NBDCC 2019–Let It Begin!!!
I have just returned from the National Barbie Doll Collector Convention which was held in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a big year this year as it is Barbie’s 60th birthday. The actual convention began on Wednesday, July31st but most avid collectors show up as early as the Sunday before to take advantage of amazing room shopping. Hilda Westervelt of Bellissima Couture and I opened on Monday for room sales. Here are a few of the shots of what we had available in our room.
Hilda’s exclusives for room shopping and sales room
And some fun eyewear and neck scarves from me….
Needless to say, we hit the ground running upon landing in Kansas City on Sunday 
Stay tuned….more blog posts on ooak designer parties and convention events coming up!!
–Rebecca
Alta Moda for All Collectors!
Integrity Toys just announced another goodie for collectors! As I have explained in previous blog posts, for the past couple of Integrity Toys conventions the advanced design competition winner gets to have their design produced by IT. It’s a really nice perk and what an incentive for the incredibly talented pool of IT collectors. This past year the advanced design competition was won by Salvador Lopez Arriaga.
Here are some images I took of his design entry at the convention:
Congratulations Salvador!! You made Karolin look stunning and many collectors are looking forward to adding your amazing work to their collection. Here is the finished Integrity Toys production doll.
Alta Moda
Karolin Stone™ Dressed Doll
The NU. FACE™ Collection
2016 Design Competition Winner
Edition Size: TBD
Estimated Delivery: Spring 2018
W Club Only Retail Price: $135.00 US + Shipping and Handling
General Public Retail Price: $145.00 US + Shipping and Handling
Doll Tech Specs:
Head Sculpt: Karolin Stone™
Body: NF 3.0
Foot Sculpt: High-heeled
Skin Tone: Japan
Hair Color: Platinum Champagne Mix
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
Quickswitch: No
You have to give Integrity Toys an A+ for staying true to the original design. They faithfully reproduced it down to the doll Mr. Arriaga used! Feel free to follow Salvador on his Instagram account as he continues to share his design projects. I have followed him for over a year now and he never fails to inspire and amaze.
OK…so what do you need to know to order this doll? 1) If you are WClub member, use the link in the email that was sent to you by noon ET September 19, 2017 . 2) If you are not a WClub member, I am assuming this lovely will be available in their shop at The Integrity Toys website after September 19th. At the time of this posting, they have not given specific information other than it will be available to the general public. That could mean IT direct or through their dealers. I will post more information when I have it.
-Rebecca
I Believe in Fairytales!
If you were a W Club member this past weekend and attempted to get a coveted ticket into the Integrity Toys 2017 convention…you were definitely hoping for happy endings. The event sold out even faster than last year…in just an hour to be precise. Since spots were limited to 500, many were a little nervous about whether or not they would get in. I know I was. I am happy to report that this collector had a happy ending to her quest for a golden ticket. Adding to the excitement of this event is the fact that it will be held in fairytale land itself…right next to Disneyland in Orlando, FL. Double win in my book! This event will take place October 18-21, 2017 at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando. Registration fee is $550. If you are interested in attending, you can add your name to the waiting list here.
For this years convention, Integrity Toys continued a little perk they added last year for W Club members. It’s a little taste of what will be coming to attendees in the convention collection. Even if you are not attending the convention, you can participate in this opportunity. This is a W Club exclusive.
Fashionably Ruthless
Tatyana Alexandrova™ Dressed Doll Gift Set
The Fashion Royalty® Collection
2017 Fashion Fairytale Upgrade
Limited Edition Size: TBA (Based on total orders received)
Delivery Date:
Approximately Late October 2017
Special Pricing:
$200.00 + Shipping and Handling Per Gift Set (For Non-Attendees)*
$175.00 + Shipping and Handling Per Gift Set (For Attendees Only)*
***IT DIRECT EXCLUSIVE***
THIS GIFT SET WILL NOT BE SOLD THROUGH IT DEALERS!
Head Sculpt: Tatyana Alexandrova™ 2.0
Body Type: FR V6.0
Skintone: Porcelain
Hair Color: Platinum with Streak of Raven
Eyelashes: Yes
Quickswitch: No
As a special treat…we get to see the doll through Jason Kramer’s amazing illustrations! eeeeee!!!!
