Pittsburgh on Thursday - Day 1 Convention

When I go home I'm going to have to go to a rest home.

Registration was a breeze. We got a nice big empty FR box and hopefully it will be finished with the new Veronique. The box does not say FR2. It is a regular FR white box.

Many of us camped in the lobby outside of the salesroom like a bunch of addicts. When they opened the doors a cheer went up which could probably be heard where ever you are. The salesroom had Azone in one corner, MFD and Kio items in another corner, Steven Fraser's Dressmaker Details on a long table on one side and the rest was filled with the new dolls. There were some older dolls being sold but not as many as I expected. The best items were the sealed grab bags which ranged in price from $15 to $60. These were at the register and they were worth more than the price for sure.  At the check out counter were tubs of plastic shoes and Barbiesque solid black sunglasses that were free for the taking.

Everyone was wondering what FR2 would be. So far it's a doll whose facial expression says, "No you didn't!" or "You have to be kidding." Kyori is very pretty. The Twin giftset was surprising with the new sculpt. They do not look at all like Lillith and Eden! Their hair is very cute with streaks of color. They will be popular. Poppy's clothes from the giftset are adorable. The new Poppy has the nicer original eye screening. The Count looks like a count  - dark and brooding. Adele looks like Adele from the past. Eugenia is pretty in a big purple gown. I will have to examine the dolls better to give a more detailed appraisal. At first glance the collection is OK with something for every taste. There is little ethnic variation. Perhaps the centerpieces will provide the WOW factor. One can hope.

Are we going to get Vanessa? I'm guessing Agnes will make her appearance tonight.

This is the stuff I got today. Picture was taken in the sunlight coming through my window.

This is a mixture of doll items for 1/6 and 1/4 scale. The things in the upper left were registration bag swag items. I traded a nude Monogram doll that I already owned for all of the Kyori giftset clothes - gown, suit and sequin dress. The Flight Kyori and her accessories were a grab bag item for $35. Dressmaker Details 1/4 scale dresses without shoes were $5. Can you believe it? The dresses with shoes were only $10. I paid as much at $7. a pair for the shoes in those bags.
It's difficult to see but on the right is a pair of George's new shoes for the 16 inch gals. Those are going to be fun. The beautiful blue and pink dress in the lower right is also an Angelic Dreamz item from the JamieShow dolls. I was happy to get it separately. I loved it the first time I saw it but it was on a doll. I purchased a Poppy body for $20. There were bargains to be had.

More later. Gotta walk the dog.

Woodstock to Pittsburgh - Tuesday October 26, 2010

We left home at about 11 AM. Now we have a large SUV and it was loaded. Hubby asks, what are we going to do with the dolls you bring home? I didn't even think of that.
The ride was about 7.5 hours long with two stops, a few naps and some silliness with the iPhone camera. Rudy was a little trooper as usual when we travel. Check in was smooth although there was a line. I recommend that anyone checking in use the kiosks to save time waiting on line.
We settled in, unpacked and went to eat. At about 10PM I took Rudy to visit Kazue and Denise T.'s room. That put me right in the mood. Kazue was unpacking some OOAK Blythes. They are gorgeous. The elusive Marui Misaki was on display along with Momoko and many Misakis I had never seen. They are so delightful.
I was not going to buy a thing tonight but walked out with the Red Rabbit Misaki. As part of the "Misaki Madness" she was on sale for $99. Sold! It didn't take me long to make that decision. I have wanted her ever since I saw her.

For those that are not familiar with the doll, this is Integrity's picture of her. 

We're off to a good start.

Reflections and Last Minute Preparations

Just about four years ago today I started blogging. My first post was on 10/20/06 and it showed my first reroot. She was a beautiful Gliteratti Veronique. I used about 4 times as much hair as necessary and chipped a tooth or two in the process as I stupidly used my teeth to pull the needle a few times. Such a genius.
When I switched to Blogger from Yahoo as the carrier of the blog, the date I switched (6/29/08) shows up in the index but the date on the post is the true date.
I made that post while the FR convention in Baltimore was taking place. We did not attend that one but tried IFDC instead that year.
There are six days before the official start of the 2010 Integrity Convention in Pittsburgh and many changes have taken place in the six years since my first convention in Toronto - not only in the event but also in my collection. It's mind boggling to think back to when I was dabbling in collecting dolls alone to now being part of an enormous world-wide group of collectors with whom I can communicate 24/7.
I think this will be the last year that Integrity will have the convention in Pittsburgh. Alain sent out an email informing us that because they will be hosting 422 guests this time, there will not be a museum room. This is going to be very interesting. That's more people than were at the last Gene convention and it was crowded beyond belief.  At one meal our table was practically in the kitchen!
My costume is ready and I am very pleased with it. My table gifts are ready and I pretty much know what I'm taking to wear the rest of the time. Rudy is ready. Bob wanted to know if, because there are so many people, they are telling non-collecting spouses to stay home. Haha.
I hope I get to meet all the people I've become friends with this year. I hope I can find them or they can find me.
---
This morning George of Angelic Dreamz sent me a picture of the new and ultra fashionable Jamieshow DEMI collection shoes he now carries exclusively. They're quite fashionable. He said that he actually got the Silkstone in the picture to stand on her own. He will have a few of them with him at the convention.

