Yay! My first Q and A! Ashley from Confessions Of A Doll Collector's Daughter kindly volounteered to be a post on my first Q and A. I asked her some questions, and she replied with amazing answers! So here's her Q and A:
What's your favourite thing about doll collecting?
Answer: My favorite thing about collecting has to be playing with my dolls, which in my case involves photographing them! Doll photography is something I fell into through online forums and have really only been doing for 7 years now. It's definitely made me appreciate my collection in a whole different light. Customizing Pullips and Hujoo's has also become a fun way for me to 'play' with my collection. I'm no artist, but I think my customs have turned out cute so far!
What's your favourite doll line (and or) brand?
Answer: It's so hard to choose a favorite doll line-- there are so many I love! I collect Barbie's Little Sister Skipper, so it's safe to say she's my favorite fashion doll line. (Chinese Fashion Doll Kurhn is a close second!) My favorite BJD company is Luts. Their creations are gorgeous (but expensive)! And my favorite 18" doll lines are A Girl for All Time and Maru and Friends. Both are so well crafted, it's hard to choose which I prefer.
If you could be a doll for a day, which one?
Answer: Jem from Jem and the Holograms. Living a life of glamor and glitter, fashion and fame? I'll take it for a day! (Plus, I would love to be able to sing well. Not one of my strong suits!) In the same respect, I would probably want to be Barbie from Barbie and the Sensations one day, too. The 1950's setting would be fun to play in and I would love not having to have a 'reason' to wear a poodle skirt!
What's your favourite doll in your collection?
Answer: I have so many 'sub collections' in my doll collection that this question is really hard to answer. My most unique doll in my collection is probably my Japanese Skipper. She was only released in Japan and has very different eyes from the original 1964 Skipper. My Madame Alexander Victoria is a favorite of mine, too, for more personal reasons. My mom gave her to me when my brother was born. My mom had received one as a child when her brother (my uncle) was born and decided to keep the tradition alive through me and other little ones in our family. I look forward to the day I can give my future children a Victoria of their own. And then, there's my Big Chief 11th Doctor figure, my first foray into 'action figure' dolls. I have never once regretted my impulsive decision to pre-order him. He's a standout piece, as well. He looks amazingly like Matt Smith.
Do you prefer modern or older-type dolls?
Answer: Honestly? I prefer older dolls to most modern dolls. One of my sub collections is vintage Hard Plastic Madame Alexander dolls. My small collection of dolls were all made sometime in the 50's. Sometimes, I have to sit and wonder what they saw before I bought them. One doll, a Maggie Walker from the 50's, comes to mind when I think about this-- I bought her at the Doll and Toy Show a few years back. She came with a trunk full of matching, handmade outfits. Clearly, her previous owner had loved her. Unfortunately, the outfits and trunk weren't taken care of well, in the end, and I couldn't keep them. Still, though, the love that the doll was shown in her 'past' life was so evident, I truly wish I could ask her what she saw, who owned her, etc. You don't get that with new dolls. Yes, you get to create memories of your own with them, but there's a spark that you can usually only find on vintage dolls that I love.
She runs an awesome website, as mentioned above, which you can check out at dollyconfessions.wordpress.com . It's so cool! I highly encourage any doll collector to check it out! She also has a connected YouTube and FaceBook account.
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/dollyconessions
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dollyconfessions