NBDCC 2019- The OOAK Parties
Many collectors show up days in advance of the actual start of convention to take part in room shopping and to participate in the One of A Kind (OOAK) parties by various artists. There is a rich and varied pool of artists that repaint and redress Barbie in haute couture. It’s one of my favorite parts of convention to be honest and I was honored to be allowed to photograph many of the shows. I apologize in advance for the shows I did not cover…namely Ninimomo. There were simply not enough hours in the day and too many amazing artists to photograph. I encourage you to scrounge the internet to find images of Nick and Marie’s amazing creations. They are not to be missed.
I have put the full set of images on my Flickr ( you can find the link on my sidebar…too the right on your screen) I have included a few of my favorite shots here.
The collection was sublime as always. Such a pleasure to see and be able to photograph these lovely pieces of art.
This year the talented duo of Mario Paglino and Gianni Grossi payed tribute to the history of Barbie. They reimagined all the famous and popular looks of Barbie from her 1959 beginnings up through the current day. It was a thorough and imaginative collection with some truly stellar examples of couture Barbie.
Madame du Barbie interpretation
And the original…
Malibu Barbie interpretation
and the original…
Roman Holiday interpretation
and the original…
Every piece was a work of art!!! And lucky me…my number was chosen early and I got to come home with this lovely!!
Evening Splendor interpretation
and the original…
Another show that many collectors will show up early to ensure they won’t miss these works of art.
So many artist dolls to enjoy and photograph!! My cup runneth over 
Again, if you want to see the full set of images, head over to my flickr. All photos from the OOAK parties will be there by end of the day.
–Rebecca
Doll Photography and Blogging: The Set
This one is the fun one…or at least I think it is. It’s about the diorama photos and all those little details. If set building for a photo is not your thing…this might not be your favorite episode. For me, this is the joy of what I do…creating that story and scene. Hope you walk away with a new idea or way to make your photos or collecting more fun and meaningful.
Don’t forget to upgrade to hi-def and full screen in bottom right corner of video.
–Rebecca
Doll Photography and Blogging: Light
So I attempt to do every Friday but some days…it will be later. This weeks mini segment is about light and how important it is when taking an image. Hope you all enjoy! Don’t forget to click on the HD button in bottom right of video to get high quality video and use the other button in bottom right of screen to get full screen.
–Rebecca
The Elyse Chronicles: Red Sparrow
Ok…so I couldn’t just leave this Elyse with just a Barbie makeover shot. I also wanted to show her in a more sophisticated look than the white and black sundress she came in. I was having some difficulty coming up with a different look for her and received some inspiration from an unlikely place…the current book I was reading.
Model: Jason Wu 10th Anniversary Doll “Nordstrom Exclusive”
Dress, cape, shoes, jewelry: Star Power Vanessa by Integrity Toys
Hat: Dimitha
Muff: Bogue’s Vogues
–Rebecca
The Elyse Chronicles: The B Word
For this installment of the Elyse Chronicles and my homage to the 10th Anniversary Jason Wu dolls, I’m using the Nordstrom’s Elyse. This doll was an exclusive release from the upscale retailer Nordstrom.
Ok come on….when the first images of this doll were released…even though many of us are Integrity Toys collectors…we all thought it…Barbie.
She looks a whole like like Miss Babs with the hairstyle and bright red lips, nails and toes. Given that, I just had to do this next set of photos. I just had to.
–Rebecca
The Elyse Chronicles: La Vie en Rose
The first doll released from the Jason Wu 10th Anniversary collection was the La Vie en Bleu Elyse. The option to purchase her was given to each 2016 Integrity Toys Convention attendee.
So in keeping with the theme I started, since she came to us originally in an evening look, I thought to put her in a daywear look. I looked no further than a new uber chic suit I received from Etsy designer and seller HoangAnhKhoi.
And what blog post called “La Vie en Rose” could not include a link to this…
Champagne anyone?
Hello all!! It seems like a year since my last blog post and in reality…it has been almost 2 months! Yikes. First and foremost, I need to send out a belated and public “Thank You!!” to my dear friend and fellow blogger Rogier from Dutch Fashion Doll World for taking over my blog and doing a wonderful job reporting for me while I was at the National Barbie Doll Collector Convention in Houston. I hope you all enjoyed the posts and images.
A little bit of an explanation for my absence. In the months preceding NBDCC, I am typically hyper busy producing miniatures to sell in the convention sales room. This year, I started extra early and produced about twice the amount I normally do thinking I would have a bunch left over afterwards so that I would have plenty to sell at Integrity Toys convention. The good part…I sold a LOT more than I expected to at Barbiecon…The bad part…I have had to turn around and start producing again for Integrity Toys. This has meant little to no time for blogging or photography. Sorry folks. Best laid plans and all that went out the window…but it was for a good reason. I am more pleased than I can say that my minis appeal to you guys. Thank you for your support. If I ever have a spare week free..I will set up my etsy site to sell to all. So far…not happening. Perhaps after IT convention. Fingers crossed.
