Opening the Treasure Chest: “Tokyo Chic”
One of the things I enjoy most about The National Barbie Doll Collector Convention are the amazing One of a Kind (OOAK) artists that bring their creations to the convention. Most of them sell at private shows or in their rooms in the days leading up to the official start of the convention. Many collectors, including myself, go up to 4 days early to convention so they can attend these private parties and see what kind of OOAK creations they can add to their collections. For some collectors, these OOAK’s are the focus of their collection. There are so many talented artists within this community.
One such artist is Julia Lapshova of Julia Originals. I was lucky to get to her room early enough and purchased this lovely creation. Her attention to detail and tailoring is always extraordinary. I am so very happy to have Ms. Tokyo Chic in my personal collection. You can also follow Julia on Facebook.
“Tokyo Chic”
-Rebecca
The Art of Fashion Doll Photography and Blogging–Part 1: The Introduction
I promised people who were not able to make it to the NBDCC presentation I did this July that I would repeat sections of the presentation via the blog so her is first section.
I introduced the class with this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl-__rM4IoE
Who am I?
Hello everyone. My name is Rebecca Berry and I am the creator, writer and photographer for Inside The fashion Doll Studio. It is a blog with around 1,000 subscribers and focuses primarily on 1/6 scale fashion dolls. First of all, I have to say a very quick and heartfelt “Thank You” to my readers and subscribers. Without all of you, I would not be here doing this so I thank you for your support and words of encouragement.
I am a self taught photographer which means I did not go to school for formal training as a photographer. I have been behind the lens of a camera for quite a while. In high school, I was the one typically behind the camera taking images of a friends sporting event and /or performance. When shooting I was usually most interested in capturing the relationship or emotion of the moment and not necessarily the action. I wanted a fun facial expression or quite moment of concentration before the long jump kind of image. When it was time for college, I never considered photography and instead studied an entirely different thing..number crunching and financial analysis LOL! A whole world away from photography, or so I thought. So how did I get here?
I am here today because first and foremost, I am like all of you…a collector. This is my eighth convention. I played with Barbie when I was younger and have many fond and happy memories from that but like many, when I hit my teens, I gave Barbie up for other things. Barbie was not done with me yet though…she came back into my life through this little munchkin….
How did I get Started Collecting?
This is my daughter Megan. When she was three years old she got her first Barbie for her birthday. It was a collector Barbie of all things and I said to myself “ Oh great…she is only three and she is going to trash it”. But she didn’t. She had other Barbies that she wanted to play with but the collector Barbie she considered “special” and put it on a shelf to look at.. and I thought “hmmmm…maybe this is something we can do together…like a Mommy/ daughter thing. We could collect every Birthday and Christmas”. So, I was a former financial analyst which means when I don’t know about something, I do research. I researched collector Barbies and found the Barbie Collector website. That is when I went down the rabbit hole 
.
While I may have started out researching for ideas of dolls to collect with my daughter, I soon realized that I was avidly looking through the images of amazing collectible Barbies for myself. I have always loved fashion and in particular fashion from the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s. I found the Silkstone BFMC line ,in particular, very appealing and began to acquire those. That was thirteen years ago and I have no plans to stop.
My Photography Background
As I have said before, I am self taught. After many years of working in the shark tank of financial markets, I decided to stay at home with my kiddos while they were young. When you have little ones, you typically have “after school activities”. These activities had me picking up the camera again after years of neglect. Finding that love of capturing an images again was wonderful and after photographing a number of my daughters dance performances…I realized I wasn’t too bad at it. Again, it wasn’t necessarily about photographing the action ( although that was nice), it was more often about the emotion it conveyed. More importantly, it became more about showing these young and impressionable young girls the amazing work they were doing. It became a self image booster for them.
When I started photographing Megan in dance, she was at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School of dance which was the dance school arm of the professional ballet company in Seattle. Megan performed in their Nutcracker ballet for two years in a row. While there, I recognized a photographer whose work I had admired. Here name is Angela Sterling. She is a former soloist dancer with PNB who had to retire due to injury. When she left the company she realized there were very few images to show for her many years of hard work and decided to go into photography to give the dancers those images of “their best moments”. I loved that concept. Capturing someone’s best moment. I wanted to do this for my daughter and the young girls she danced with. I wanted them to have the opportunity to see themselves at their best dance moments. I wanted to improve my craft so I could do that in the way it should be done…with the best of my ability. 