The inspiration for this doll, as many have already reported, is clearly a 2011 Vogue Russia editorial.
Are we excited to see what else they have in store for us at this convention? Oh yes…I think we are.
-Rebecca
Sparkle Poppy Sparkle!
And sparkle she does! I realized I had not given any love to this particular convention Poppy for well over a year. Not good. She was part of the 2015 IT convention collection. Here she is in her original outfit and jewelry. She is however, sporting a new set of hands that were a recent find on Ebay.
Check out the teeny, tiny acrylic nails!! I found them on Ebay. Don’t know if this vendor offers them up regularly or if they were just a short term thing but this is where I got them.
Love the facial screening on this one. While nails like this are not something I normally go for…I think they do add a very glamorous look to this Poppy.
-Rebecca
OOAK Doll Festival–A Huge Thank You!!
One hundred collectors of One of a Kind fashion dolls congregated in New York City for an amazing event. It was the first event of it’s kind and it has left this attendee with a huge sense of gratitude and respect for my fellow collectors.
First and foremost, I have to thank Rocky Schmidt and his incredible team of festival organizers. This event was simply amazing. From the moment we registered to the last evenings dinner and doll presentation, it was a beautifully produced and orchestrated event. We all ate, drank and were very merry indeed. Because of the small intimate nature of this festival, you felt like you were attending a family reunion. Collectors of specialized one of a kind fashion dolls gathered from all over the world and although we live in different areas, we were all connected through the love of this particular sub genre of collecting.
While it’s always nice to get some nice ‘swag’ at events, I would say the bulk of enjoyment for most at this event were the people. It’s the enjoyment of being with people who collect exactly what you collect. This convention celebrated in particular the artistry and design of two very well respected and admired OOAK artistic teams…Magia 2000 and Ninimomo. It was a festival that celebrated their artistry and love for this specialized craft .
For me personally, this event had special significance. Firstly, It offered up an opportunity to collaborate on a project with some of my closest friends who work in this 1/6 scale medium. I have long admired and respected Hilda and Rogier’s work. Just to be a part of this team that produced the Laduree diorama was something I am so honored to be a part of.
It was also an honor to donate a few items to the talented collaborators of Hilda Westervelt of Bellissima Couture and Maryann Roy of Welcome Home and their centerpiece doll design.
Besides the festival itself, there were a number of top favorites from the trip.
#1 I got to go to one of my favorite places with a few of my favorite people.
#2 I got to see Rogier enjoy his first NYC hot dog from a stand!
#3 I got to experience the garment district with the master…Hilda
#4 And…I got to enjoy an amazing dinner with some great friends…old and new
And…last but not least, I got to enjoy the city with my husband and daughter ( wish my son could have joined….darn those college classes)
To cap off the whole week of festivities, a number of us from the festival were able to attend a performance of Hamilton!! And it was an opportunity to meet up with in-laws and give a lovely sister-in-law the opportunity to see the show of her heart…on Broadway! That made it all the sweeter.
So…Rocky and Team…from this blogger of fashion dolls…a HUGE Thank you for the memories and events of a lifetime.
-Rebecca
OOAK Doll Festival–Saturday Night Dinner
After the excitement of the mornings design challenge, festival attendees had lunch on their own and an afternoon to shop some more in the sales room or have some well deserved free time. We were all anticipating the final evening event of the festival – The Diamond Jubilee diner featuring a tribute to Ninimomo. The super talented Ninimomo team of Nik Moronese and Marie Lebreton shared a fun video of their design process and a tribute to their loyal fans.
Then it was time to vote, judge and announce the winner of the “Make your own OOAK” design challenge.
The judges convened for a decision
First and Second Runner ups..
And the winner….drum roll please…was our own Rogier Corbeau of Dutch Fashion Doll World!!!! with this stunning entry…
Congratulations Rogier!!
Another highlight of the evening was the collection of past Ninimomo OOAK dolls brought by collectors.
Attendees were asked to vote on their favorite….and here she is.
There were some fabulous table centerpieces!
And they were all slightly different….same outfit but different dolls for each. I thought that was really inventive and cool.
After a fantastic diner, it was time to unveil the Ninimomo convention doll. Each attendee received this one too. Yes people!! TWO official dolls for this festival.