Today, being a day of rest, I chose to have some fun with my camera and my relatively new “First Taste of Champagne” Poppy Parker came to mind. Hope you enjoy!
Model and earrings: First Taste of Champagne Poppy Parker
Outfit: Spotlight on Broadway Barbie ( NBDCC 2015 Convention doll)
Models: First Taste of Champagne Poppy Parker and Baby It’s You Chip
Gown on Poppy: Rimdoll
Glorious Piano!!: Grand Pianist by Sega Toys
I have been wanting to get one of these pianos for AGES!! I finally found one used for a price that didn’t require a kidney. It actually plays people!!
Future reports may be sporadic as I get ready for IT convention in October. 
Reign of the Redheads
I have a special affinity for redheads. I have always been drawn to the vibrant hair color and often, this hair hue is what I gravitate to when I want a model for a dramatic shot. Red hair and freckles run in my family of origin and while I was not lucky enough to get the red hair ( the freckles…I did get) I was thrilled that my son was born with strawberry blond hair. So…in honor of those redheads, I did this shoot. The exquisite gowns are a recent acquisition from the talented Rimdoll on Etsy.
Models: (from left to right) 2016 Japan Barbie Convention doll, Black and White Tweed Suit Silkstone Barbie and 2016 Paris Fashion Doll Festival Barbie
Gowns: Rimdoll on Etsy
Still not a fan of the articulated bodies on these silkstone Barbies. It is very limited articulation and it irks me that you cant bend the hand at wrist joint to put it fully on the dolls hip.
Love this elegant Black and White Tweed Suit Silkstone’s facial screening though.
Gorgeous blending of hair colors on this Japan convention exclusive
This vibrant red hair color is my absolute favorite…especially when it’s paired with a green eye. Yummy!
And these gowns were so perfect in these fabulous pastel shades. Adore.
-Rebecca
Timeless Show Eden
I decided to pair up a favorite new outfit and a “holy grail” Eden. I don’t pull this doll out as often as I should.
Model: Style Mantra Eden by Integrity Toys
Dress, socks, shoes. purse and hat: Timeless Show by Lovetones
Set: Cargo Culinary Containers and Miniature Wood Pallet Drink Coasters
-Rebecca
Riviera Drama Revealed!!
Back in February, one of the WClub membership dolls was revealed in sketch form. Yesterday, her promo shots were revealed and it had many WClub members clapping their hands with joy. You can read about the how this doll came to be here. It’s an interesting way to decide on a club doll. This doll was only available to WClub 2017 members as an optional upgrade with their membership purchase.
Riviera Drama
Agnes Von Weiss™ Dressed Doll
The Fashion Royalty® Collection
2017 W Club Upgrade Doll
Approximate Ship Date: Summer 2017
Edition Size: TBA (Determined by the total amount of orders received)
Doll Tech Specs:
Head Sculpt: Agnes Von Weiss
Hair Color: Raven (Black)
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-Applied
Body Type: FR 6.0
Foot Sculpt: High-heeled / Traditional
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: Cream
And here she is!
I am feeling an Elie Saab vibe here…the picture below is from his 2017 Resort collection. The fact that he used wedge shoes also with this look makes me think this was one of the inspirations for this look.
So…how do I feel about this reveal? I love the facial screening! Green eyes on a pale skinned raven Agnes…yummm! Also kind of happy they went with the nude lip. It feels very on trend for right now. This also makes her infinitely more re-dressable. I am thrilled that the jumpsuit isn’t black. I think jewel tones definitely fit with the “Riviera” theme. I adore the jewelry! What concerns me is the fabric shown. I don’t know if it flows like the original design does. It looks kind of stiff to me but then…that could just be the image and how the model is posed. Also…what is with this purse? Did they want to go for Christmas colors? I don’t think I would have chosen red. I may be in a minority here but I like the wedge shoes. It’s more casual and we don’t have shoes like this so if I want to dress this outfit up, I can certainly find a pair of black strappy sandals in my IT box. Also, I am hoping the hair isn’t too “crunchy” as in…stiff. It looks like it might be though. It does help with those annoying flyaways that I end up editing out in PS later anyway 
-Rebecca
Mademoiselle Papillon Rouge
Giselle has been restyled as Miss Red Butterfly for today’s blog post. I have been inspired by some beautiful images coming from Dior’s Spring Couture collection and the new captain at it’s helm Maria Grazia Chiuri (formerly of Valentino). She had unicorn’s lining the walk into the collection venue! Ok, Ok, they were not real unicorns but still….very whimsical. She had a park like setting and I supposed that has helped influence the backdrop for this shoot as well.
