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I didn’t mean to end up here.
One second I was walking like normal… the next, the air changed. It got colder. Heavier. Like my lungs forgot how to breathe for a second and my skin could feel the dark pressing in from every direction.
I swear I heard it before I saw it… that low, distant hum. Like something was alive underneath the floor. Like the walls were listening.
And then it happened.
The ground didn’t crack. It didn’t break. It just… gave up.
Like the world decided I didn’t belong on the safe side anymore.
I fell—
Not like a normal fall either. More like being pulled. Dragged. Swallowed.
And when I opened my eyes again… everything was wrong.
The shadows were thicker here.
The fog clung to my legs like it was trying to keep me.
And those twisted roots… curling, reaching… like they were waiting for me to move the wrong way.
I could feel the Upside Down watching.
That’s when I realized the only thing I could control was me.
If I was going to survive in a place like this, I couldn’t look scared… I had to look like I belonged here.
So I did.
I straightened up, fixed my stance, and let the darkness see exactly what it dragged in.
Not prey. Not a victim.
A threat. 💜
And honestly?
The deeper I went, the more it felt like this place wasn’t trying to scare me away…
…it was trying to claim me.
This photo was taken at the upcoming Upside Down Club and if you’re anything like me and love dark eerie Stranger Things vibes… keep your eyes open because the grand opening is coming soon and I already know it’s going to be insane. 👀🔥
✨ LM coming soon — don’t miss it!
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📍 Photo Location:
The Upside Down Club (Upcoming)
Keep an eye out for the grand opening + LM coming soon!
We are passionate about bringing a relaxed approach while creating beautiful, natural and vibrant images.
We are passionate about bringing a relaxed approach while creating beautiful, natural and vibrant images.
Thank you all for the beautiful comments..That is all we need.No negative...Just enjoy everyone! Muahh!
Cherry Lemon is playing with her new LOL doll. Oops Baby! 🌸💕
I found the LOL doll at the supermarket among the after-Easter sale items. The box states you can restyle her hair, but it is very heavily lacquered in place, and cute the way she is. I may give her a new name, other than Oops Baby!🌸💕🌺💕
♢ Dream Saturday night #hairgoals inspiration from @phineypet for their 'No Fixed Abode' #AW16 lookbook ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #LOVE 😍 Hair by @jakegallagherhair ✨♢
William Stone Images - Limited Edition Fine Art Prints
Fine Art Photography Prints & Luxury Wall Art:
Our presence on flickr is to showcase our catalogue, we have selected pictures on our website, but can always add more depending on the requests we receive:
We do wedding photography and videography:
We do once in a while have discounted luxury fine art, please do keep checking:
All prints though us is put through a rigorous set of quality control standards long before we ever ship it to your front door. We only create gallery-quality images, and you'll receive your print in perfect condition with a lifetime guarantee.
All images on Flickr have been specifically published in a lower grade quality to amber our copyright being infringed. We have 4096x pixel full sized quality on all our photos and any of them could be ordered in high grade museum quality grade and a discount applied if the voucher WS-100 is used. Any image seen on flickr can be printed in museum grade quality, use the unique reference at the bottom of the photo description when contacting us:
We do plan future trips and do catalogue our past ones:
In our galleries you will find some amazing fine art photography for sale as limited edition and open edition, gallery quality prints. Only the finest materials and archival methods are used to produce these stunning photographic works of art.
Some of the gear we use at William Stone Fine Art are listed here:
Some of our latest work & more!
Embedded galleries within a gallery on various aspects of Photography:
We celebrate light in our pictures. Understanding how light interacts with the camera is paramount to the work we do. The temperature, intensity and source of light can wield different photography effect on the same subject or scene; add ISO, aperture and speed, the camera, the lens type, focal length and filters…the combination is varied and multi-layered and if you know how to use them all, you will come to appreciate that all lights are useful, even those surrounded by a lot of darkness.
We are guided by three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, our longing to capture in print, that which is beautiful, the constant search for the one picture, and constant barrage of new equipment and style of photography. These passions, like great winds, have blown us across the globe in search of the one and we do understand the one we do look for might be this picture right here for someone else out there.
We want to thank you for your interest in our work and thanks for visiting our work on Flickr, we do appreciate you and the contributions you make in furthering our interest in photography and on social media in general.
There are other aspects closely related to photography that we do embark on:
Follow us on Instagram!
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/william.stone.989/
500px:
500px.com/p/wsimages?view=photos
Twitter:
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www.linkedin.com/in/william-stone-6bab1a213/
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We do cloud/website development and hosting, startng from £1,500 we can design and host your website. Do justice to your photographs/videos and host them where they will be much valued by your clients. The quality will be in line with www.wsimages.com but designed by you and implemented by us. Contact us today.
WS-93-44368454-151317135-0766207-342023154400
The Luxury of being yourself
We have selected pictures on our website, but can always add more depending on the requests we do get and the current trend in the world of luxury fine art:
We do wedding photography and videography:
We do once in a while have discounted luxury fine art, please do keep checking:
Fine Art Photography Prints & Luxury Wall Art:
We do come up with merchandises over the years, but at the moment we have sold out and will bring them back depending on the demands of our past customers and those we do take on daily across the globe.
Follow us on Instagram!
