Registration is open for the Wilde Imagination convention!

Got anything going on in October? It looks like holiday-themed conventions are totally in style this year! According to the following email from Wilde Imagination, you can register now for:

"All Our Wilde Holidays"
Wilde Imagination Convention
October 3-5, 2014

Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown
600 Commonwealth Place
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
412-391-4600

Spend the holidays with Wilde Imagination!  We'll celebrate them all, and in spectacular fashion.  Spreading the holiday cheer, we'll trick or treat under the mistletoe as we ring in the New Year, lead by our Enchantress of Ennui, our Mistress of Melancholy:  Miss Ellowyne Wilde, the bright and shining star of our souvenir banquet.  There will be a jolly good sales room, spook-tacular raffles, reindeer games and more at this celebration to end all celebrations.  Spend the holidays with your family:

Wilde Imagination! 

Register now!
Limited to 250 Party Goers
Cost $349 per person
A non-refundable deposit of $100 will hold your spot

www.regonline.com/wildeholidays

Special rate for hotel rooms is $159 -- mention the Wilde Imagination convention, or click here to book online.

Tonner Doll's It's About Time Convention Recap

Victorian Ice Cream Social Jon

Victorian Ice Cream Social Cami

Victorian Ice Cream Social Matt

These three dolls made up the Victorian Ice cream social centerpiece.

Cinderella centerpiece from the Once Upon A Time breakfast LE150 Kay head sculpt

Lady Action Centerpiece - LE250 - this looks like a Tyler 2.0 face to me.

Victorian Basic - Cami head sculpt

Banquet centerpiece - Milady LE100 - American Model with inset eyes

NY Times Centerpiece - 15th Anniversary Tyler LE300 - Tyler 1.0 on the Chic Body

Renaissance souvenir - Lady Arabella Bertran LE300 (Deja Vu)

Some news:

I'm not sure if this is from the convention, but directly from Tonner's Facebook page:

In case you missed it, some incredible news about Tonner Doll and The Wizard of Oz!

The Leading Ladies of The Wizard of Oz are transforming the Yellow Brick Road into a fashion runway! High-end fashion and costume designers have partnered with Warner Bros. and Tonner Doll to create one-of-a-kind creations inspired by Dorothy, Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West.

The dolls will be available for auction on eBay – with ALL proceeds benefiting Habitat for Humanity! Learn more about the collection here:http://www.thewizardofozblog.com/ #WizardofOz75

The Anniversary Tyler doll was released with a new body called the Chic body. You can see some improvements on Tonner's Facebook page here, and I don't believe you have to have an account on Facebook just to see the photos. (If you have problems viewing the link, leave me a note in the comments section.) I'm really excited about any body change, actually. I'm hoping this means Tyler's knees will be like Antoinette's now--it seems it might be!

There was also an event launching a brand new collection inspired by Carmen Dell'Orfice. There are some amazing photos on Tonner's blog, taken by Ernesto Padro-Campos on there that I just couldn't copy to my blog, so please check them out here. I believe the first doll was available as a centerpiece LE200, and she is gorgeous.

Photos property of Tonner Doll Company.

Dragon lovers unite! St Louis convention BJD prototype is unveiled!

Spark the Wyvern 

The St. Louis Convention BJD exclusive prototype has been posted on the website - and is now available as a preorder as part of their Kickstarter package. Don't miss out on this wonderful, adorable doll. You can preorder him with your registration at just the $200 level.

According to designer Sarah Seiter, "He may be available in a few different resin colors. I am considering blue, pink, and green."

Don't delay, though--you can get lots of goodies through this Kickstarter program, now. It's a great deal, both for you and the convention planners. And it ends soon--August 31, 2012. Only a couple more days!

Photos property of Sarah Seiter.

Miniature books - an easy & inexpensive project

These little books are so easy, quick & inexpensive that you’ll probably end up with stacks of them all around your house after this! I like making them as table gifts at doll conventions because you can customize them with each of your tablemates’ favorite book titles!

The size & shape of the wood pieces will determine the type of book (novel, textbook, coffee-table book) and scale (12” doll, 16” doll, etc.).

Materials:

• Pre-cut wooden rectangles or squares (about $3 for a bag of 130)
• Tacky glue or hot glue gun
• White acrylic craft paint (often on sale for less than $1)
• Scraps of leather or vinyl (about $6 for a package that will make several books – or cut up an old purse!)
• Ultra fine-tip Sharpie (about $1-2)

Wilde Weekend - Registration begins tomorrow!

