Fashion Doll Quarterly Publisher Pat Henry presents Patchat
It seems like only yesterday but it was two decades ago that Robert Tonner began his career as a business owner. This year, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Tonner Doll Company! We are working with Robert on a special project and look forward to seeing you at the spring convention, where we will be hosting a seminar on photography and a presentation on Robert's work.
Once again we are presenting two different covers of FDQ. The full length shot of Antoinette will arrive in your mailbox if you are subscriber. If you are browsing Barnes & Noble or ordering from a doll store like Marl & B or The Doll Peddlar, you will get the close-up "beauty shot" of "Sweeping".
We decided it was a good time to update our look, and yes, make the cover easier to find. New readers did not know to look for a publication called "FDQ" so now they can just look for the words "fashion doll" and find what they have been looking for!
In more somber news, I am sad to write about the passing of my good friend Marsh Matulionis. Marsh passed away suddenly this March from a stroke. She was only 51. We had been in Orlando together just a few weeks before for IDEX and she was so looking forward to returning to Japan. She had won a golden ticket entry to Hometown Dolpa when we were in Kyoto last October and was going to write all about her return in March for the magazine. Sadly, she did not get to go. It is a sobering reminder to live every day to its fullest and enjoy each moment with friends and family.
Marsh was an incredibly talented woman. She not only acted as our Sales Manager, she was an excellent writer and photographer. In this issue, we wanted to pay tribute to her, but at press time we only had room for one page. In it you will see her final FCS doll that had just arrived from Japan. As editor, I decided to run her articles and photos as they were, to keep her alive in our pages and pay tribute to her talents. She was a great friend, travel companion and editor. She is already sorely missed.
As a consummate traveler, Marsh loved to experience other cultures and the people, food and sights. While thinking of her, I will be traveling again, this time with another good friend and editor at FDQ, Alex Forbes. We will be meeting up in Milan for the first Italian Fashion Doll Convention. We are very excited to see our friends Mario and Gianni of Magia2000 who are organizing the event, and we will be posting video blogs of our adventures so you can share the fun with us, even if you are at home on the computer!
After that celebration, we will be getting ready for sun and fun in honor of Ken's 50th birthday! It's "where the boys are" this year and we can't wait to see what convention Chairman Duane Adel and his team come up with to celebrate Ken's big anniversary. We will be doing our special all-Barbie issue again this year, with a special emphasis on Barbie's main man for all these years (except for that–ahem–thing with Blaine). NOTE: The cover shown is for promotional purposes.When we have gone to press with our new Ken-centric issue, we will post the new cover.
Before you go, take a moment and think of our friends in Japan. If you were to sell just one of your dolls and donate the proceeds, you could help the victims of the tsunami that has tragically taken so many lives. In my three journies to the Land of the Rising Sun, I have come to love the people, the land and the culture. We continue to think of our friends at Volks and all throughout Japan at this time and support them in their recovery. If you can't sell a doll, then text REDCROSS to 90999 to Give $10 to
Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Relief or click the link below:
