About the Artist
My journey with dolls began at a very young age. For many years, they were top of my Christmas wish list and my favorite big sis hand-me-down. I designed fantastic outfits, took "real film" pictures of them and spent hours building doll apartments out of my closet shelves. Fashion and articulated dolls were the preferred creative muse for my young artistic imagination. But when the world deemed me too old for such "toys," I reluctantly set them aside.
In college, I studied Art with an emphasis in Computer Graphics, turning my love for art and an interest in new technologies into a career in Web Design (back when it was still a new and under-served area). Around 2004, I stumbled upon "Haute Doll" magazine and discovered the art of vinyl doll repainting and fell completely in love. I thought adults only collected dolls in boxes or antiques – I had no idea this form of doll-play for grown ups existed! This passion eventually led me to Ball-Jointed Dolls (BJDs), fully rekindling my love for dolls from childhood. As my Web Design career eased up, I found more time to explore my creative skills in this area.
Now, I blend my interests into crafting unique dolls and I'm excited to share them with you!
Each doll must go through a lengthy process from beginning to end. First I sculpt and refine the doll many times. At each stage, I work hard to ensure that the mechanics of my dolls are solid with natural movement for easy posing and that the outer form is pleasing to hold and display. I work hard to represent the expression and identity of the character I want to make. This sculpting can take anywhere from several weeks to years to complete.
Once the sculpt is ready it’s off to the casting company. They create a master from my sculpt and cast a sample for my approval. If the sample is good then I hand-paint the master and they produce a painted replica for my approval again. This back and forth takes up to 6 months and only then can production begin. Production takes an additional 6 months as the company must work around the weather, holidays and other orders.
After the dolls are produced, many also receive full outfits and this is my favorite part! Each fashion is carefully designed by me and made to bring out my complete vision for the doll. From selecting (and sometimes even designing) the fabric, to drafting patterns, sewing, knitting and embellishing - there's nothing quite like putting the whole look together and seeing each unique character come to life.
Thank you for joining me on this journey. I'm deeply grateful for the support and encouragement from those around me and look forward to celebrating dolls in our photos and storytelling with each other!
~ Virginia