While improving my photography skills and knowledge, I was also collecting. I became involved in the very vibrant collecting community that surrounds this amazing hobby and was noticing how the field of photography was helping to drive some very popular doll forums…and I wanted to be a part of that. I was always interested in fashion and some of my very first photography inspirations were images from Vogue and Harpers Bazaar from the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s. I loved pouring over images from noteworthy photographers such as Horst, Cecil Beaton, Irving Pen, Richard Avedon and Norman Parkinson.
Within the doll photography community, there was one photographer whose work I admired and really tried to emulate. His use of lighting, composition and styling is just exquisite. His work never fails to inspire me even to this day. His name is Ernesto Padró Campos. His doll photography blog is treasure trove of beautiful images.
If I can be as good as this someday…I will be happy.
So that wraps up the introduction. For the next couple of months, each and every Friday, I will be continuing the series. Here is a preview of the overall presentation
Within doll photograph basics, I will talk about.
Within doll blogging, I will talk about.
Hope you all enjoy and see you next Friday! Feel free to ask questions with each post and I will try my best to keep up with responses.
-Rebecca
A Picnic in Paris
Now that Integrity Toys has announced their collections and all of our collector wallets are sad and limping, I thought it was time to return to Paris for some fun. If I was returning to Paris, Ms. Poppy was going to join me. This new “Ooh La La” Poppy Parker is my current muse and I am loving the giftset mix and match options.
You have to love rement!
-Rebecca
Ooh La La Indeed!!
The WClub Poppy Parker Exclusive arrived just after I returned from Barbiecon a few weeks ago. As with most conventions, I have spent the last couple of weeks going through my acquired treasures and getting over “The convention cold”. When you put around 1,000 people together in a ballroom for multiple events, and these same people get on average 4-5 hours of sleep a night…there is bound to be illness. So… now I am on the mend, I managed to snap some images of this new Poppy Parker and get them ready for the blog.
Ooh La La!
Poppy Parker™ Gift Set
The Bonbon Collection
2016 W Club Exclusive
Limited Edition Size: 1115
Doll Tech Specs:
Head Sculpt: Poppy Parker™
Body Type: Poppy Parker™
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: FR White
Hair Color: Platinum
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand Applied
This one comes to this collector WAY better than the promo shots promised. And the promo shots were pretty darn good. She is simply stunning! Love, Love, Love her.
Love the accessories with this giftset! Lot’s of mix and match options.
I recently had a new logo designed for my main photography business and wanted to try it out on some of the doll shots too. Not too bad 
Thank you Daniel at Photologo!!
For those of you awaiting the beginning of the series of posts on the blogging and doll photography presentation I did at Barbiecon…fear not. It should be up starting this Friday, August 19th. For those of you who did attend the class, the images in this post were taken using the “light bouncing” technique I talked about.
Elyse Likes A Party
Or at least she likes a party in Paris…but then who wouldn’t. I received this beautiful J’adore la Fête Elyse right before leaving for vacation and while I don’t advocate working while you go on vacation, I do have to say that my office view has improved with travel…this is what I am looking at while I write this post.
Now on to the doll photos. I borrowed netted fascinator from Blue Flame Vanessa.
She is a beauty! I love the dark locks and flame red lips on her. The jewelry is really stepped up and the presentation of this giftset in the red suitcase appeals to this collector in a big way. It’s just plain classy. I can’t wait to photograph this Elyse in the suit.
–Rebecca
Eden Wears It Better
No disrespect to the fine talents of Mr. Best and Mattel but…I think Eden from Integrity Toys wears this one better.
And yes people…this silkstone’s shoes will fit the Nu.Face model here….barely but it works. I am still trying to figure out if I like the swirl curl bang thing on her forehead. 
-Rebecca
Chinoiserie
Ok…so many of you readers realize I am a little obsessed with my new Jon Copeland-Childers Poppy Parker repaint right? Another thing I was recently obsessed with was this pink chinoiserie backdrop I did. The apple green eyes of this lovely model inspired this setting and the chance to use this amazing backdrop. Hope you enjoy!
