This is one of my most favorite dolls. She is a custom doll for a customer in Toronto – who wanted a doll to reflect her rock and roll-ness. The requests for a black sweater and skull and crossbones made me smile – this is a doll I’d make for my daughter. Then I’d have another dress in pink fairy fabric, lol, cause I’m kind of like that. When I sent Nonna the wool to knit this sweater up, my mother called me concerned, ‘a black sweater.. are you sure?’ I love that the dolls can be whatever you want them to be. I’ve had loads of fun customs lately – brunettes with blue streaks.. blondes with sparkly bits in them and two dolls with multicoloured dreds. Although I’m streamlining my custom work with fabric choices, etc – I’ll still have room for people to make requests.
What I want to ‘simplify’ though is some of the choices. Although I’m still open and more than happy to accommodate customers requests, I think it’s easier for everyone if the choices are somewhat limited – I’m talking specifically about fabric used in clothing here. My friend summed it up well for me when talking to her about this the other day. She told me that she needed bandaids and went to a local pharmacy to get some. She stood there looking at all the different types of bandaids getting more confused with each box she read. Finally, she just left – fed up with the whole thing – laughing at the absurdity of it all. If there were, lets say, five bandaids to choose from then the decision would be easier. Of course if someone else wants a black sweater and skulls, I’d be more then happy to oblige! (or anything else that is near to their heart!) From an artistic standpoint,I feel as though my best work is when I know what people want but I am left with ‘creative license’ – if that makes sense. Those are always the dolls that I get letters back from the parents telling me that the doll I made for their little one somehow captures their essence. The dolls kind of have a life of their own, they turn out how they do.. I just put them together. I feel like Geppetto in Pinocchio!
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