Rocky received a special much deserved OOAK gift from Nik and Marie as well.
It was an amazing evening and total icing on an already amazing cake of a doll festival. Recap and final thoughts and thank-you post coming up tomorrow.
—Rogier and Rebecca
OOAK Doll Festival–Saturday’s design challenge
Saturday morning dawned with a new challenge for festival attendees. Our design challenge was to embellish a simple black dress. Here is what we all started with. A HUGE shout out to Judy O’Connell of Aponi Designs who donated all the accessory sets for this event. Wow Judy!!! You rock!
There was also a centerpiece doll at this event that 10 lucky attendees walked away with. She was designed by the talented duo of Hilda Westervelt of Bellissima Couture and Maryann Roy of Welcome Home. I donated a couple of accessories to their fabulous creation.
With so much creativity and talent in that room…this event was sure to please. It did not disappoint. I had a whole lot of respect for the attendees of this festival going in but after this event…I was blown away by the talent in the room. It was an honor just to be a part of it.
We were all given a pick of a variety of accessory sets. These were just too cute for words. I picked the grey.
And a variety of materials to use in our embellishing.
And people could bring items that they brought from home or had purchased at Mood and M&J Trimming the previous day. It was Project Runway workroom…times 10…and it was fabulous. Mario of Magia 2000 and many other judges were there to offer encouragement, guidance and a “Tim Gun” comment if needed.
It was a fun room of designers all following their own vision. A creativity extravaganza! How glorious!
After a few hours of embellishing, the judges walked around and selected roughly 20 designs that would compete for the winner of the “Make your own OOAK” competition. There was some serious talent in that room people.
Here are some of the designs that moved on to the final round of competition.
Do you have a favorite? The winner would be voted on and announced at the evenings dinner. Anticipation was very high for this event.
—Rogier and Rebecca
OOAK Doll Festival–Friday Dinner
After the sales room frenzy of Friday afternoon, many attendees headed to Mood Fabric in the garment district and if they had time, stopped off at M&J Trimming. I did not attend that outing but many did and had a marvelous time.
The evening event was the Platinum Party Dinner where we all paid tribute to the amazing and creative talents of Gianni Grossi and Mario Paglino who make up the stellar team of Magia 2000. Here they are with Rocky Schmidt the fabulous organizer of this truly one of a kind festival.
There was a table centerpiece…which all of us wanted but only 10 lucky ducks won. Yours truly and her blogging cohort Rogier…were not lucky ducks this evening 
There was also a collection of Magia 2000 creations that were brought and shared by various attendees. It was such a treat to see so many beautiful creations from Magia 2000 past collections. Wish I had time to photograph all of them in the studio!
Once you stopped salivating over the Magia’s…it was time to vote on your favorite “unconventional material” OOAK dolls. Each attendee was given a ticket to vote on their favorite Magia and their favorite unconventional material doll.
There were many creative entries for unconventional materials. In the end…Rogier was 2nd runner up for his masterful concoction. The winner of the competition was an adorable whimsical design and excellent use of pastel confetti material!
The winner of the favorite collector Magia 2000 was this one. Breathtaking!
After a lovely dinner, it was time to unveil the Magia 2000 official convention doll. Each attendee received one! She was an instant favorite. Her name is Manhattan Premiere.
Oh….My….Word!!!!
Here is a sketch that Mario and Gianni share with Rogier and I.
Rocky received a OOAK version of this beauty. A beautiful OOAK lady for a gentleman that put so much time and effort into making this festival happen. You deserve this and so much more for all your work Rocky. We love you!!
Saturday’s events posts coming up..
-Rogier and Rebecca
OOAK Doll Festival–Friday’s Day Events
Friday started with a new and interesting activity. The Unconventional Materials Challenge. Attendees were challenged to create a OOAK dress using things you don’t normally use in couture. Think, plastic, food, paper etc.… We all started with the same basic white short sheath.
We were given a couple of hours to creative a OOAK using these unconventional materials. I have to be honest…this is not in my wheelhouse but let me just tell you…this was definitely in Rogier’s wheelhouse and many other attendees.
See the master at his craft…
Rogier’s final creation that made it into the final! Keep reading to see how he did.