Model: Lash Out Poppy Parker repainted by Jon Copeland-Childers
* Poppy Parker has been re-bodied on an FR2 “FR White” body*’
Gown: Joe Tai
Jewelry: Integrity Toys Rare Appearance Dania
Backdrop: Chinoiserie wrapping paper I found ages ago
Chaise Lounge: Petit Luxury Couch ( repainted in silver/gold)
Flooring: marble contact paper
miniatures: Rement
Miniature Maltese: AnnaRyasnova on Etsy
-Rebecca
A New Muse
Last week, Integrity Toys and David Buttry gave us an amazing Poppy Collection. In the same week I received, from SeloJSpa, my latest repaint from Jon Copeland-Childers. The second I opened this one up, I knew I was going to be obsessed for a while. Jon, I don’t know how you do it, but you continue to surprise, delight and amazing me. Since David Buttry left me dreaming of Poppy Parker in Paris, I simply couldn’t wait to take her there.
Model: Lash Out!, Poppy Parker repainted by Jon Copeland-Childers
* note* Poppy has been rebodied onto a FR2 FR white body
Gloves: Poppy Parker black gloved hands
Suit and purse: Fashions by Shane
Jewelry:Traveling Incognito Poppy Parker
Beret: Integrity Toys Monogram “Escapade”
Shoes: Idol Worship Kyori
Dog: Randall Craig poodle
The eyes in this image are almost reptilian. I took the shot and just went whoah…that’s a cover.
-Rebecca
Agnes at the Palazzo
For those of you following my Instagram, you have seen a little taste of this shoot. If you don’t follow, here is a little backstory. It all started with this amazing dress which I found on Etsy by the talented duo AquatalisBoutique . You may have seen some of their work over on Rogier’s Blog this week. It took a while for this gown to get to me because the first one was lost in the vast quagmire of postal services between Vietnam and my home. Aquatalis was great about it and after we waited a reasonable time without the dress showing up, they promptly made and mailed another one. Excellent customer service and kept me informed the whole time. When I saw this gown I immediately thought of Dolce & Gabbana and their 2012 and 2013 collections. Such vibrant color and opulence. I needed an appropriate backdrop. Nothing I had was doing it for me. So….time for a new one and I went to the Dutch still life masters to find inspiration. I had seen a wall covering recently that I was obsessed with and wanted to do something similar…this set was what came from all that brainstorming.
Inspiration room photo…
source: https://www.pinterest.com/explore/flower-mural/
The beginnings of a new background
The headdress is the necklace from Fiorella Silkstone Barbie. The flowers have been digitally altered to match the dress.
The detail on this dress is really something!
The minis in these shots are Orcara miniatures. These items are from their red wine set. Above are miniature paper sunflowers found at local craft store.
And the perfect photo to express the Agnes attitude.
-Rebecca
The Black and White Ball Gown
I had the hardest time coming up with a title for this post. Usually, something comes to me right away and that is what I go with. For these set of photos, nothing was jumping out at me so I asked myself “ What are these pictures about?”. The answer that came back to me was…the dress. These photos are primarily about this amazing black and white ball gown made by Eifeldolldress .
Model: Mood Changer Poppy Parker repainted and hair redone by Jon Copeland-Childers of SeloJSpa
Gown: Eifeldolldress
Necklace: made by me
Gloves: Integrity Toys
Portrait of a Lady
My husband, daughter and I recently traveled to NYC. We were there to see my daughter perform at Carnegie Hall. It was one of those epic moments for a parent and she had a solo (which she nailed!) in one of the pieces they played so it was a piece of cake with major frosting kind of afternoon. While in NYC, my husband and I were encouraged by a friend ( Thank you Hilda!) to visit the Frick Museum. What a joy that was! While there, we saw this amazing portrait and the moment I saw it, I had a picture idea pop into my head. A visit to their gift shop provided the supplies and this is the result.
Model: Rare Appearance Dania Zarr with gloved hands that came with her
Jewelry: Rare Appearance Dania Zarr
Suit: Integrity Toys “In Good Form” from 2007
Shoes: Cold Shoulder Eugenia
If you are ever in NYC and have an afternoon to see some lovely paintings housed in an amazing mansion, I highly recommend visiting The Frick Museum.