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/william.stone.989/
500px:
500px.com/p/wsimages?view=photos
Twitter:
LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/in/william-stone-6bab1a213/
Pinterest:
www.pinterest.co.uk/wsimages_com/
Smugmug:
Instagram:
We tend to celebrate light in our pictures. Understanding how light interacts with the camera is paramount to the work we do. The temperature, intensity and source of light can wield different photography effect on the same subject or scene; add ISO, aperture and speed, the camera, the lens type, focal length and filters…the combination is varied ad multi-layered and if you know how to use them all, you will come to appreciate that all lights are useful, even those surrounded by a lot of darkness.
We are guided by three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, our longing to capture in print, that which is beautiful, the constant search for the one picture, and constant barrage of new equipment and style of photography. These passions, like great winds, have blown us across the globe in search of the one and we do understand the one we do look for might be this picture right here for someone else out there.
“A concise poem about our work as stated elow
A place without being
a thought without thinking
creatively, two dimensions
suspended animation
possibly a perfect imitation
of what was then to see.
A frozen memory in synthetic colour
or black and white instead,
fantasy dreams in magazines
become imbedded inside my head.
Artistic views
surrealistic hues,
a photographer’s instinctive eye:
for he does as he pleases
up to that point he releases,
then develops a visual high.
- M R Abrahams
Some of the gear we use at William Stone Fine Art are listed here:
Some of our latest work & more!
Embedded galleries within a gallery on various aspects of Photography:
There are other aspects closely related to photography that we do embark on:
All prints though us is put through a rigorous set of quality control standards long before we ever ship it to your front door. We only create gallery-quality images, and you'll receive your print in perfect condition with a lifetime guarantee.
All images on Flickr have been specifically published in a lower grade quality to amber our copyright being infringed. We have 4096x pixel full sized quality on all our photos and any of them could be ordered in high grade museum quality grade and a discount applied if the voucher WS-100 is used. Please contact us:
We do plan future trips and do catalogue our past ones, if you believe there is a beautiful place we have missed, and we are sure there must be many, please do let us know and we will investigate.
In our galleries you will find some amazing fine art photography for sale as limited edition and open edition, gallery quality prints. Only the finest materials and archival methods are used to produce these stunning photographic works of art.
We want to thank you for your interest in our work and thanks for visiting our work on Flickr, we do appreciate you and the contributions you make in furthering our interest in photography and on social media in general, we are mostly out in the field or at an event making people feel luxurious about themselves.
WS-152-3118909-162773154-2424429-162022163140
Last weekend we finally struck gold at the flea market! This season has been painfully slow...lots of weeks where we come home entirely empty handed. I wasn't expecting to find anything honestly, since things have been so dried up as of late. I was pleasantly surprised when one of the regular sellers showed us this bag of doll clothes he had. It was jam packed with Bratz, My Scene, and Barbie items. There were some amazing goodies inside--most notably my Rock Angelz Roadie Eitan's shirt! This same seller also had the Tin Man. I have a love of character dolls, and this dude intrigued me. We double backed to get him, after I mulled it over for a few minutes.
Unbeknownst to us, there was an even greater treasure to discover. All the random dolls pictured here (mostly comprised of L.O.L. Surprise things) were inside a box on the ground. I almost walked right by, but my dolly senses tingled strongly. At a cursory glance, there didn't seem to be anything worthy. I saw a few mangled Frozen dolls and this very vibrant DC Super Hero Girls Starfire. But as we dug further into the box, we found the gold. There were L.O.L.s GALORE!!! At first we were going to handpick our favorites, but it made more sense to see if we could get the entire box. There were loose shoes, cups, and Lils floating around the bottom. The seller didn't even realize he had dolls, so he let us have the whole box for $10! In my L.O.L. haze, I didn't even notice Bunny or Clawdeen...who were also amazing finds. Bunny didn't have hands, but luckily we got that sorted out already. I was also excited to find my very first secondhand O.M.G. doll. Dollie was wearing most of her outfit, but she's definitely not perfect (fine by me...I'd rather get her for less than a dollar used than pay $30 plus brand new). I knew eventually we'd find L.O.L.s secondhand, but the last ones I had seen were $6 EACH in grubby shape. So you can imagine how wonderful this find was for me!
Dolls in photo from left to right:
-2014 Snow Glow Elsa
-2014 Ooh La La Baby Surprise Lil Kitty Queen
-1988 The Wizard of Oz 50th Anniversary Tin Man
-2017 DC Super Hero Girls "Training Action" Starfire
-2014 Ice Skating Elsa
Sitting:
-2014 Singing Anna
-2018 Eye Spy Series "Wave 2" Lil Scribbles
-2019 Winter Disco Lil Pins
-2018 Makeover Series "Wave 2" Lil Punk Grrrl
-1999 The Wizard of Oz Barbie as Dorothy
-2019 Winter Disco Dollie
-2017 Series 2 "Wave 2" Luxe
-2019 #Hairvibes Rhymes
-2018 Eye Spy Series Under Wraps "Wave 1" 80s B.B.
-2018 Eye Spy Series Under Wraps "Wave 1" Countess
-2019 Series 1 Furniture Cozy Coupe M.C. Swag
-2019 #Hairgoals "Wave 2" Pins
-2014 "1st Edition" Bunny Blanc
-2015 "Basic" Clawdeen #DNW89
The Luxury of being yourself
We have selected pictures on our website, but can always add more depending on the requests we do get and the current trend in the world of luxury fine art:
We do wedding photography and videography:
We do once in a while have discounted luxury fine art, please do keep checking:
Fine Art Photography Prints & Luxury Wall Art:
We do come up with merchandises over the years, but at the moment we have sold out and will bring them back depending on the demands of our past customers and those we do take on daily across the globe.