Here are some more creative entries for this event.
A handful of OOAK designs were chosen by a talented panel of designer judges. The final winner would be announced at dinner that night. Anticipation was high and this had to have been one of the most joyful events I have attended at a convention. As you created, you chatted and joked with your tablemates and those of other tables. It was such a fun and creative way to spend the morning with fellow collectors.
This was not the only creative challenge that would be asked of festival attendees. At this unconventional challenge we were shown the doll we were all going to be customizing at another OOAK competition on Saturday. To get us ready for this challenge, the festival held a workshop to show us some techniques
It was led by the talented duo of Hilda Westervelt of Bellissima Couture and Marie Lebreton of Ninimomo.
After lunch on our own, it was time to shop in the sales room!
-Rebecca and Rogier
OOAK Doll Festival–A Sneak Peek at Live Auction
Just a note of explanation to start of the rest of the blog posts from this amazing festival. Rogier and I work well together as a team. For the past year I have reported for him while he was at European conventions and he has reported for me while I was attending the events in the US. It is a brilliant system. We learned quickly that when we are both attending the same event….not so brilliant of a system. We apologize for the lateness of these reports as the festival ended less than a week ago but it was simply too busy to edit the images and report on events in a timely manner. Added to that….I had to go and catch the plague.
Now that I can breath again without hacking up a lung, We can finally report on events. Thank you all for being patient and understanding.
Now, at the opening gala of this festival, attendees were also able to view all of the amazing live auction items that would be available to bid on at Friday nights dinner.
Entry from Julia Lapshova of Julia’s Originals
From Judy O’Connel of Aponi Designs
From Matt Sutton
From Ninimomo
From Carlyle Neura of Mattel
From Magia 2000
And from the team of friends Rogier Corbeau of Dutch Fashion Doll World, Hilda Westervelt of Bellissima Couture and Rebecca Berry of Inside The Fashion Doll Studio… a diorama of one of our favorite places!
–More coming of the sales room sneak peek….
I’ve Got a Golden Ticket
Today was the first official day of the OOAK Doll Festival!
We all received these personalized bags at registration. How cute are these!!
The first event was the Golden Gala Opening Reception. Each attendee received 21 golden tickets that they could enter into a raffles for a variety of OOAK dolls. Here is what was raffled off.
Festival attendees ended the evening with a sneak peek at the sales room for tomorrow. Many artists from around the world are selling in the sales room tomorrow. Rogier and I will be bringing you images of the designer collections and more images from many of the artists and their offerings.
A Sweet Sneak
Sooo…as many of you know Rogier of Dutch Fashion Doll WorldDutch Fashion Doll World and I are attending a special convention this week. We are in the vibrant metropolis of New York City this week to attend the OOAK Festival.
One of the first places we visited upon arrival in this beautiful city was Ladurée.
Rogier, Hilda of Bellissima Couture and I all love this Pâtisserie . It can come as no surprise that this was an inspiration for us as we collaborated on an auction item for this festival.
This festival has an amazing lineup of artists contributing auction items up for bid at the Friday night auction.
We have been given permission to share a sneak of our auction item for the blog readers! You are getting to see this image even before the convention attendees!!
-Rebecca and Rogier
Straight From Paris Fashion Week
Since I showed off Hilda’s suits from Bellissima Couture in a very elegant way, I wanted to show how versatile these Chanel inspired jackets can be. Eden and Nadja have been hitting the fashion shows at Paris Fashion week this past month.
Models: Sneak Peek Eden and Out of Sight Nadja from 2015 IT Convention
Jackets: Bellissima Couture ( will be for sale this week at IT convention!)
Eden’s purse and sunglasses: Moschino Barbie
Nadja’s beret and wig: FR Monogram
The remainder of clothing came with the dolls that are modeling
These jackets will be for sale at 2016 IT Convention this week!!
Oh so Chanel
For those of you who follow me on FB and Instagram, you received a little sneak peek of today’s post this past weekend.
Tomorrow, I am flying to Chicago for the 2016 Integrity Toys Convention. Hilda Westervelt of Bellissima Couture and I will be having an event on Wednesday evening to sell fabulous OOAK clothing creations by Hilda and a variety of 1/6 items made by me and my fellow blogger Rogier Corbeau of Dutch Fashion Doll World. For place and time, check the boards at convention. We will be placing signage as soon as we have a room number. We will also be at the sales bazaar on Friday evening.