Angelic Dreamz Photo

Angelic Dreamz really has it going on. George is introducing exclusive and affordable (not inexpensive) dolls, bodies, stands, shoes, wigs and more. He is making supremely useful contributions to the doll world with these items. It's not the same old tired stuff. It's new and better and different. Bravo, George!

Angelic Dreamz Photo

Angelic Dreamz Photo

Today my new Horseman French chairs arrived and I'm very impressed.  I ordered a right and a left facing chair in sage. They come upholstered in a textured solid black and a sage/greige. The legs are painted metal that look like wood. I'm guessing the back is a composite. These are for 1/4 scale dolls like the Jamieshow, Tyler, Sybarite and similarly sized dolls. The retail price is $80. each.
Horseman has filled a huge gap in this field with their 1/4 scale furniture. I would like to see more tables and other substantial props come out soon.

If you're not registered for the Integrity Toys 2010 Convention here's what to expect.

This post is basically for"newbies" who have not experienced the selling/buying frenzy that occurs after a convention.
You will be able to purchase pretty much everything except the food served to the conventioneers. Of course, you can't buy the fun.

The Convention Collection is made up of the dolls every attendee gets to purchase if they so desire.  Everyone who is registered has received a list of the dolls and the "special" convention price which is between $20-$25 less than the suggested retail.

Here is the list:

“Always Polished” Dasha FR2 Dressed Doll (New Character!)
(Sugg. Retail $175.00)
“Fine Romance” Eugenia Perrin Frost™ Dressed Doll
(Sugg. Retail $175.00)
“Wild at Heart” Lillith and Eden™ Gift Set
(Sugg. Retail $200.00)
“Scarlet Woman” Adèle Makéda® Dressed Doll
(Sugg. Retail $110.00)
“Out of the Blue” Kyori Sato® Dressed Doll
(Sugg. Retail $110.00)
“Night Vision” Count Adrian Von Lamberg™ Figure (New Character!)
(Sugg. Retail $110.00)
“Ask Any Girl” Poppy Parker Gift Set
(Sugg. Retail $150.00)

Most attendees who decide to sell dolls will raise the price from 50—100% and sometimes more depending upon the popularity of the doll and/or their desire to sell.

Other dolls you can count on seeing for sale will be table centerpieces, souvenir dolls given to attendees as part of the convention and the final night's convention doll.

There will be items for sale to conventioneers in the souvenir store which will probably consist of prior year dolls and accessories and perhaps dolls from the Gene Marshall  line. These may show up for sale as well.


There are some collectors who never sell a doll that they get either because they can't part with it or they don't know how to sell. 
Selling items from a convention is a way to make attending the convention affordable (for those of us who do not have unlimited funds.) If you need a push to sell, just add up how much it costs to attend! Write it down and look at the number.

Convention Registration: $350.
Travel To and From the Hotel: (Depends upon mode of transportation.)
Hotel Room: $135. plus tax per night
Additional Meals and/or Beverages: (Four meals are included)
Workshop Kits: (optional-workshops are free but kits can be purchased)
Design-A-Doll Workshop: (optional $35. per doll)
W Club Luncheon: (optional) $50.
Centerpiece: (optional) $150. (based on prior year costs)
Convention Collection: (optional) $936.25 PA tax included
Room Sales: (optional)
Souvenir Store Purchases: (optional)

Fashion Royalty Convention Packet Released

Internet Photo

Included in the release is the notice that there will be a new Fashion Royalty spin-off brand. I don't know why the news doesn't excite me. I like Madame Alexander's Cissy doll but I wouldn't go to a Madame Alexander convention because I don't care for the other dolls that are included in their conventions.  From the point of view of a collector, I don't know that a convention is the place to celebrate a brand new line. We certainly can't say Integrity is boring because we never know what to expect.