Follow us on Instagram!
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/william.stone.989/
500px:
500px.com/p/wsimages?view=photos
Twitter:
LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/in/william-stone-6bab1a213/
Pinterest:
www.pinterest.co.uk/wsimages_com/
Smugmug:
Instagram:
We tend to celebrate light in our pictures. Understanding how light interacts with the camera is paramount to the work we do. The temperature, intensity and source of light can wield different photography effect on the same subject or scene; add ISO, aperture and speed, the camera, the lens type, focal length and filters…the combination is varied ad multi-layered and if you know how to use them all, you will come to appreciate that all lights are useful, even those surrounded by a lot of darkness.
We are guided by three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, our longing to capture in print, that which is beautiful, the constant search for the one picture, and constant barrage of new equipment and style of photography. These passions, like great winds, have blown us across the globe in search of the one and we do understand the one we do look for might be this picture right here for someone else out there.
“A concise poem about our work as stated elow
A place without being
a thought without thinking
creatively, two dimensions
suspended animation
possibly a perfect imitation
of what was then to see.
A frozen memory in synthetic colour
or black and white instead,
fantasy dreams in magazines
become imbedded inside my head.
Artistic views
surrealistic hues,
a photographer’s instinctive eye:
for he does as he pleases
up to that point he releases,
then develops a visual high.
- M R Abrahams
Some of the gear we use at William Stone Fine Art are listed here:
Some of our latest work & more!
Embedded galleries within a gallery on various aspects of Photography:
There are other aspects closely related to photography that we do embark on:
All prints though us is put through a rigorous set of quality control standards long before we ever ship it to your front door. We only create gallery-quality images, and you'll receive your print in perfect condition with a lifetime guarantee.
All images on Flickr have been specifically published in a lower grade quality to amber our copyright being infringed. We have 4096x pixel full sized quality on all our photos and any of them could be ordered in high grade museum quality grade and a discount applied if the voucher WS-100 is used. Please contact us:
We do plan future trips and do catalogue our past ones, if you believe there is a beautiful place we have missed, and we are sure there must be many, please do let us know and we will investigate.
In our galleries you will find some amazing fine art photography for sale as limited edition and open edition, gallery quality prints. Only the finest materials and archival methods are used to produce these stunning photographic works of art.
We want to thank you for your interest in our work and thanks for visiting our work on Flickr, we do appreciate you and the contributions you make in furthering our interest in photography and on social media in general, we are mostly out in the field or at an event making people feel luxurious about themselves.
WS-83-16548658-162877437-3688513-2432022161636
We are passionate about bringing a relaxed approach while creating beautiful, natural and vibrant images.
It's no secret that I've loved dolls for most of my life, even during the years I was "too cool" for them as a teen. It doesn't take me much to get onboard with just about any type of doll. That being said, it's not all that often that I truly get swept up in full blown obsession with a doll line. This has only occurred a handful of times over the years. In the 90s I was mesmerized by Disney and American Girl dolls, in the early 2000s it was Bratz and Mary-Kate and Ashley, in 2013 it was Monster High, and in 2020 L.O.L. Surprise joined that list. It had been seven years since I found myself fully absorbed in a new doll franchise. I honestly wasn't expecting it to happen. The recent years had not offered much in terms of new releases for me to anticipate. Bratz were pretty much retired, sans the occasional anniversary release. Monster High were officially discontinued after their rebranding flunked. Hasbro Disney dolls didn't offer anything that the low quality Mattel ones already had (low quality and very generic). Barbie had some cute sister packs and unique playsets (a barn, an ambulance, etc), but I had such luck finding these things secondhand there was no point in getting them new. And then there was American Girl. I still bought from AG, but when money was tight or there weren't any new clothes for historical characters that wasn't an option. I almost couldn't remember what it felt like to be feverishly anticipating a new line to hit stores, or that excitement in researching a brand for the first time. In many ways, I wasn't even the same version of myself I had been back in 2013, when Monster High became part of my life. I had grown as a human and as a collector. The funny thing is, L.O.L. Surprise wasn't exactly a new thing--the dolls first hit shelves for the 2016 holiday season. Somehow, they had flown under my radar for three years, in part due to their surprise packaging, and in part because I wasn't spending much time in toy aisles.
Falling in love with a new type of doll is like tossing a pebble into still water. The first plunk is isolated, but if you stand and watch it, you'll see ripples begin to radiate outward, further and further until they touch the edges of shore. All it takes is that first doll to plant the seed in my head, and then little by little I become more enraptured, until I have fully immersed myself. That's exactly what occurred with L.O.L. Surprise. My passion for L.O.L. Surprise dolls has quite a different backstory, compared to Monster High (my most recent new found interest until the tots entered my world). I would say that my obsession for L.O.L.s is much more similar to how I fell for Bratz. I had seen Monster High dolls in stores for two years leading up to the beginning of my collection. I had secretly ogled photos and videos of them. I had long contemplated over and secretly pined for them. On the other hand, with Bratz and L.O.L. Surprise, I hardly had any prior knowledge. I had seen some "1st Edition" Bratz at the flea market with my parents, found them ugly, and walked away. With L.O.L. Surprise, I was constantly asked about my opinions of them online (having no idea what people were talking about), and then I stumbled upon Crystal Star at Target. I saw her in a display window, thought she was homely and resembled Betty Boop, shrugged my shoulders, and walked away. I also saw a picture of Royal Bee pop up in my Flickr feed, after my sister pointed her out to me. Once again, I gave the doll a quick look over, thought "kind of ugly and weird," and clicked away. That was it. That was the only interaction or engagement I ever had with anything L.O.L.