While there isn't a Tonner Halloween convention scheduled this year, you can save the date for the following event:

A Wilde Weekend
Secret Garden
October 5-7, 2012
Seelbach Hilton Hotel
Louisville, KY

Registration starts tomorrow, June 6, 2012, via this link, and is limited to 200 guests. The cost is $349, and includes and Ellowyne souvenir doll. Additional activities are also planned, which will include Amelia Thimble, Evangeline Ghastly, and Imperium Park's Thea and Phin.

Notes about the Seelbach Hilton: This is where Tom and Daisy Buchanan had their wedding reception in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. The hotel appears on the National Register of Hisotical Places, and is rated as a 4-diamond luxury hotel. Room rates are $149 per night when you mention 'Wilde' while making your reservations.

Back from my first Tonner Convention

The Parrot - Antoinette sculpt, LE 100, Flights of Fancy centerpiece - so gorgeous!

I'm back from my first Tonner Convention - and I really had a blast! I'm exhausted, and ended up shipping some dolls home, which will be here Friday. I do have some to shoot, which I plan to do today, and a lot of blogging to catch up on, and more will follow.

For now, please check out some (really lame, I'm so sorry!) photos on Flickr from the convention. I can say I am really thrilled about the convention dolls. And I have to say--I really am most surprised and delighted about the new Marilyn Monroe doll. I think she is gorgeous--the photos I've seen of her so far really don't do her justice, and I can't wait to see her more.

We saw an amazing presentation of her--so much I didn't know!--including that this "curvy" lady was 5 feet and 5.5" tall, and 140 pounds at her heaviest. To me, that's not very curvy! And certainly not today's size 14. At any rate, her usual weight was 117 pounds.

At any rate--lots more to come!

In loving memory of Melissa Windham

Photo property of Magia 2000

In the latest newsletter from Magia 2000, a photo of a charity auction doll from the Grant A Wish convention (this year in Detroit) was released.

In honor of Melissa Windham and the help of her husband Joe, the designers used Melissa's fabric for this tribute doll. The doll will be available for auction this weekend at GAW.

First ever JAMIEshow Convention!

JAMIEshow Premiere Convention
"Prohibition"
September 28-30, 2012
The Firehouse
Canandaigua, NY

This sounds like a really fabulous event for fashion doll and resin fashion BJD collectors alike. Registration is $475 and includes convention doll, events and workshops. Check out the website to register today (deadline and payment must be received by May 31, 2012).

Events include an opening breakfast, three workshops (photography by George G, repainting eyes and lips by PegFamousGirls, and styling doll wigs and hair by Michael Scott), all-day VIP shopping at Angelic Dreamz, a Sonnenberg Gardens cocktail reception (on the veranda of the mansion!), a trip to the Strong Museum of Art & Toy Hall of Fame, a Speakeasy costume event, and a closing brunch.

A special convention rate at The Inna on the Lake has been arranged (between $134-204 per night), including rooms, suites, and jacuzzi suites (!!!). Plus, there are lots of bed and breakfasts and hotels in Canandaigua. The closest airport is Rochester International.

I'm trying to figure out how I might be able to talk my husband into attending!

IT Jet Set Convention Dolls on eBay

This was my first year attending an Integrity Toys convention. It won't be my last. The folks at Integrity Toys do a fantastic job of running a convention as well as providing great free swag and other things that are not so free. The latter is the reason for this post. My dear hubby caught a glimpse of my credit card statement on line. Oops! So, I'm listing dolls that while I just have to have them, I won't die if they find their way to another home. I'm also going through the other dolls that I've purchased over time doing the same. You see, in addition to the bill paying factor, I've decided that Poppy Parker is my one true love when it comes to Integrity dolls and don't you know that I did not win the right to purchase the Ready Steady Go Poppy centerpiece at the Poppy Parker luncheon. So, money to pay bills and money to buy Poppy. It never ends.

Please check out my eBay listings. I might be selling something that you just have to have!

I Survived Comic Con 2011

Comic Con 2011 ended on Sunday. A good time was had by all, including Integrity Toy's Endless Summer Poppy Parker and Tonner Doll's Captain Jack Harkness. Poppy had a fantastic time on her first trip to Comic Con. She attended panels to hear about her favorite shows and see her favorite actors, she cruised the Exhibition Hall looking for exclusives that she knew she couldn't live without, and she participated in that time honored tradition of waiting in line for what seemed like eons. Here Poppy poses with her iconic Comic Con/Warner Bros. swag bag that she acquired from a Comic Con exclusive Gizmo gremlin and her DeadFast swag that she acquired from Comic Con exclusive Ghoulia Yelps.


