St. James
PROBJDARTIST
For this year's photo, I chose dolls that were at one point in my collecting history seemingly unattainable to me. Most of my dolls have an acquisition story that involves a fair amount of effort and patience on my part, but I narrowed it down to these five.
Also including shout-outs to the artists who labored to put the finishing touches on my dolls.
My Dollstown Elysia: A two artist operation and and exemplary partnership. The Elysia head is scupted by Torre and the 15yr body by Jonghak An. I had wanted a Unoss or HyperManiac Ksy body for Pauline since she is a sturdy, big-boned girl, but even back then they were scarce and out of my price range. In the meantime I saw the new body Jonghak An had started to sculpt I decided to buy it for another character. More than a year later she was ready, and I bought the body only to find that it didn't work for my plans. What I discovered, however, was that the 15yr body measurements were nearly the same as those of the Unoss and Ksy bodies I had wanted so long ago. So I sold the NS Elysia head I'd been hanging on to for so long and ordered a white one to match the body. It was all random and accidental, but now she is my favorite female doll.
Pauline is wearing a wig made by Amadiz Studio, eyes made by Mystic, and hair combs made by The Night Market.
My Volks Amakusa: Given that Volks is still a family-owned business with artists and sculptors who make themselves available at many events, I don't understand how anyone can characterize them as a faceless corporation immune to the financial drain of counterfeits. I had longed for an Amakusa when he was first released but it just didn't happen. Years later a friend sold me his head and my partner gave me the SD16 body. I modified the two to fit together and painted him myself.
Freddy is wearing a wig by eclipse21 and eyes by Doll Bakery.
My Soom Bix: Another relatively large BJD maker, but you can find the individual sculptors on social media working hard to make new dolls. Head design was by Magosoyang with with faceup by Yeon's. This was another doll I thought I'd never own, but years later a friend was selling him at a convention for his original retail price. I didn't have the funds but he let me take him home and pay later.
Pierce is wearing clothing by Angel Hunt and custom eyes by Enchanted Doll.
My CustomHouse Choa: Custom House is gone but their sculpts have now been licensed for re-release by Luts. I bought her nYID body from Iplehouse using their custom doll system, which cost more but got me exactly what I wanted. Back when CH was around, the only way to get a white doll was by buying a Unique one-off fullset. I didn't want to wipe off a custom face-up so I waited for the right one to come up for sale. When she finally did, I was a few weeks away from being able to pay for her using money I was about to inherit. I wrote to CH and they kindly allowed me to put down a deposit to hold her until I could pay in full. I later found a blank secondhand Choa head from the Haute Doll edition and was able to pass the still intact Unique Ai to a new owner so I could pursue my original vision for Audrey. This was another hybrid that required some heavy modifications by me.
Audrey was painted by Nocturnal Dolls and wears eyes by Mystic.
My Volks Hewitt: I loved the first version of Hewitt, but when the second version was released I waffled on whether or not I could allow myself to buy an MSD until it was too late to enter the lottery. My WTB was answered by someone who had won one and decided she didn't need a second Hewitt as much as she'd like to see someone get a first Hewitt.
Sewek was painted by Sairin and wears custom eyes by Enchanted Doll and custom clothing by LavenderKiss.
All doll jewelry made by me (the horned moon, with one bright star) or my former business partner (orangebabydolly jewels).
PROBJDARTIST
For this year's photo, I chose dolls that were at one point in my collecting history seemingly unattainable to me. Most of my dolls have an acquisition story that involves a fair amount of effort and patience on my part, but I narrowed it down to these five.
Also including shout-outs to the artists who labored to put the finishing touches on my dolls.
My Dollstown Elysia: A two artist operation and and exemplary partnership. The Elysia head is scupted by Torre and the 15yr body by Jonghak An. I had wanted a Unoss or HyperManiac Ksy body for Pauline since she is a sturdy, big-boned girl, but even back then they were scarce and out of my price range. In the meantime I saw the new body Jonghak An had started to sculpt I decided to buy it for another character. More than a year later she was ready, and I bought the body only to find that it didn't work for my plans. What I discovered, however, was that the 15yr body measurements were nearly the same as those of the Unoss and Ksy bodies I had wanted so long ago. So I sold the NS Elysia head I'd been hanging on to for so long and ordered a white one to match the body. It was all random and accidental, but now she is my favorite female doll.
Pauline is wearing a wig made by Amadiz Studio, eyes made by Mystic, and hair combs made by The Night Market.
My Volks Amakusa: Given that Volks is still a family-owned business with artists and sculptors who make themselves available at many events, I don't understand how anyone can characterize them as a faceless corporation immune to the financial drain of counterfeits. I had longed for an Amakusa when he was first released but it just didn't happen. Years later a friend sold me his head and my partner gave me the SD16 body. I modified the two to fit together and painted him myself.
Freddy is wearing a wig by eclipse21 and eyes by Doll Bakery.
My Soom Bix: Another relatively large BJD maker, but you can find the individual sculptors on social media working hard to make new dolls. Head design was by Magosoyang with with faceup by Yeon's. This was another doll I thought I'd never own, but years later a friend was selling him at a convention for his original retail price. I didn't have the funds but he let me take him home and pay later.
Pierce is wearing clothing by Angel Hunt and custom eyes by Enchanted Doll.
My CustomHouse Choa: Custom House is gone but their sculpts have now been licensed for re-release by Luts. I bought her nYID body from Iplehouse using their custom doll system, which cost more but got me exactly what I wanted. Back when CH was around, the only way to get a white doll was by buying a Unique one-off fullset. I didn't want to wipe off a custom face-up so I waited for the right one to come up for sale. When she finally did, I was a few weeks away from being able to pay for her using money I was about to inherit. I wrote to CH and they kindly allowed me to put down a deposit to hold her until I could pay in full. I later found a blank secondhand Choa head from the Haute Doll edition and was able to pass the still intact Unique Ai to a new owner so I could pursue my original vision for Audrey. This was another hybrid that required some heavy modifications by me.
Audrey was painted by Nocturnal Dolls and wears eyes by Mystic.
My Volks Hewitt: I loved the first version of Hewitt, but when the second version was released I waffled on whether or not I could allow myself to buy an MSD until it was too late to enter the lottery. My WTB was answered by someone who had won one and decided she didn't need a second Hewitt as much as she'd like to see someone get a first Hewitt.
Sewek was painted by Sairin and wears custom eyes by Enchanted Doll and custom clothing by LavenderKiss.
All doll jewelry made by me (the horned moon, with one bright star) or my former business partner (orangebabydolly jewels).