Hi friends!
Well, I have wanted to "walk" you a little bit through how one of my collections comes together. People often ask me how long does it take me to make my dolls, or how long do I start planning all of it, etc. People often ask me what was the inspiration for this or that, or they give me insight into what they think or feel about the dolls, once they see them on flickr.
This particular collection has been "stewing" for quite some time. Last January, I decided to write down a few key words, things that came to mind, of dolls I wanted to create. One kept creeping on me: boreal. As I live surrounded by this ancient forest, it was no surprise to me that I felt the need to make a few dolls with this theme in mind.
Then, as the year progressed, I kept adding words, colours, schemes, and fabrics to the pile in one basket named just like that: boreal life. And the ideas and drawings started pouring out. A few weeks ago, I finished all the sketches for the dolls in this collection, all their fabrics were matched and selected, all the yarns paired to each doll, all the yarns for their hairs next to the skin tones.
Each one of these bags contains all the little pieces of material (except the stuffing) that will create a little doll. All their bodies are sewn, and ready to be stuffed. All their heads are shaped, sculpted, and the perky noses are staring at me. This coming weekend I will give them all faces and put the dolls together. And next week I will dress them all. This week, on top of finishing the papooses and Sofia, I started working on their clothes. I have lofty goals.
So, little by little, you will start seeing sneak peaks of how four little dolls, of the 12inch variety, are coming together. I will tell you now that these are their names, and all these photos are the inspiration behind each one: Poplar, is a little girl doll wearing a little bit of grey and lots of yellow. Pinecone is a happy little boy, with blonde hair and a whimsical outfit. Lichen is a sweet little redhead girl with a beautiful face and fiery red pants. And Moss is a true trouble maker little boy, who has funky hair and clothes.
I hope you look forward to seeing them appear. I am always so marvelled at the process and think that there is a bit of magic in creating handmade dolls. Don't you agree?