Captain Jack Harkness only attended the convention on Friday as he wanted to see his own panel, Torchwood. He felt that one day of standing in line was all he needed. He was extremely pleased to see that other attendees liked to dress up like him.

Please visit my flickr to see all my photos from 2011 SDCC (Comic Con).

2011 IFDC : It's Over Already?

Melissa trying to win a prize

I can't believe that the International Fashion Doll Convention (IFDC) for 2011 is already over. It seems like it takes forever to get here and then in the blink of an eye it's over. My voice, though, is glad. A friend called today and wondered if I was sick because my voice croaked on every third word. I suppose it serves me right though. I scared the "you-know-what" out of our friend and fellow contributor Melissa by yelling encouragement very loudly as she was playing the slots during the slot tournament. I had fun.

Poppy and her new hatbox

First there were the workshops and seminars. The workshops are classes in which attendees learn to make something doll-related and then take it home. Seminars are opportunities to gather information of a doll-related nature. This year I signed up for seven workshops and seminars! I made luggage for my Poppy in both of Durelle Brown's luggage workshops, I made shoes for Poppy in Rob Thompson's shoe workshop, and I created a landscape painting in Jim Faraone's creative painting class. These are all things I never thought I could do, but the instructors were excellent. They provided clear, and humorous, instructions which even I could follow.

Jet Set Integrity Toys convention registration is open!

Save the date, and register now for the Integrity Toys Jet Set convention:

October 6-8, 2011

Schaumburg, Illinois

Jet Set:

10 Years of Fashion Royalty 

According to the online brochure, this year's event features:

• Good food at the Schaumburg Renaissance Hotel (three dinners and a luncgh)
• Competitions in doll designs and diorama
• Treasure hunt
• Revamped Dynamite Girls Design-A-Doll studio
• Lots of exciting workshops for guests who register before June 10
• Registration packages released by the end of May
• Convention bulletin board
• Installment plan for registration payment (divided into three payments, no extra fees)
• Gifts, goodies, convention dolls and extra surprises
• Souvenir Shop featuring IT Direct dolls that will debut at the convention--available first to convention attendees

If you choose to stay at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel, convention costs are $380. If you don't stay at the hotel, convention costs are $450.

As per previous years, absentee packages are not available. This year, the attendance age has been dropped to 10 years and older, and limited to 450 registrants. It sure sounds fun!

You can download the PDF registration information here, or click here to read the news from Integrity's website.

QR Code hunt at the Tonner Collector's Convention

Ask: Response in Yellow, by Fluevog.

Have you heard of QR Codes? You see them lots of places... mostly as advertising, I have to admit, in magazines, printed advertising, and on this gorgeous pair of clogs by John Fluevog. (Fluevog day is May 15, by the way!)

You can download a QR Code reader--for free--for your smart phone. It scans in the code, and sends you off to the company's website for more information. Try it out on my shoes above, if you like.

In any case, Tonner Convention attendees will be doing a QR Code scavenger hunt this year, and online attendees will have the opportunity to do one online as well. What do you think of that? You can read about it, and the first comment about the contest, on Tonner's blog.

Suffice it to say, I already have one of these readers on my iPhone, since I had to know what the heck the code linked to on my shoe. If you're curious, it links to the YouTube video of the manufacturing process of the shoe, which is also featured on the shopping link on the website, right here. The shoes are fabulously comfortable, especially for a wooden clog. I love my 'Vogs--about as much as dolls, in fact. I collect them, and wear them almost daily.

Sybarites to Show at IFDC

Good news Sybarites fans! You won't have to travel very far to see your fashion doll of choice this year. Jim Faraone announced to the IFDC YahooGroup this past week that Desmond of Superfrock will attend IFDC (International Fashion Doll Convention) this July. Attendees will definitely get to see the new line up close, but it is not yet known at this time if any Sybarite dealers will be selling at the convention.

The IFDC is held annually in Las Vegas, NV. This year it runs from July 6th through July 9th, 2011. Registration information can be found by clicking here. Also, if you'd like to catch up on all the news regarding this year's IFDC, sign up for the IFDCinfo YahooGroup by clicking here.

Exciting Goodreau Doll update!