Nobody had any idea what 2020 would have in store for the world. The year began like most others. Although, for the first time in what felt like ages, Colleen and I were in a better place. My mental health issues were under control, we were driving a more reliable vehicle, and it finally felt like we had made some financial footing. It was the first time we started a year and I knew we'd be okay. While I'll always feel guilty when I buy myself something, whether it's dolls or clothes I need for myself, at least I had the knowledge that we were in a better position. For Christmas that year, we'd made out like bandits. Our Uncle David and Auntie Kim had given us each Walmart gift cards (which was extraordinarily generous...I wouldn't have been upset if they gave us one to share since most people treat us like a single unit). Colleen came home from work with several gift cards as well. To top it off, there were actually some things in stores of interest to me....stuff I was hoping would end up in the sale section. After Christmas is always a great time to do doll shopping. At that point, stores are sick of the overflow of toys and need to make room for other products. The start of 2020 proved to be prosperous in Walmart's clearance section. It was at the back of the store, in the garden area. I was stalking Bee Keeper Barbie...farmer dolls are very appealing to me. I was also keeping my eyes out for Babysitters Inc. Skipper dolls for Colleen. I was doing my morning grocery shopping one Friday when I first wandered into the clearance area. It was on one of the shelves that a huge stack of plastic tubes caught my eye. The labels featured a super adorable baby doll type cartoon, with the name #Hairgoals. Right away my interest piqued. I am a sucker for animated doll packages AND anything that has to do with baby/toddler dollies. I sat for several minutes and tried to figure out what these mystery tubes contained. "Surely there must be more of these weird things in the store" I thought to myself. I wandered into the regular toy aisle, after contemplation. It was here I hoped to find answers to my questions. On the bottom shelf at the back of the doll aisle, I observed some boxes that had the same branding. One was a large camper, with photos of the dolls all over it. My heart fluttered...these tiny creatures were extraordinarily cute. It didn't help that campers were my favorite playsets as a kid. Our dolls often lived in mobile homes, and we would have intricate scenarios made up to incorporate them. I was more than a little intrigued to say the least.
Once at home, when I had spare time, I did some research on good old Google. I wanted to know EXACTLY what dolls were in those tantalizing tubes. On eBay, I finally found images of what I was looking for. Lo and behold, these adorable beings had REAL hair!!! Well, real as in rooted not molded. They were just like the Bratz Babyz I collected...made by MGA and all. No wonder there was something so appealing about the artwork! I decided I had to get my hands on one of these tubes...and lucky for me I had a gift card to use. I made sure to do a little tentative research. I realized that there were two waves, indicated by the different dolls on the tubes (E.D.M.B.B. and Yang Q.T.). As I scrolled past listing after listing of Yang Q.T., I had this weird feeling I would end up with her. It had to be sometime that same week, Colleen and I were at Walmart together. We ended up buying Bee Keeper Barbie and two #Hairgoals dolls. At the dimly lit dining room table, with my camera positioned so it could capture what I was opening, I began to crack into the tubes. I was confused and appalled by all the unnecessary packaging. I hoped that the dolls inside would at least be worth it. I started with the tube that had Yang Q.T. I finally got to the bag with the doll, and lo and behold it WAS Yang Q.T.! I was perplexed by her diminutive stature. I was expecting her head to be larger and her body to be chunkier, like Bratz Babyz. Despite my confusion, I was impressed by what I saw. Then I set out to destroy the second package, which turned out to house Pins. Colleen at first seemed apprehensive. She didn't get it, nor did she think the dolls were worth the $11 each (that was on sale too). After, I dressed the dolls up and we admired them (and their awesome little cups). I set them aside on the dining room table while we ate dinner and unwound for the evening. But I couldn't help but keep staring over at our new, very petite friends. The rest of the night, I kept walking over to the dolls, picking them, and stating how much I loved them. The more I repeated this, the more obsessed I became. Suddenly, it clicked...this was going to be bad. This was going to be expensive. It wasn't until the next day, when Colleen came home from work and she saw our two new friends on display with my Bratz Babyz that the same feeling entered her soul. She too stated aloud that this was going to be big...this was going to hurt our wallets!
From that first encounter, everything else that followed was a little frenzied. Although, I did try to pace myself better than I did with Monster High. I didn't have an emotional shopping issue anymore, so I found it easier to curb my spending. I began to create a guide on the dolls. I wanted to know everything and anything about them. When you start collecting something brand new, even the simple basics can be hard to wrap your head around. The fact that the L.O.L. franchise was based on mystery packaging baffled (and repulsed) me. I have always been a lover of shelf warming dolls. It can take a while for me to warm up to things. How could I know I wanted a doll if she was fully concealed? Despite this flaw, I still found myself ogling and pining for more L.O.L.s. I had noticed a large "variety" pack in the clearance section at Walmart the same day I got my first two tots. This set contained two O.M.G.s,, two Lils, a few pets, and tots with molded hair (including boys). I decided this would be the perfect sampler...and it would be in the family format (which I love so much). That's how the Amazing Surprise pack came to be. I can't even begin to describe the magic I felt for all the dolls. Suddenly my little hoard was expanding and with nowhere to go.