Here is a small sample of some of the Chanel inspired yumminess that Hilda will have available for convention attendees.
If you are in the market for some exquisite 1/6 couture for your dolls and are attending IT convention this year, come attend the event. Room number and time will be posted at convention.
Blog post on accessories and other 1/6 items available will be up later today 
The Power of Pink Rises Again
I can’t describe the power of this color in my life. It is a color that just makes me happy. I confess, if I see a dress or gown in this color, I am immediately drawn to it. I seem to fall for the pale pinks more so than the more vibrant hues but If it is pink, I’m interested. For those of you who follow my instagram feed ( and soon to add Instagram stories too!!), you will have seen that I added these babies to my shoe collection.
The color just makes me happy. So it will come as no surprise that I recently took receipt of some pink gowns. They are from a relatively new designer in the doll arena and I am pleased to be adding his pieces to my collection.
Model: 2016 NBDCC Convention Doll
Gown and earrings: Rimdoll on Etsy
Shoes: 2016 NBDCC Convention Doll
Oh the yummy pink sparklyness of this!! By the way, I completely blame Wholeeah for this gown ( follow her on Flickr or Instagram) because it was her phenomenal pictures of this dress on a Matt Sutton OOAK that got me running to buy it. This gown came with a little gift of earrings. Always a nice touch and it is well tailored and shipped very quickly. I have more of this designer’s work to show you!
** note** The sleeves are a little long on this model because this dress was made to fit the FR2 body. I just decided I wanted a Silkstone to model it first.
-Rebecca
The Madrid Fashion Doll Show Convention–Day 3 The Salesroom
The last day of convention is full of lovely sales room goodies 
But before we get into those, I wanted to show the promotional images from two of the auction items displayed last night. These items will be auctioned off on Ebay in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to Rogier’s blog for information on when those items are up and available for bidding.
Carlyle Nuera released these images on his Instagram and FB page of the glorious design he did.
And here is one for the Magia2000 auction item.
Now on to the Madrid Fashion Doll convention sales room!
Artist Creations brought some beautiful dolls.
And Magia2000 brought some stunners as well.
I believe this beautiful lady went home with someone we know.
And many, many more talented people exhibited their wares
Amazing hats and outfits by Cisca Durieux
And so many more….
And with these final images, I pass the baton back to Rogier for Dutch Fashion Doll World. Rogier will be blogging for me in about a month as I travel to Chicago for the Integrity Toy Convention. Wishing you safe and easy travel back to your home my friend. It has been a pleasure and honor to sit in the editor chair these past few days.
-Rebecca
The Madrid Fashion Doll Show Convention–Gala Dinner continued…
I forgot to mention a few things about the centerpiece in the previous post.
The gold Indian inspired 3D frame around the doll was designed and fabricated by Rogier Corbeau of Dutch Fashion Doll World. The mandala carpet beneath the doll was made by Maria Vergara Bea. This entire centerpiece was sponsored by Douglas Martinez from the Harrisbourg doll Club. Beautiful work everyone!!!
The Gala dinner by all accounts was a glorious and fun affair.
And then it was time for the presentation of the Mattel convention doll!!
Brunette Classic Black Dress articulated Silkstone. Gorgeous!!!
Limited Edition of 221
And the convention was not done handing out the gifts! From the Madrid Fashion Doll Convention organizers:
“Bollywood nights in Madrid”
“This doll is made to celebrate our fourth convention. She has been designed and made by Mon-Lew Designs. She has a rich combination of fabrics and colors.
A special embroidery was made for her.
She is wearing all kinds of Jewelry.
In Bollywood more is the best so she has it all.
The box was designed by Brani Midlanov”
And, as extra extra bonus, a helper doll was given to some of the instrumental people who collaborated and helped bring this fabulous convention to fruition.
MUMBAI TRAVELLER
Made By Mon-Lew Designs to thank collaborators and helpers.
She is a limited edition 30 units
Tomorrow is salesroom day!! I am sure Rogier will have lots of amazing pictures for us of the bounty available at the Madrid Fashion Doll Show. Stay tuned tomorrow.