Model: Integrity Toys AKA Gigi Giselle
Dress: Rimdoll
Hat: Integrity Toys “Love The One” Kyori Sato ( I embellished with flower and butterfly)
Gloved hands: Integrity Toys “Royal Treatment” Véronique giftset
Earrings: Integrity Toys “Admiration” Monogram
Purse: Bogue’s Vogues
-Rebecca
A Spring Fling
Reluctant to tear down the set from the previous shoot, I decided to give Miss Tullabelle a chance to model. I just had to show off this amazing head of delicious golden curls. I also received this exquisite Matisse creation by Brenda Visaya and had to use it. It’s funny because I took the photos of Tullabelle posing up against the white arbor I had created. When I looked at the images in post processing…she just seemed too refined. I wasn’t completely happy with them which was a complete shock for me because that is the look I normally go for when editing photos. I woke up the next morning and did a few more shots showing a more flirtatious Tullabelle and in the end…these are the shots I am most happy with. Go figure 
Model: Integrity Toys “You Better Werk” Tullabelle
Dress and gloves: Brenda Visaya – Matisse on Etsy
Hat: Rogier Corbeau of Dutch Fashion Doll World
Shoes: Integrity Toys “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” Eden
-Rebecca
A Bridal Still Life
I am continually inspired by miniature couture. In particular, I adore any and all images that come out of Le Petit Théâtre from Dior.
I love how they use real size items with miniatures. I had a free day in the studio…almost unheard of these days…so I thought I would try my hand at something like this. I decided to use my most recent bridal shoot as inspiration. For those of you following my instagram story…you got to see a little taste of the shoot. But…as most things go in the studio, you saw the prelim shots and not the final part of what I actually used in the processed images.
I have to give a shout out to my dear friend Rogier Corbeau of Dutch Fashion Doll World who did some additional art direction on this shoot. Your vision is always valued and appreciated my friend.
And…a chance to bring out the pearls! 
It’s always a treat to use my Laduree boxes.
But let’s face it…this entire shoot was all about this fabulous dress from Rimdoll on Etsy. 
For those of you interested in the set up for this shoot, it was all done in natural light with one reflector. Be prepared people when using natural light to be waiting half the day for optimal lighting. Since I always love to see behind the scenes from others, I will share a behind the scenes shot here of the set up. Yes…I have a flash in the picture below but I didn’t end up using it.
-Rebecca
A Spring Bride
I have been inspired by some of the free flowing fashions I have seen in the past week from Coachella so I decided to dress my new Giselle in a fashion I received this past week from Rimdoll. I have also been wanting too use these adorable paper roses hued in yellow and pink. I needed the right outfit to showcase them and this glorious gown from Rimdoll was just the thing. It is all that and a bag of chips people! Spring floral romantic with a little bit of edginess in there too.
Mode: NuFace Aka Gigi Giselle
Gown: Rimdoll on Etsy
floral crown and bouquet: Made by me of flowers found on Ebay
Earrings: Mattel
Garden Bench: Found it at Michael’s about 3 years ago.
I absolutely LOVE the facial screening on this Giselle. Very soft and romantic.
-Rebecca
A Little Glamour
Or a lot of glamour depending on your definition. I received a treasure trove of new outfits from the talented designer Hoang Anh Khoi on Etsy. I showcased one of them in a recent blog post with NuFace Totally Betty Ayumi. Today, a favorite FR2 Elise is wearing the fashion. The day before yesterday, I gave a sneak peak of my mood board for this shoot.
I also shared a couple of images along the way in this shoot on my Instagram story. If you are interested in seeing some of the process as I shoot these, feel free to sign up for my Instagram feed. The link for this is to the right on the sidebar of this page.
Model: FR2 Midnight Star Elise by Integrity Toys
Dress: Hoang Anh Khoi on Etsy
Fur: Dimitha on Ebay
Shoes: FR2
Hat: Bogue’s Vogues on Etsy
Gloves: Mattel
Purse: Lovetones Bonjour Baby Lena
Set: Clock was purchased from little gift shop on Rue du Rivoli in Paris. Bombe chest was a repaint by friend and artist Carolyn Grentz.
-Rebecca
The Millennial Chanel
Many fashion collections are targeting the rich pocket of the Millennial generation right now. I was interested in styling one of the most recent NuFace girls to embody that plus stay true to the original theme of IT and Jessy Ayala’s Reckless collection…the movie “Clueless”. It all started with this fabulous jacket from the Etsy shop ElenPriv. It continued with the amazing necklace from Etsy shop IsabelleParisJewels. The rest just came into place after that.