By this point in my life and in my doll collecting journey, I knew I could trust my instincts. I could tell just from the strong feelings I was getting that this new obsession for L.O.L.s was going to stay...and GROW. Thus we needed to find a place to display the expanding collection. I fell in love with the wooden L.O.L. house I saw commercials for on Youtube. I ended up finding it on sale via the Target website. Before you know it, I had a small collection of dolls AND a special display house for them. I found it hard on Friday mornings not to wander into the toy aisle at Walmart and window shop for L.O.L.s. Sometimes I'd' crack and I would HAVE to buy someone. I especially liked the boys...I've always been a collector of male dolls. I made a rule for myself though: I would only buy ONE doll from a mystery line, that way I wouldn't waste money on unintentional duplicates. I can proudly say I only broke this vow once when the #Hairgoals dolls got marked to $6 each...and I ended up with a second Sk8er Grrrl. Lesson learned and never repeated. The way I worked around this was to hunt for lots of tots on eBay and Mercari, who were already opened. This made more financial sense, and I could handpick the specific characters I wanted. That didn't stop me from purchasing dolls in store though.
Then it happened...that fateful day in March of 2020, when Colleen got in the Jeep after work and said school would be closed the following day for deep cleaning. COVID19 officially hit the U.S. and people were already losing their minds. Suddenly it was like the world was ending and it was every man for himself. People were depleting things like toilet paper at alarming rates at Walmart (Why toilet paper though? Seriously, we can live without it). Within two days, people were wearing hazmat type garments out for errands--long rubber gloves, masks, covered in clothes from head to toe. It was all anyone and everyone could talk about. Colleen's school closure was extended by two weeks, then a month, then indefinitely. Our state closed most businesses except the "necessary" ones (why liquor stores count in that I don't know). Instead of my usual frenzied routine of getting stuff done at home, going to work at the farm, and ferrying Colleen back and forth to her two different jobs, we were at home ALL the time. She did her work online for a few hours, and then she was done. Luckily, we are very equipped for this sort of life style. Colleen and I are professional hermits anyways, and we can always have fun (it was a skill we learned as kids, and carried through into adulthood). We kept a routine for ourselves, even on days she didn't have online work. I still went to work physically, so that helped keep us sane (especially since I became a lamb's surrogate mom that year and had to bottle feed Little Wooly several times a day). But something interesting, albeit not unexpected happened. We found ourselves thrown into the world of our plastic friends MORE than ever. Dolls were always the perfect escape, so why should the time in lock down have been any different?
I mention all of this depressing stuff about the world because it was part of our life (and everyone else's) at the time. It is a thread in the tapestry of my L.O.L. story. They were one of the many welcome dolly distractions. We still went to Walmart once a week for groceries. With six guinea pigs who ate fresh veggies, I couldn't buy food for the month...nor did our fridge have the room to accommodate all that extra food. Grocery delivery wasn't an option for our budget, and I didn't want someone else picking out my stuff at the store (not for germ reasons...more like privacy reasons...I'm strangely guarded like that which is why I prefer self checkout). Together, Colleen and I would venture into the toy aisle and ogle L.O.L.s. It seemed the toys had no idea what was going on in the world...and why the heck everyone was wearing ridiculous looking face coverings. It was a relief to have some sense of normalcy, some tiny bit of joy, in those days. Whenever we'd buy one of the tiny surprise balls and open it in the parking lot, it felt like we were kids again...like the world wasn't going mad. Since the flea market was closed until June, rather than opening in April, we found ourselves doing online shopping way more (a habit that has proved hard to kick two years onward). On eBay I stumbled upon a massive lot of L.O.L. tots. There were a few furniture sets, the #OOTD dolls with hoards of extra clothes, and several key favorite characters I'd been lusting for. Since we were spending next to nothing in gas, but we were both still working, we decided to splurge on this lot. It was so much fun when the very battered box finally arrived and we got to open it all. The seller even wrapped all the secondhand stuff up in tissue paper, to add to the surprise element (which was thoughtful, but wasteful). The box was about to give out, which is why it couldn't have arrived at a better time. With everything being shut down, most people were buying their wares online. Pretty much all our packages came precariously damaged those first six months after COVID hit. Fortunately, all our tiny people arrived safe and sound. I had been most worried about Nightfall...he was one of the main reasons we pampered ourselves with this particular lot.
Eventually, stores started to open back up, and our flea market reopened for the season. Despite this, our need for L.O.L.s didn't subside. Even with the distraction of finding secondhand goodies in the wild, tots were still on my radar. They were by far my favorite thing from the world of L.O.L. Surprise (not that I wasn't enchanted by O.M.G., pets, and Lils). My collection continued to blossom, though there would be small pauses for a month or two at a time to curb my appetite. By early September, I was maxing out on display space for the future. Feeling more committed than ever, I decided to think about buying another house for my dollies. Fortunately, MGA just released the O.M.G. house (which was similar in style but with different furniture and more accessories). I didn't have to wait long--I found one for $50 off on Amazon because it was "damaged." The addition of this second large home cemented these tiny plastic creatures as permanent fixtures on my display. Colleen and I joked that our MGA population was dwarfing the Mattel one on display. All my Bratz, Moxie Girlz, and now L.O.L.s were outnumbering my Mattel Disney people (especially given that I had many non-Mattel Disney dolls out). My collection also required it's own storage space. The basement was infiltrated too, with all the tiny plastic fashions, bulky drink cups, and other accessories.
