Hiya folks, so I'm still trucking along making dolls and working on the business side of things. I get a lot of inspiration from Etsy articles. Sometimes I think that this business isn't really viable or able to be successful because...well, they're dolls and who's in to that kind of thing? You'd be surprised. Reading those articles shows me that no matter how obscure the product that you make is, if you do it well, you will find success!
I've always liked miniatures since I was a little girl. I'm not a doll collector and I make this clear to people, but I really love miniatures. I love how one can get lost in a miniature scene. How we can create another reality in tiny form. The artisanship and skills of miniaturists amaze me and I strive to get that quality into my dolls. When I attend dollhouse miniature shows, I spend hours pouring over these tiny works of art. It's incredible the skills that people have!
Most of my business will be online, but I hope to attend a few shows here and there. I want my dolls and products to be of high artisan quality, that one would normally expect to find at shows. With online shopping such as Etsy and websites, the world has opened up to artists. It's exicting!
So here's a glimpse into my creative process. The picture below shows how I prepare cut fabric to make into clothing. I draft my own patterns...really it's just deciding in my head what I'd like to make and then making it! I also do some research into costume history to make the doll authentic. There are adjustments here and there that I make, such as cutting away length or more neckline, snipping, gluing, fitting.
People ask me if I hand sew the doll's clothing, and yes I do sometimes. Half sewing and half gluing. In miniature, sewing usually creates bulky seams and that just doesn't look good, so I glue a lot of my seams and embellishments on. I spray fabric stiffener onto the clothing to simulate folds and drape, but I do this in stages. Usually the biggest part of the outfit, I will hand sew and then spray...if it were glued, the liquid stiffener can pull apart the seams. The last bits after I used the stiffener are glued, and if I need to use the stiffener on any other part of the outfit, I will apply with a tiny paintbrush. Here is a finished doll, from that fabric above.
So off to more doll making! What a wondrous adventure I am on! Thank you for coming along with me :)
