio NYC

GIna's Studio NYC
Originally uploaded by Scrappie12

LOL!! I swear to God, I'm not vain (ok maybe a little) but I just love seeing little pieces of my face in everyone's pics of the NYC Blythe meet!
HAHAHA!

BLYTHE EXPLOSION

 

Okay! So the NYC Blythe Meet was such a blast. I kept hearing that they had never had such a large turn out before. We met at the St. Alps Teashouse which specializes in yummy bubble teas and it was like Blythe speed from the minute my friend and I stepped in. I brought Reya, Hamsa and at the last minute Sabine as well. Reya was a huge hit and it was so great to be able to talk with people I had only conversed with on flickr about their dolls, about customizing tips and issues about so many things. I met Blythes I was dying to see in person like Erica Duh's "Shakira" who I just...oh, I live for her pictures on  flickr. Erica just has some of the most amazing dolls ever. And Shakira's bold yellow mohair root is soft as a cloud! My dream is get my next customized black Blythe a fabulous mohair root! Just one!

I got to take a close look at my all time fave Blythes, a "Friendly Freckles," a CB9 and a BL which I'm pretty sure was Erica's. I have just been longing so much for a BL recently and the longing just won't go away. I love how how mischievous and animated and lively they are! They cost a lot though, even used, so getting one for me will take miracle. But I believe in miracles. : )

It was also wonderful walking my friend around and telling her about all the different dolls, the body types, the stock names and how the brown one I will make for her from a Blythe Clone will compare. I am still waiting for her to come in and I cannot wait to get started one her! Eeeee!

I guess there must have been about forty or more people there? I can hardly believe we all fit in Gina Garan's little studio which was just like a candystore for Blythe junkies!! It was wall to wall shelves of Blythe Dolls as well as other dolls that Gina has collected over the years. On the top of the shelves were boxed Blythe dolls which I imagine she sells on the This is Blythe website. On the ground at the edges of the small space were all boxes of Blythe Doll accessories, boots, dresses, bags, glasses (poo, I missed seeing the glasses!) pull rings, eyechips hanging in the corner, etc. It was just too much! And at the back of the store Gina, lovely as ever laughing and smiling and greeting everyone who waited to see her and eventually ringing people up as they brought their collected shopping treasures up to her to purchase. We had the option to pay in cash or on paypal. She had her Macbook (Yea Mac!) set up on a table at the back of the studio in front of a large window where the sun streamed in and illuminated everything with a warm glow. 

On a darker note, (yeah there is one) and I have to say this with regret, there was one thing that occurred which momentarily shot me down from my Blythemania cloud and down into the gutter of reality and it happened almost immediately upon arriving in Gina's Studio. I was looking up at all the dolls in shocked wonder, the way I look up at sunset or the blue of the sky on a beautiful day, the way I looked up at the interior of St. John The Divine this Easter Sunday. It was that kind of awe. I just felt so blessed, so lucky, so excited, so overwhelmed, so... thud! 

Okay so lets just face facts here. I am a woman of color, a black woman. There were maybe three or four other woman of color there, including my friend and a woman, whose doll we met just a few minutes before we left the tea house. I didn't walk into Gina's studio thinking I would see a bunch of Black Blythes if I saw any at all besides the the one in my own Victoria's Secret bag. I'm a Black woman living in the world with my eyes open most of the time. I know where I am. It's hard to forget. However, I did not expect to see, sitting among all the myriad of fantastically customized Blythe dolls on the surrounding shelves, a little Blythe doll in Blackface. But I did. My friend was trading weird looks with the other woman of color who had arrived ahead of us and I just couldn't imagine what could possibly be the matter. They waited for me. They guided my gaze. My heart sank. I started to look through boxes of clothes to try to get my mind off of it. In fact, I nearly threw myself into those boxes. My friend left straight away, saying she would wait for me in the lobby. The other woman wandered off muttering, frustrated. I had to formulate a plan.

As a writer, photographer and essentially a reporter, I am responsible to accurately describe my feelings about the facts that interest, provoke, inspire and disturb me and in that moment, I knew that if I didn't find out what was going on for myself, I just wouldn't be able to sleep. I love Blythe and I love Gina for putting her on the map! Seeing her book of photographs in  "This Is Blythe" for the first time ever at the London Design Museum over eight years ago may have been one of the most amazing things that has ever happened to me. So I went to greet her, ask her about the dolls in the studio and then eventually just drop the bomb that the Blythe Doll  in Black-Face freaked me out. She was immediately apologetic. It appears she already had her doubts about leaving the doll out and explained to me that it was made by Boy George, based on a character in a play he did years ago called "Taboo."  He gave the doll to Gina. Enough said. I breathed a sigh of relief and continued shopping and sifting and clicking away. I noticed some time later that the doll was no longer on the shelf. 

My feeling about that I guess, is that I would rather there be some kind of sign like the ones you see next to painting on Museum exhibits to explain a piece like that. But then, the same could be said about so many of the other customized dolls in Gina's studio. And as an artist I would never presume to tell anyone how to go about presenting or explaining their art except in a case like this when the historical meaning is so clearly implied simply in the style and aesthetic presentation. Because Blythe for me is so much about fantasy and escape and dreams, I was prepared for the predominance of whiteness that has come to be accepted in our society as a "norm." But I was not prepared to be faced with the Blythe Doll equivalent of Al Jolson. That was quite a jolt. You know what they say about dreams and responsibility. Blythe can be whatever you want her to be. That's why I love her.

There is a lot to be learned from dolls.

: )

NYC Blythe meet

NYC Blythe meet
Originally uploaded by LouisaPisa

There is just so much going on in my Blythe world right now, I do not know where to begin and right now I have too much going on in my non-Blythe world to start but I will fill you in all the Blythe goodness later on this week if not today.
HAPPY EASTER WEEKEND to all my Blythe Junkies!!
: D