Classic Cocktail Dress Arrives
My trusted dealer Barb of Windy City Dolls sent one of these lovelies out as soon as she received them. She isn’t even up on the BC website yet. It looks like she will retail for $100.00
So what am I thinking?? Hmmmm. Well, I like the gown and the little pearl embellishments are delightful. Her face is sweet and I like the silvery lilac eye shadow. The lashes seem a bit spikey to me but not a huge problem. I love the little pearl drop earrings. The hair on mine was a bit of a fixer upper. The curls on top are soft so when you remove the hairnet, you will get some flyaway hair. Not super crisp curls but not a deal breaker in my opinion.
The dress is a strapless gown with a little crop top overlay that snaps in the back. She comes with a white slip underneath too. Considering the quality of some of the other outfits we have seen from BFMC lately, this one is pretty good. I mean we get earrings, pantyhose, a slip and a fairly well constructed dress. It’s up to you as collectors to decide if that is worth the price. I have to be honest and say, I am not a fan of this new body. The flexibility ( or lack thereof) in the wrist joint is a major problem. I do, however, love the elegant pose of the hand. I just wish it bent so I could comfortably put her hand on her waist. My other issue with this doll are the very flimsy shoes. The heal is very pliable so it bends under the weight of the doll when she is on her stand.
Is Miss Classic Cocktail Dress a keeper at ITFDS? Time will tell. I am anxious to see how she redresses then I will make my final decision.
-Rebecca
A Passion for Pink
This title should be a weekly entry at Inside the Fashion Doll Studio…maybe it will be now that I have said it. I recently discovered the beautiful work of Antonio Realli and was very pleased to add one of his recent collection pieces to my ever growing 1/6 clothing hoard.
For those diorama artists out there, the flooring I used in these shots is a new contact paper I used found here. I love that it is super shiny like real marble. Love the reflection it gives of the gown! We are finally starting to get some sunshine in the Pacific Northwest. The forecast for the next week is SUNNY!! I will be taking advantage and photographing many projects.
Some of you have already noticed that I have started an Instagram account ( see sidebar to the right just under archives). Feel free to follow me there for sneaks of upcoming items or additional photos of some behind the scenes stuff. It’s my goal to post something daily there. A goal….to be reached at some point in the future. 
-Rebecca
To The Manor Born
I never saw the BBC show of this name but am interested in the phrase. It is believed to be originally from Shakespeare’s Hamlet and the actual line is “To the manner born“. Language and time have morphed this line into today’s “to the manor born” which essentially means someone born into affluence. The well known phrase “being born with a silver spoon in your mouth” is another example of similar meaning. Now…why am I going into this? Excellent question. When I first saw promo photos of Black Tie Ball Vanessa, my first thought was “This is a party girl and she is inebriated.” She had the half-open eyes of someone who has imbibed just a bit too much. When I opened the box and saw her in real life, my opinion changed a bit. I still saw the party girl but I thought it would be fun to portray her as the trust fund baby party girl. I love the platinum tresses on this lady and while the sleepy eyes kind of bother me, it definitely set my imagination flying and produced some fun shots. I have nothing to complain about…oh…except perhaps the skirt on the dress she came in. It doesn’t hang right. The jewelry, shoes and top of the gown are all exceptional though. Photos of Miss BTB Vanessa in her original gown are on my Flickr page.
The gown in these shots is by Eifeldolldress. Love it!!
For those interested in the set for these shots, here is the info:
Champagne glasses are exquisitely delicate and in correct scale. They are from Facets by Marcia.
Champagne bottle…have absolutely no idea where I got this. Most likely from a Gloria furniture set.
Bombé chest is a repainted plastic jewelry chest. My friend and artist Carolyn Grentz did this for me.
Gold chairs were custom ordered from China. You can find more like them here. Frankly though, you should just get ahold of some Barbie Fan Club chairs from this year and spray paint them gold…it would be cheaper.
Floral arrangement: Made by me of various silk and fabric flowers.
And this little adorable Maltese!! I found her on Etsy.
-Rebecca
Paris Fashion Week
It sounds like collectors are finally receiving their classic black dress silkstones after ordering them back in February. I thought it was time to bring this lady out and showcase her in a setting that touches on what is going on currently in the fashion world…Paris Fashion Week. Hope you enjoy!