Something else that marks my L.O.L. collection uniquely is social media. Since I started posting to my A Thousand Splendid Dolls accounts (Youtube and Flickr), I hadn't gotten into anything new on such a large scale. Years before, on my old, long deleted Flickr, I had posted about my budding interest in Monster High. I found though that it left a sour taste in my mouth for the most part. Other collectors liked to play games of exclusion, even if I wasn't trying to be part of their club. I'd post a picture of a re-release I was so grateful to own, and a few people would complain in the comments about how inferior it was to the original. There was other drama too, but it feels like so long ago it's hard to remember (and I'm sure I wasn't always an innocent party). I admit, I was nervous about posting my newfound obsession for L.O.L.s because of my previous tarnished experience. For the most part, it was positive, and other people seemed to feed off my excitement (which is, after all the whole point of sharing one's doll collection on the world wide web). Yes, of course there was some annoying, unnecessary commentary...judgmental or nit picky collectors. But my high spirits could not be dampened. It was fun incorporating these ridiculous dolls into our skits--they inspired me like I was still a little kid. Even when I stepped away from Youtube for the better part of a year, I continued to explored L.O.L.s. I began to find them at the flea market, to my delight. Since they were beginning to be over produced, and people weren't as interested, that meant prices were more affordable. I didn't have to wait long to catch 50% off deals on newly released merchandise. It became a game of cat and mouse with me whenever there was a freshly released doll I wanted (typically the larger, more expensive sets I did this with). I was especially ecstatic the day we found the infamous Glamper at the flea market in 2021. It was opening day that season, and I recognized the teal color and distinctive mold when we were navigating the inside of the building. It was such an iconic piece of L.O.L. history to me that I HAD to get it. That's also why it was chosen to be the focal point of this photo.
Most chapters in my life have dolls associated with them. For instance, Bratz and Mary-Kate and Ashley remind me of the time right after Mom passed away. They transport me to those Friday nights we'd go to Papa Ginos with Dad and then to KB Toys to buy dolls. There are 1990s Barbies, formerly boxed, who bring me back to the last few years I was collecting as a teen. I can still see Hula Hair, Penn State, Miami Heat, etc dangling over the shelves mounted above my roll top desk. There were the years I wasn't collecting or playing with dolls, and yet I still have memories with them. I recall carefully wrapping all my American Girls up in plastic bags while my room was being redone at the age of sixteen. By the time it was finished, my Memere had passed away and her doll cabinets were at our house. This is where my American Girls lived afterwards, even though no other dolls were permitted in my "cool teen" room. And then of course there was Monster High. They always remind me of life with just me and my sister, after Dad passed away. I'll never forget that spring of 2013 when we'd drive around in my old, beat up red 1999 Jeep Wrangler (the "Frangler"), on the hunt for more weird looking monster dolls. L.O.L. Surprise have marked my life in a similar way. Even though it's only been two years since I embarked on my journey collecting them, so much has happened. That's why I didn't feel like it was too soon to write this. Well, that and my collection is enormous. The world may have been upside on the outside of our yellow house in the beginning. But inside, Colleen and I found escape through the ridiculous faces of these sweet tots. We would be doubled over the dining room table in fits of laughter as we filmed stupid skits for Youtube. These little guys and girls quickly became a fixture in our lives. I always say that dolls tell us who they are, and my tots are no different. I'll never forget the day Spicy Kid and Spice arrived in the mail during the fall of 2021. We needed Spicy Kid to play young Dracula for future videos. Colleen set out to practice her prepubescent Dracula voice, and somehow I began to play off her energy with Spice. Spice was just a consequential purchase...she was included in the listing but we didn't "require" her services for filming. In the end, we were both talking back and forth in strange kid Transylvanian accents. It was there the character Cola-ette was born, once again in the midst of giggle fits. We loved her so much, Cola-ette was required in adult form, with a fitting mature voice to go with her (a role obviously given to Spicy Babe). It's not uncommon to hear Colleen imitate one of my tot voices I did for videos either. I'd say it happens on a weekly basis (one of her favorite lines is "Shadow, I'm being eat-en" or "this seems sus-picious"). I'm constantly being prodded to repeat these statements in full fledged tot voice, even when we are out in public. These tots have become great fun in ways I never anticipated. While their entry into my life and collection has some negative associations (COVID, dealing with the criticism and exhaustion that comes with social media), for me they were always a bright light. I love it when dolls, even ones well beyond my own childhood, still remind me what it feels like to be a kid. Isn't that the best thing about our plastic friends--their ability to transport us into energetic, inspired, youthful versions of ourselves?
The Luxury of being yourself
We have selected pictures on our website, but can always add more depending on the requests we do get and the current trend in the world of luxury fine art:
We do once in a while have discounted luxury fine art, please do keep checking:
Fine Art Photography Prints & Luxury Wall Art:
We do come up with merchandises over the years, but at the moment we have sold out and will bring them back depending on the demands of our past customers and those we do take on daily across the globe.
Follow us on Instagram!
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/william.stone.989/
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We tend to celebrate light in our pictures. Understanding how light interacts with the camera is paramount to the work we do. The temperature, intensity and source of light can wield different photography effect on the same subject or scene; add ISO, aperture and speed, the camera, the lens type, focal length and filters…the combination is varied ad multi-layered and if you know how to use them all, you will come to appreciate that all lights are useful, even those surrounded by a lot of darkness.