The line is entitled FR2 and pronounced FR Squared. I think I'll always call it FR Two (I hated math.)  When something is squared you multiply the original by itself and you get more of the original. The title can lead to a great deal of speculation as evidenced by the 3 page thread on the W Club board.

Note: An email from the W Club just arrived. It says:

"...spin off brand called FR²... This new line will have a brand new body, new characters and a renewed couture style by Jason Wu. "

Haute couture (French for "high sewing" or "high dressmaking"; pronounced [ot kutyʁ] OHT-koo-TOOR) refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finish by the most experienced and capable seamstresses, often using time-consuming, hand-executed techniques. Couture is a common abbreviation of Haute Couture, which refers to the same thing in spirit.^[1]
It originally referred to Englishman Charles Frederick Worth's work, produced in Paris in the mid-nineteenth century.^[2] In modern France, haute couture is a "protected name" that can be used only by firms that meet certain well-defined standards. However, the term is also used loosely to describe all high-fashion custom-fitted clothing, whether it is produced in Paris or in other fashion capitals such as Milan, London, New York, Tokyo and Madrid.

The term couture style is being misused.

Integrity Toys' Logo

The Registration Package
The 30 page long layout is very artistic thanks to Alain's design skills.  Spooky castles and dark patterns infuse the package with a sense of Halloween and scariness.
The forms are interactive - there's nothing to print out and mail or fax. It's very tree friendly.

 The Workshops
All except one of the workshops is being held on Friday.  It's all very organized. I am registered for the first four workshops below.  The hubster will have to amuse himself.

1. Poppy Ponies Up! - Rob “Uriah” Redden
2. Thinking Out of the Box - Vaughn Sawyers
3. Mini-Masterpieces - Steven Fraser
4. Baby Light-Up my Fire! - Alain Tremblay
5. FR Do’s, FR Don’ts - Francisco Garcia
6. Recycle Those Doll Boxes - Ava Plummer

The workshops are free. Some of them will offer optional kits to use during the session. At the last Gene convention, the Madra head sold for the hairstyling class was a highly sought after item after the convention was over.

The Convention Collection

1. “Always Polished” Dasha FR2 Dressed Doll (New Character!)
2. “Night Vision” Count Adrian Von Lamberg™ Figure (New Character!) 
3. “Fine Romance” Eugenia Perrin Frost™ Dressed Doll
4. “Scarlet Woman” Adèle Makéda® Dressed Doll
5. “Out of the Blue” Kyori Sato® Dressed Doll 
6. “Wild at Heart” Lillith and Eden™ Gift Set
7. “Ask Any Girl” Poppy Parker Gift Set

Seven items with a total of nine dolls. I wonder if Dasha is Tatyana reworked.  It's been a long time since Kyori appeared at a convention and many have been asking for her. The Lillith and Eden giftsets were very popular in 2008. (A friend notes that this wasn't really a popular giftset. I suppose it's a matter of perception.)

Missing from the above are Agnes, Vanessa, Veronique, Elise Jolie, Dania, Natalia, Jordan, Luchia, Tatyana, Isha, the Hommes, the rest of the Nu.Face characters, the Monogram dolls and the Avantguard dolls.

My guesses for centerpieces are Agnes (that's a given), Veronique, Vanessa and Elise. Perhaps those are my wishes as well.

2010 IFDC Convention Souvenir and Companion Doll

The two dolls presented on Saturday night to attendees are based on characters from Alice in Wonderland. They are being considered part of the Nu.Fantasy collection but will be outside of Japan.

The souvenir doll, "The Red Queen", uses the previously issued Fashion Royalty Tatyana face mold.  Her gown is red tafffeta with black tulle and beaded embellishment on the bodice. She is called "Checkmate." LE 300.

The companion doll called "Curiouser and Curiouser" is a take off on the Alice character. She uses the Gavin Dynamite Girl sculpt.

For those of us who are used to expecting Fashion Royalty dolls, the landscape has changed. The upcoming "Dark Romance" convention is not called the Jason Wu Event/Convention; it's the Integrity Toys Convention with Jason Wu. It's interesting to watch as the company changes.

Back Again with More Stardust Stuff

Stuff...it's what our lives are filled with. Coming home from a convention goes beyond instant gratification of dolly desires; it exceeds the MDR and quickly becomes overload. I have to photograph the spoils of war in order to grasp what greed really means.

Top - bagged outfits purchased in the Integrity store at very low prices. The boxed fashion was also a 'steal.'