Model: Classic Black Dress Barbie® Doll
Dress: Bellissima Couture
Hat: Scrapbooking element from Joann’s Fabric
Jewelry: necklace made by me
Shoes: Mattel
Gloves: Have absolutely noooooo idea. I don’t think they are Mattel. They may have come with a DEA fashion. They fit this new articulated body very snuggly though.
Set: Ornate wall made by me, gold chairs obtained through special order, flooring is checkerboard contact paper.
-Rebecca
Love in Praga
This past year at The National Barbie Doll Collector Convention, the talented Magia2000 team of Mario Paglino and Gianni Grossi presented a collection that was very close to their hearts. They showcased a OOAK collection centered on the theme of love. A fitting theme as they announced at this event that they would be tying the knot themselves later that year. How special is that?!! There wasn’t a dry eye in the house after that announcement. With all of the love going on in that room, many collectors walked away with the right to purchase some of this stunningly beautiful collection. They used a new system of drawing numbers and when your number was drawn you could choose from what was left or decline to purchase. The people who had their numbers chosen early walked away with their first choice of the options. I was lucky enough to have my number chosen while one of my favorites was still up for purchase. Her name is “Love in Praga” which I understand to mean Love in Prague. I am honored and so very pleased to have this one of a kind creation in my collection and was so happy to participate in this celebration of love at the NBDCC in 2015.
To see more of the beauties Mario and Gianni designed for this past convention, feel free to visit the gallery at their site Magia2000.
-Rebecca
The Power of Pink!!
Actually, I wanted to title this blog post “The power of pink, a new frock and a little bit of sunshine” , but it would have been too long. When you live in the Pacific Northwest and it’s the dead of winter ( which means rain people…lots and lots of rain), if one ray of sunshine peaks out, you are grabbing your camera and saying “What can I take a photo of!!” Or maybe…that’s just me. Yes I am seeing someone about my random photo tendencies when in the presence of intermittent sunshine LOL!
So, recently I took ownership of this adorable little dress from Hilda of Bellissima Couture. To me this dress just makes me happy. It’s pink yumminess with a hat. Also, it gave me a chance to use a new model in the studio..Ms. IT Airways Poppy Parker. She came with a pair of hands with white gloves ( Thank you David!!) so I knew I had to use them in a photo. I know by reading the WClub boards that a number of people were less than pleased with how the hair came out for their Poppy’s. Mine was not the best when she arrived but a very thoughtful and gifted group of souls on the WClub talked some of us through what they did to fix their Poppy’s hair. It worked like a dream on mine. If you are a WClub member and want to see the tutorial, head over to the WClub forum and look under IT Airways Poppy. My “thanks” to the contributors!
She is a young Anna Wintour here. The hat did not come with the dress. It is a floral scrapbooking embellishment. The pink pearl necklace is one I made.
-Rebecca
Power House Ayumi
I just received the first of three of the 2015 revamped NuFace line that I ordered. All I can say is she is stunning! The facial screening is absolutely beautiful in my opinion.
The shoe strings were too short for me to tie into a bow so I ended up knotting them in the back and tucking the ends into the shoes. Not a bad fix. It will be a pain to untie and redress though. The jewelry is simple but sturdy and appropriate given the very clean chic lines of the outfit. Love the red, red lips and simple and elegant facial screening. The hair was really good when I deboxed but I wanted the bangs to lie closer to the head so I did end up pinning the end of the swoop of her bangs so It would lay closer to the head. Looking forward to redressing this beauty.
Agnes of the Jungle
I can’t take credit for this title…that goes to my husband Jon. He was my faithful reflector holder during this photo shoot and we both learned that a full size “human” reflector for these small shoots are super HOT! Had no idea how hot those things can get in full sun…to models all over the world…”I’m truly sorry you have to deal with this on a daily basis” So I re-dressed Ms. Agnes in uptown haute couture last time so I needed to go a different way. I went straight for the animal print and leather moto jacket. **It is important to note here that I had to undo the seam between the legs in the bodysuit top to get it to fit the FR2 body**
I dressed her in this outfit and all I could think of was a leopard laying on a tree branch. Once the vision is there, I was compelled to find myself a tree branch and drape her over it for this shot.