We are guided by three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, our longing to capture in print, that which is beautiful, the constant search for the one picture, and constant barrage of new equipment and style of photography. These passions, like great winds, have blown us across the globe in search of the one and we do understand the one we do look for might be this picture right here for someone else out there.
“A concise poem about our work as stated elow
A place without being
a thought without thinking
creatively, two dimensions
suspended animation
possibly a perfect imitation
of what was then to see.
A frozen memory in synthetic colour
or black and white instead,
fantasy dreams in magazines
become imbedded inside my head.
Artistic views
surrealistic hues,
a photographer’s instinctive eye:
for he does as he pleases
up to that point he releases,
then develops a visual high.
- M R Abrahams
Some of the gear we use at William Stone Fine Art are listed here:
Some of our latest work & more!
Embedded galleries within a gallery on various aspects of Photography:
There are other aspects closely related to photography that we do embark on:
All prints though us is put through a rigorous set of quality control standards long before we ever ship it to your front door. We only create gallery-quality images, and you'll receive your print in perfect condition with a lifetime guarantee.
All images on Flickr have been specifically published in a lower grade quality to amber our copyright being infringed. We have 4096x pixel full sized quality on all our photos and any of them could be ordered in high grade museum quality grade and a discount applied if the voucher WS-100 is used. Please contact us:
We do plan future trips and do catalogue our past ones, if you believe there is a beautiful place we have missed, and we are sure there must be many, please do let us know and we will investigate.
In our galleries you will find some amazing fine art photography for sale as limited edition and open edition, gallery quality prints. Only the finest materials and archival methods are used to produce these stunning photographic works of art.
We want to thank you for your interest in our work and thanks for visiting our work on Flickr, we do appreciate you and the contributions you make in furthering our interest in photography and on social media in general, we are mostly out in the field or at an event making people feel luxurious about themselves.
WS-250-191874254-21789131-1127581-792021021952
The Luxury of being yourself
We have selected pictures on our website, but can always add more depending on the requests we do get and the current trend in the world of luxury fine art:
We do wedding photography and videography:
We do once in a while have discounted luxury fine art, please do keep checking:
Fine Art Photography Prints & Luxury Wall Art:
We do come up with merchandises over the years, but at the moment we have sold out and will bring them back depending on the demands of our past customers and those we do take on daily across the globe.
Follow us on Instagram!
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/william.stone.989/
500px:
500px.com/p/wsimages?view=photos
Twitter:
LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/in/william-stone-6bab1a213/
Pinterest:
www.pinterest.co.uk/wsimages_com/
Smugmug:
Instagram:
We tend to celebrate light in our pictures. Understanding how light interacts with the camera is paramount to the work we do. The temperature, intensity and source of light can wield different photography effect on the same subject or scene; add ISO, aperture and speed, the camera, the lens type, focal length and filters…the combination is varied ad multi-layered and if you know how to use them all, you will come to appreciate that all lights are useful, even those surrounded by a lot of darkness.
We are guided by three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, our longing to capture in print, that which is beautiful, the constant search for the one picture, and constant barrage of new equipment and style of photography. These passions, like great winds, have blown us across the globe in search of the one and we do understand the one we do look for might be this picture right here for someone else out there.
“A concise poem about our work as stated elow
A place without being
a thought without thinking
creatively, two dimensions
suspended animation
possibly a perfect imitation
of what was then to see.
A frozen memory in synthetic colour
or black and white instead,
fantasy dreams in magazines
become imbedded inside my head.
Artistic views
surrealistic hues,
a photographer’s instinctive eye:
for he does as he pleases
up to that point he releases,
then develops a visual high.
- M R Abrahams
Some of the gear we use at William Stone Fine Art are listed here:
Some of our latest work & more!
Embedded galleries within a gallery on various aspects of Photography:
There are other aspects closely related to photography that we do embark on:
All prints though us is put through a rigorous set of quality control standards long before we ever ship it to your front door. We only create gallery-quality images, and you'll receive your print in perfect condition with a lifetime guarantee.
All images on Flickr have been specifically published in a lower grade quality to amber our copyright being infringed. We have 4096x pixel full sized quality on all our photos and any of them could be ordered in high grade museum quality grade and a discount applied if the voucher WS-100 is used. Please contact us:
We do plan future trips and do catalogue our past ones, if you believe there is a beautiful place we have missed, and we are sure there must be many, please do let us know and we will investigate.
In our galleries you will find some amazing fine art photography for sale as limited edition and open edition, gallery quality prints. Only the finest materials and archival methods are used to produce these stunning photographic works of art.
We want to thank you for your interest in our work and thanks for visiting our work on Flickr, we do appreciate you and the contributions you make in furthering our interest in photography and on social media in general, we are mostly out in the field or at an event making people feel luxurious about themselves.
WS-135-7760079-182965726-6779561-1552022180742
The Luxury of being yourself
We have selected pictures on our website, but can always add more depending on the requests we do get and the current trend in the world of luxury fine art:
We do wedding photography and videography:
We do once in a while have discounted luxury fine art, please do keep checking:
Fine Art Photography Prints & Luxury Wall Art:
We do come up with merchandises over the years, but at the moment we have sold out and will bring them back depending on the demands of our past customers and those we do take on daily across the globe.
Follow us on Instagram!