The Madrid Fashion Doll Show Convention–Gala Dinner
After presentations were over this afternoon, there was one workshop put on by the talented member of Artist Creations Guiseppe de Bellis
Then it was time for the really big party…The Gala Dinner!!! Here are a few images from the dessert table.
The centerpiece doll
“Bolliwood Diva 2.0”
She was an originally designed by Marcelo Jacob, now redesigned by Lewis and made by Joana Costa “Squistish”
And the tables themselves incorporated many of the beautiful colors of India.
Rogier’s table gift. Wish I were at his table!!!
Gorgeous!!
There were beautiful auction items as well. Here are just a few….
Here is beautiful image Magia2000 shared on their instagram
Mattel done by Carlyle Nuera
So, Gala dinner is happening right now. We should have images of convention doll very soon. As I write this, Rogier is sending me videos of some major dancing going on…Bollywood style. LOVE. What a fantastic party!!
-Rebecca
The Madrid Fashion Doll Show Convention–Day 2
The second day of festivities in Madrid began with presentations and an OOAK artist cocktail by Sebastian Atelier. Rogier took some great photos of these events!
Carlyle Nuera gave a presentation from Mattel. No photos were allowed at this event after the introduction. It looks like he was signing his fabulous sketches that people received in their registration bags before the presentation .
Ibrahim Ismail also gave a presentation on Bollywood cinema but sadly, I do not have any images of that. I’m sure it was fabulous.
Conventioneers were given option to attended the OOAK artist cocktail party given by Sebastian Atelier. There were some beautiful OOAK creations to look through and for a lucky few, purchase.
For those who attended the cocktail, there was a beautiful outfit given as a gift.
More info coming later and don’t forget…Gala dinner with presentation of convention doll!!!
-Rebecca
The Madrid Fashion Doll Show Convention-Jaipur Palace Party
What do you do after a fabulous fashion show? You go to a party of course. The organizers in Madrid had a fun evening of Indian food and drinks as well as henna hand painting available for the conventioneers. Beautiful henna tattoo work by Ibrahim!!
There was also this fantastic fashion ( limited edition of 30) by Marcelo Jacob, raffled off to 30 lucky winners!
Rogier will have more to report tomorrow with all kinds of presentations going on as well as the gala dinner and convention doll reveal!! Stay tuned….
-Rebecca
The Madrid Fashion Doll Show Convention–Fashion Show
I may only speak for myself but I feel many would agree that the fashion show is always a fun part of any doll convention…or rather Barbie convention. I am always amazed at the skill of collectors and their ability to produce a doll design in real people scale. The attention to detail that many of these collectors go to is really intense. Here are some quick photos from this years Madrid convention.
And of course, each show has to have it’s own set of paparazzi…
Now, on to the show…
—Rebecca
The Madrid Fashion Doll Show Convention -Registration
Hello fashion doll collectors! Rogier of Dutch Fashion Doll World ( yes name has changed but still same quality blog with same quality material) is reporting from the Madrid Fashion Doll Show Convention this weekend and I am helping him out by guest blogging for him. Always a pleasure to guest on your fantastic blog my friend.
Registration began this morning and already collectors are walking away with some really special things.
Carlyle Nuera, designer extraordinaire from Mattel, is in Madrid to help celebrate Barbie.
And conventioneers are getting some of his amazing sketches in their registration bags!! Lucky dogs!!!
We should have more from Rogier a little bit later….
IDC 2016–Sales Room and Raffle
Last post from the IDC. The Italian Doll Convention had an amazing group of collectors and artisans selling in the sales room this year.
Créations Cotho Corinne Thorner
The raffles were equally impressive.
By Rogier’s account and that of many other attendees, this years Italian Doll Convention was amazing. A huge “Thank You” to Rogier and Dutch Barbie World for taking us all along for the ride!!
-Rebecca
IDC 2016–Texas Ranch Fashion Parade
Most Barbie conventions have some type of fashion show. The Italian Doll Convention certainly followed the tradition.
The foyer of the hotel was decorated for the event.
Gala Dinner info up next…..
-Rebecca
Inside the Fashion Doll Studio 