And since she is wearing animal print…had to do a Roberto Cavalli ad LOL!
** Note: No rhododendron bushes were hurt during the filming of this blog post. We may have inadvertently signaled a satellite in space with our reflector and for that we are truly sorry. **
Aristocratic Re-dress
Is it redress or re-dress?? Could not come up with a consensus so I just published anyway. This Agnes is stunning! The re-dressing ( again…not sure if I am using the right spelling) potential is high for this one. She can go casual chic or uptown haute couture very easily. She is very much the Baroness here. I need to get her a little 1/6 Louis Vuitton passport cover .
Aristocratic Agnes
I know I will get hate mail for this but Agnes is not my favorite face mold. When I saw the promo shots for this one, I was on the fence. I loved the dramatic eyebrows, almost platinum blond hair ( not mademoiselle Jolie platinum but close) and red, red lips so I decided to gamble and purchase. Result: gambled and won!!
I love the dramatic eyeliner.
Little Red Dress
My fabulous dealer Barb of Windy City Dolls sent this lovely lady to me last week and I finally had a moment to get her out of the box and in front of the camera. She does not disappoint. The fabric of the dress is nice and soft. Very feminine.
I had heard some concerns from other collectors regarding her hair. The promo shots showed an elaborate updo. The question was…how will this translate to actual production ? Will the hair look like the promo shot or will it be “one hot mess” when it arrives? I opened the box and am happy to report that the hair does in fact closely mimic the promo shot, or at least mine does. I also love the honey highlights in this hair.
And really the best side of this coiffure…
I am not going to lie, I had to make one little adjustment to the hair. One of the curls in the back was not as tight as it could have been and it stood up too high for me. I solved it with some hair gel and a pin. If I were braver, I would give her a little bit of a bang trim too. There are visible rubber bands in this coiffure …not a particular favorite of mine… but given the ornateness of the design, I am willing to live with it.
The grey eyes with a hint of yellow are fabulous! The smoky eye liner goes very well with the red lipstick, hat and gown. I ADORE the fact that there are earrings with this one. Perhaps the last set of earrings we will see on a Silkstone ( or so it would seem by the promo shots)
I am very pleased with this latest BFMC effort by Robert Best. I mean come on…how can I not love a Silkstone in a Dior inspired dress . Photos below are both 1950’s Dior dresses. 
source: http://hellomydearblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/j-dior.html
source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/110197522106507198/
-Rebecca
Poppy’s in Petal Dresses
As many of you know by now, I adore Hilda Westervelt of Bellissima Couture. Her work epitomizes what I love to collect. Her gentle spirit and friendship have been and will continue to be a treasure to this “sister friend”. This past December, Haute Doll Magazine approached a number of OOAK doll clothing makers to submit work for their Spring issue. As with all publication submissions, you never know which photos will be accepted for an issue. Here are some of the photos I shot for Hilda that did not make it into the issue. If you have not had a chance to check out Haute Doll’s spring issue, you should. There is a treasure house of OOAK doll clothing makers in it…including Ms. Hilda’s work.
Models: Especially For You Poppy Parker, Elegant Evening Poppy Parker, To The Fair Poppy Parker
Gowns: Belissima Couture
Love this “especially for you” Poppy! When I was setting up the shoot, I got carried away with all the shabby chic pinkness and it was too sweet. I had to throw this red lipped siren Poppy in black to cut the cotton candy in this shot. If she was the vixen of the piece…she could not be sipping tea. She needed a DRINK. You will notice that her glass is empty 
.
For more Haute Doll Magazine news, check out their Facebook page.
Celebrating Spring
I love Spring. In the Pacific Northwest, it means the birds start singing and the constant grey rain gives way to a few sunny days here and there. I have always thought of Spring as a beginning…and I am so ready for some new and wonderful beginnings.
My camellias are starting to bloom…
and so are my crocus.
Lilacs are starting to bud.
Forsythia is holding court in the garden. The first sentinel of Spring.
My dear friend Hilda of Bellissima Couture gifted this exquisite gown for me over a year ago and I wanted to share it. Not only is it exquisite in every way, it also incorporates some lovely lace found on our trip to Paris. It is simply too lovely for words. A treasure in my collection..and heart.
Inside the Fashion Doll Studio 
