Happy New Year everyone! I must admit 2011 zipped by me, partly helped by numerous trips to assorted cities and countries around the world to attend doll-related events. It really does make time fly, having fun, doesn't it?
In my travels, I discovered that all collectors are alike in many ways. We love our dolls and that love makes for a generous spirit. Collectors are not only generous but also creative, and so it seemed like a crafts-themed issue would be enjoyable for everyone, even those, like myself, who tend to buy ready-to-wear and fully dressed and styled right out of the box.
One of our most crafty editors, Maryann Roy, has taken her love of dolls and vintage style and created a business, Welcome Home, for props and furnishing for the discerning doll collector. Thanks to the vastness of the Internet, an Australian jeweler found her site on the web and commissioned Maryann to create set pieces for window displays for Gems & Jewels, all the way on the other side of the world.
Artist Vittoria Porto creates framed works of art, using dolls as muse and medium. Elwood Gibson translates his own work as a visual display designer into a fully realized department store called Shillmans. Our collecting community truly uses their muses as creative forces in their collecting life, and their generous spirits allow us all to share their skills and talents in the pages of this magazine.
Have you ever heard of POPI? I hadn't either, but Ian Price has, and he brings us yet another fascinating part of fashion doll history with this charming vintage doll that is all about crafting and designing. Ian has also provided us, with the help of his local San Francisco doll club (BADDD), a wonderful knit pattern, FDQ's first. We also feature the adorable Amelia Thimble, a doll so cute that even I crafted her a little doll house to hold all of her incredibly cute furniture, clothes and of course- Rags, her dog (I love a good miniature dog!). And for the Barbiefans, Paul Bruce gives us a great tutorial on creating simple, but charming furniture for 1/6-scale dolls using objects you may already have at home.
READ MORE ABOUT IT IN THE NEW ISSUE OF FASHION DOLL QUARTERLY!