Model, earrings, hat and gloved hands: NuFace AKA Gigi Giselle
Top: NuFace She Owns Everything Erin
Skirt: NuFace Up All Night Lilith
Shoes, bag: NuFace Touble Eden
Stockings: NuFace Total Betty Ayumi
Necklace: IsabelleParisJewels on Etsy
-Rebecca
A Class Act
After a week of driving 20 hours down to Anaheim California and then doing the drive back…in a 26 foot truck full of luggage and orchestra instruments…I am ready for some play time. Lesson learned in the past week? Don’t ever underestimate Mother Nature in the mountains. You may think it’s too late to snow…but you would be wrong. I know we were. 
Before I left on the big journey, I had an opportunity to photograph something yummy and I am anxious to share. Given that IT is giving us 1950’s glamour in a few short months, I anticipated just a bit with this one. Hope you enjoy!
Model: OOAK Rim Doll repaint and restyle of Lovetones Hello Honey
Suit: Bellissima Couture
Faux Fur Stole: Lovetones Timeless Show Roxy Fashion Set
Shoes: Integrity Toys
Hat: Rogier Corbeau of Dutch Fashion Doll World
Jewelry: Mattel
Screen: Custom Dollhouse on Etsy
Planter: Local plant store and boxwood topiary is from Joss & Main.
The gorgeous ornate wall in the background was photoshopped in so..sorry but it doesn’t exist outside of Photoshop at this time.
-Rebecca
A Romantic Era Concludes
All good things must come to an end. Or…in my case…all sunny days in the garden eventually give way to rain. I managed to get three separate photo shoots completed before the rain started so I am happy with that. For the last installment of this romantic garden series I paired a favorite embroidered sheath from Bellissima Couture and a yummier than yummy coat from Lovetones. The hat is a story. It originally came from Bogue’s Vogues and I have to admit…I got creative with the Russian netting on this one. Hope you all enjoy.
Model: Lovtones Romantic Era Roxy
Dress: Bellissima Couture
Coat : Lovetones Timeless Show Roxy
Hat: Bogues vogues
Shoes: Lovetones Romantic Era Roxy
Purse: Integrity Toys AKA Gigi Giselle
Accessories: the box, macaron and bag were all done by me. The boxwood trees in planters were from Pier One. The bench was found on Ebay.
-Rebecca
A Romantic Era Continues
So I am continuing the photo series with Romantic Era Roxy from Lovetones. In this next series of photos from the garden I have capture Roxy in a stunning gown From Natalia. Beautifully designed and constructed.
Model: Lovetones Romantic Era Roxy
Gown: Natalia 2010 Chizhik on Ebay also on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/85292334@N02/with/30684365700/
Jewelry: Isabelle from IsabelleParisJewels on Etsy
I restyled the hair of the doll for this shot.
-Rebecca
A Romantic Era Begins
As we turn the corner into spring, I am in the mood for soft hazy imagery, pastels and florals. A sunny day in the garden ( an absolute surprise in the Pacific Northwest in spring) led me to bring out a new line of 1/6 fashion dolls I have been intrigued by since their debut.
Her name is “Romantic Era Roxy” and she was the prefect model for the next set of images I will be sharing on the blog this week. Are we ready for some soft images to take us through the gloom of early Spring? I know I am!
More images from the garden coming up this week 
-Rebecca
Ayumi is a Total Betty
The actual name for this doll is Totally Betty Ayumi. If you have never watched the movie Clueless you may have missed the meaning of the reference. Per the Online Slang Dictionary, the definition of Betty is
noun
-
an attractive female; "hottie".
Oddly enough, the citation for this definition is the movie Clueless. Well..whether or not the movie coined this term and it’s meaning, this Ayumi is definitely a stunner. The outfit she came in was perfect for the urban and hip look. My collection runs more towards the elegant and sophisticated so I wanted to transform this current Ayumi with an outfit I had recently received. I suspected she would fit into “elegant and sophisticated” without a problem….and I was right. This also gave me a chance to use one of the amazing screens I recently picked up on Etsy.
Model and jewelry: Totally Betty Ayumi
Shoes: FR2 shoe pack
Suit and faux fur: HOANG ANH KHOI on Etsy
Screen: Customdollhouse on Etsy
Tulips: Available soon at ITFDS
I absolutely adore the soft facial screening on her!! A number of collectors have said she bears a striking resemblance to Chrissy Teigan. I can totally see that!
-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
Inside the Fashion Doll Studio 