These two fashions I could definitely live without but at the price, why should I? Purchased in a room sale.

From Happily Ever After, this DAE fashion will fit Trent (at least that's what they told me.)

In addition I picked up three wigs from Marcia and a sweater from Dayle in the vendor's room. I swooned over a gorgeous gray silk dress with ribbon embroidery from Pam Seeman of Paintbox Designs. It became mine.

I got so tired of shopping that I actually forgot to buy something I wanted. Don't tell my husband you heard me say that. I will deny it.

More Convention Pictures and Stardust Dolls for Sale

The centerpiece dolls were Gene, Madra, Zita and Trent. I was able to purchase the Madra and Trent. Gene is apparently a fan favorite as there are people practically begging for her on the boards. She is quite the beauty and her outfit is adorable. Her hat is fabulous! Madra is in a highly stylized suit. The lace front forms a heart. It's definitely Madra-esque. Zita is glamorous and very pretty. I love her hairstyle but the gown is just average. I'd like to see her in a dark color.

Gene

Love, Madra

Zita

The Integrity sales room was filled to the brim with previously released Gene dolls. I availed myself of a load of stuff. One doll I always wanted was "All About the Eyes" Gene. I can't wait to get her out of the box. The prices were ridiculously cheap. If this is an indication of how much it costs to manufacture a doll then I just don't want to know. The mark-up is unbelievable.
The other boxed sale doll I purchased was for the gown. It is Marsha Hunt in "The Irene Gown."I have always loved this gown but not the doll. The price was right. We were permitted to purchase just one of each of these sale items.

There was a room for vendors in addition to Integrity's sales room. In there one could find jewelry, props, OOAK dolls, manufacturer dolls of many different types, clothing, shoes, Dressmaker Details line of clothing for Gene, Happily Ever After and lots of goodies. One visit wasn't enough!

And the room sales-most were concentrated on two floors which was a plus compared to the FR Pittsburgh dis-organization all over the hotel. I picked up this Horseman/Vita furniture which I've been wanting ever since seeing it at IDEX. It's fantastic. The chair is fully scaled for 16" dolls. It is not skimpy like most furniture. Covered in vinyl with metal supports and legs, it will be perfect for my dolls. The tables are very lightweight. The bases are cut from plastic and must be slotted together carefully. Once together they are nearly impossible to take apart.

Puki Madeline, my travel doll, enjoyed sitting on the back of the chair in my room.___________

Updated:
This is what remains to sell:

NUDE "Dreamy" Trent Osborne Dressed Figure $95..

Click on the link to see pictures and descriptions.
http://www.thedollpage.com/ads/searchresults.php?owner=46

Stardust ~ Saturday, June 5, 2010

Mel opened the door tonight when he said if someone comes up with a new way to present Gene, he's open. If that wasn't an invitation I don't know what is.
Today was a busy and fun day beginning with the Trent luncheon. As Alain had told us the day before, the room was originally the bank part of this historic building. It's walls are marble and the windows appeared to be at least three stories high . One of the original bank vault doors was on display and looked like a Louise Nevelson sculpture. There was a bright, airy feeling to the room which was very pleasant.
The centerpiece doll was, of course, Trent, dressed in a business suit and wearing the most fabulous black patent leather tassled loafers. Mel spoke briefly and introduced a good friend of his, Steven Hayes. Steven's presentation was a riot. He spoke lines from many different movies which were originally spoken by leading men of Gene Marshall's era. Taken out of context, these lines were hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed his talk.
The food was served buffet style and consisted of assorted hoagies and miniature cheesecakes for dessert. After lunch a few of us went with George/Angelic Dreamz to see Deneuve, the new Jamieshow doll. I was very impressed. The resin is absolutely fabulous; the dolls joints are attractive; she poses very well and looks great without clothes! The resin feels like a baby's skin. I will be photographing her in the future. I've been told that she can wear Avantguard, Gene, Alex, Cami and Antoinette clothing lines .
While many attended the movie screening, some of us went off for a sweaty, hot walk to the historic district. We gazed upon the Liberty Bell but none of us knew for sure if it was the real one or a substitute. It is worth noting that there is a huge amount of security at these historic sites and every purse and backpack is searched by gloved security guards. There are guards at the entries and exits and I assume they are armed. On the perimeter sidewalks surrounding the historic buildings are spaced concrete pillars to keep vehicles from driving onto the sidewalks. It's like living in a prison these days. Ugh. That's why I don't think it's the real Liberty Bell. It's too exposed. I remember when it was just in an open park setting and not even in a building. Of course I was just a tiny child then. LOL.
On the way back to the hotel we walked through Chinatown which is similar to Mott St. in Manhattan in that there are many restaurants and the smells are a mixture of soy sauce and garbage.
It was hot and humid but we pressed on as our goal was to get some icy refreshment at the Market.
My reward was mango/something sherbert. It was delicious. I wanted to rub it on my forehead and neck because it was so cold and I was still hot. I did refrain from that behavior, however, as I did not want to attract flies.
At the cocktail party I was impressed by the few women who were dressed up glamorously in sequins and beads. Everyone looked great!
My tablemates were very generous and gave all sorts of swag. There was a Kio wig on our seats along with the Gene doll for the giftset. The table centerpiece was a lovely Zita. During dinner the lottery winners were announced and the drawing for the Grey Gene doll was held. Our hostess won! I was really happy for April.
Back in my room, I opened the gorgeous Stardust Gene, the convention souvenir doll, to photograph her. To my dismay I discovered that her eye screening is defective. One lid is much lower than the other. I took several closeup pictures and immediately sent them to Alain with an email expressing the desire to exchange her, before I go home, for a good one. I do hope he checks at least one of his email addresses by tomorrow morning. I don't want to take home the most special doll of the convention with a noticeable defect and go through the process of waiting for a replacement. This is what she looks like:
I have several hundred photographs to upload and edit. I may even have a video or two to upload depending on the quality. Keep an eye out for future posts.
I can't wait to go home and spread out all the stuff I got. I will be selling some of the convention collection and a few other convention items but I need time to decide what stays and what goes. I can't keep it all! There's no room at the inn.