Modern Doll Souvenir Doll
Photo property of Goodreau Dolls, LLC.

I found this probably older announcement on the AmericanBJD Yahoo group message board this morning, from Paulette Goodreau, regarding Goodreau Dolls:

We have decided to end all manufacturing under the label of Goodreau Doll, and move it to our new company. I will head the design team in the new company, but there will be other designers. If you would like a Goodreau Doll, designed by me, they are still available on www.goodreaudollstore.com also at a few of our retailers. We received our last resin shipment this month, and our last doll will be the banquet doll at Modern Doll collectors convention in San Antonio fall 2011. You can witness the birth of the next generation of dolls in July 2011, as we debut our first line from our new company!! 

Also, please save the date: September 14-17, 2011. You'll want to attend the Modern Doll Collectors Convention in San Antonio Texas. Registration is open, and costs $295, which includes the souvenir doll, the last doll created by Goodreau Dolls. She looks gorgeous! Unfortunately, no absentee packages are available for this event.

Additionally, all convention registrants (who register before July 1, 2011) will be entered into a drawing for the last 25" resin BJD Aimee doll, donated by Goodreau Dolls. The drawing will be held at the Saturday night banquet at the convention.

That alone makes me want to attend!

Save the date - August 24-28, 2011

It's the first ball-jointed doll convention on the east coast, and it will be held in Timonium, MD (North Baltimore). The BWI airport is conveniently located from there, about 30 minutes away.

When:   August 24-28, 2011
Where:  Timonium Crowne Plaza
Cost:     $155

Registration includes Wednesday dinner, Friday luncheon, and Saturday banquet, demonstrations, programs and special exhibits, fabulous sales room and much temptation. The room rate is $102 per night, if you book by July 23.

All ball-jointed dolls are welcome to this convention!

Optional events will be announced in March and include workshops, additional meals, souvenirs and field trips.

Registration is open now. You can register online here.

BJD Convention update!

Click to enlarge.

It was a blast, and I'll have photos up soon.

Just as a teaser here with the first place winner (Gale) with Duncan Idaho (I hope! Please forgive me--it's been years since I've watched that movie!) of Dune. He was just amazing--as were so many of the other entries.

I'll hopefully be able to edit the rest of my photos today. We had a blast!

BJD Convention TODAY in San Diego!

The San Diego BJD Convention is today, from 10 AM to 5 PM in the Starboard room at the Marina Village, 1936 Quivira Way, 92109. The theme: Amazon Women on the Moon!

Plus: Bring a guest to the convention for free! Each paid entrance can bring one guest. Cost is $25 at the door. For more information, including a schedule, the list of which dealers and vendors will be attending, and other announcements (such as when the costume contest will be held), visit the website.

I'll be there, dressed in a blue Star Trek uniform, and my hair is pink and blue. Say hello if you see me!

IDEX Online Registration Open

Next year marks the 20th anniversary of IDEX and they're celebrating with the theme "20 Years of Friendship".   It will be held at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida from January 27 - 30, 2011. Some of the exhibitors expected to attend include Tonner Doll Company, Alexander Doll Co., Inc., Lasher Studios, Berdine Creedy Originals, Inc., and Maggie Iacono. Additionally, the 5th Annual Debut of Dolls/DOTY and the 2nd Annual BJD Mixer and Meet-Up will be held at IDEX.  Each of those events incur a separate fee.

For more information or to register visit Twenty Years of IDEX.

2011 San Diego Comic Con Registration

Online registration for the 2011 San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) opens Monday, November 1st, at 9 am pacific time. Both four day and one day memberships will be available. All four day memberships with preview night are already sold out. Kids 11 and under are admitted free with paying adult.

Why attend Comic Con? Besides being a lot of fun, it's amazing the number of doll and doll-related vendors that are in attendance in the Exhibition Hall. This past year Mattel provided a sneak preview of five different collector Barbies from the 2011 line in addition to selling an exclusive color variant of Frankie Stein from their new Monster High play line. Jun Planning USA had a booth where they were selling their Comic Con exclusive Vampire Byul Lilith in addition to all of their regular line dolls at show special prices. Hobby Link Japan sold out of their Re-Ment stock on the first night. A local vendor was selling Jun Planning's J-Doll at incredibly low prices. Those are just a few examples.

Don't wait too long to purchase your membership. Each year "the Con" sells out earlier and earlier. The 2011 SDCC runs from July 21st to July 24th. I hope to see you there!