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/william.stone.989/
500px:
500px.com/p/wsimages?view=photos
Twitter:
LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/in/william-stone-6bab1a213/
Pinterest:
www.pinterest.co.uk/wsimages_com/
Smugmug:
Instagram:
We tend to celebrate light in our pictures. Understanding how light interacts with the camera is paramount to the work we do. The temperature, intensity and source of light can wield different photography effect on the same subject or scene; add ISO, aperture and speed, the camera, the lens type, focal length and filters…the combination is varied ad multi-layered and if you know how to use them all, you will come to appreciate that all lights are useful, even those surrounded by a lot of darkness.
We are guided by three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, our longing to capture in print, that which is beautiful, the constant search for the one picture, and constant barrage of new equipment and style of photography. These passions, like great winds, have blown us across the globe in search of the one and we do understand the one we do look for might be this picture right here for someone else out there.
“A concise poem about our work as stated elow
A place without being
a thought without thinking
creatively, two dimensions
suspended animation
possibly a perfect imitation
of what was then to see.
A frozen memory in synthetic colour
or black and white instead,
fantasy dreams in magazines
become imbedded inside my head.
Artistic views
surrealistic hues,
a photographer’s instinctive eye:
for he does as he pleases
up to that point he releases,
then develops a visual high.
- M R Abrahams
Some of the gear we use at William Stone Fine Art are listed here:
Some of our latest work & more!
Embedded galleries within a gallery on various aspects of Photography:
There are other aspects closely related to photography that we do embark on:
All prints though us is put through a rigorous set of quality control standards long before we ever ship it to your front door. We only create gallery-quality images, and you'll receive your print in perfect condition with a lifetime guarantee.
All images on Flickr have been specifically published in a lower grade quality to amber our copyright being infringed. We have 4096x pixel full sized quality on all our photos and any of them could be ordered in high grade museum quality grade and a discount applied if the voucher WS-100 is used. Please contact us:
We do plan future trips and do catalogue our past ones, if you believe there is a beautiful place we have missed, and we are sure there must be many, please do let us know and we will investigate.
In our galleries you will find some amazing fine art photography for sale as limited edition and open edition, gallery quality prints. Only the finest materials and archival methods are used to produce these stunning photographic works of art.
We want to thank you for your interest in our work and thanks for visiting our work on Flickr, we do appreciate you and the contributions you make in furthering our interest in photography and on social media in general, we are mostly out in the field or at an event making people feel luxurious about themselves.
WS-119-38253573-232271835-4259208-2942022233800
We are passionate about bringing a relaxed approach while creating beautiful, natural and vibrant images.
The Luxury of being yourself
We have selected pictures on our website, but can always add more depending on the requests we do get and the current trend in the world of luxury fine art:
We do once in a while have discounted luxury fine art, please do keep checking:
Fine Art Photography Prints & Luxury Wall Art:
We do come up with merchandises over the years, but at the moment we have sold out and will bring them back depending on the demands of our past customers and those we do take on daily across the globe.
Follow us on Instagram!
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/william.stone.989/
500px:
500px.com/p/wsimages?view=photos
Twitter:
LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/in/william-stone-6bab1a213/
Pinterest:
www.pinterest.co.uk/wsimages_com/
Smugmug:
Instagram:
We tend to celebrate light in our pictures. Understanding how light interacts with the camera is paramount to the work we do. The temperature, intensity and source of light can wield different photography effect on the same subject or scene; add ISO, aperture and speed, the camera, the lens type, focal length and filters…the combination is varied ad multi-layered and if you know how to use them all, you will come to appreciate that all lights are useful, even those surrounded by a lot of darkness.
We are guided by three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, our longing to capture in print, that which is beautiful, the constant search for the one picture, and constant barrage of new equipment and style of photography. These passions, like great winds, have blown us across the globe in search of the one and we do understand the one we do look for might be this picture right here for someone else out there.
“A concise poem about our work as stated elow
A place without being
a thought without thinking
creatively, two dimensions
suspended animation
possibly a perfect imitation
of what was then to see.
A frozen memory in synthetic colour
or black and white instead,
fantasy dreams in magazines
become imbedded inside my head.
Artistic views
surrealistic hues,
a photographer’s instinctive eye:
for he does as he pleases
up to that point he releases,
then develops a visual high.
- M R Abrahams
Some of the gear we use at William Stone Fine Art are listed here:
Some of our latest work & more!
Embedded galleries within a gallery on various aspects of Photography:
There are other aspects closely related to photography that we do embark on:
All prints though us is put through a rigorous set of quality control standards long before we ever ship it to your front door. We only create gallery-quality images, and you'll receive your print in perfect condition with a lifetime guarantee.
All images on Flickr have been specifically published in a lower grade quality to amber our copyright being infringed. We have 4096x pixel full sized quality on all our photos and any of them could be ordered in high grade museum quality grade and a discount applied if the voucher WS-100 is used. Please contact us:
We do plan future trips and do catalogue our past ones, if you believe there is a beautiful place we have missed, and we are sure there must be many, please do let us know and we will investigate.
In our galleries you will find some amazing fine art photography for sale as limited edition and open edition, gallery quality prints. Only the finest materials and archival methods are used to produce these stunning photographic works of art.
We want to thank you for your interest in our work and thanks for visiting our work on Flickr, we do appreciate you and the contributions you make in furthering our interest in photography and on social media in general, we are mostly out in the field or at an event making people feel luxurious about themselves.
WS-247-2734526-21832446-5320504-492021212707