This Is Not the Miss Revlon Doll I Remember!

I am so bummed about the new Miss Revlon doll. I keep hoping that each time I look at her I will find something pretty about her face but it's not working. I wanted to adore this doll because I had a Little Miss Revlon doll as a child. I found these images on the web:This is what the fashion dolls of the 50's looked like. I thought she was truly something special. She wore high heels, had a developed chest, wore lipstick and jewelry! Her clothes were lovely. - Like Cissy dolls, an immature, baby face on a maturing body was the accepted style.

Beautiful vintage Miss Revlon dolls from the past were pictured in an article written by Robert Tonner for a special edition of Dolls Magazine and distributed to Tonner convention atttendees. Here is one of the pictures from that piece:This is the new doll. No matter which way I turned her head, it looked wrong.
There is something very 'off' about the sculpt. Her head is too large and she has no ankles. The vintage doll has a big head and big jaw but it works on her baby face. It does not work with this face in the least. I was hoping for a vintage reproduction doll that resembled the original in some way. Boy, was I mistaken. I think my doll may be defective due to the strange spots of black paint on her eyelids.

I pre-ordered her from a convention-goer who got to go to the event. She cost me more than $160. Ugh. What a waste of money.

And what's up with the scraggly, crunchy long hair?This is a WWTT moment. Maybe it was a mistake and too late for the factory to change it. One can hope that the future releases are 100% better. If not, there won't be another one in this house. I'm not even sure what to do with this one.

Bring Tiny Kitty back. That's another story.

An amazing website about Miss Revlon and Little Miss Revlon dolls is here:
http://my.pclink.com/~jjdow/default.htm

Gene's Final Curtain Call ~ Part I

Last night I dressed two of my Gene dolls in fashions recently acquired. They are waiting to be photographed and I visualized them looking over their shoulders as they retreated from the front of a stage on the last night of their performance.

In a few days I will have begun to attend my first and last Gene Marshall convention. There, amongst the 400 or so attendees, I may be in the minority because I have not been a "real" Gene collector. I was aware of Gene, of course, during her Ashton-Drake years but never veered away from my Tonner collections until getting involved with Integrity Toys' Fashion Royalty dolls. Prior to that, I had purchased a basic Gene and a dressed Gene and that was it.

Simply Gene

Perfect Match Gene with Tiny Kitty

During my early Tonner collecting days, the Gene fashions I purchased disappointed me because they usually did not fit Tyler. Obviously I knew very little about that line. I did buy the wonderful furniture and accessories like the gazebo, the the patio set, the dresser, the swan bed, the clothing rack with wooden hangers and several room dividers. Fabulous items every one of them.

Tyler Wearing "A Shorts Story" Gene Outfit

In February 2007 Integrity Toys held an event at FAO Schwarz in NYC. That was the first time I met Mel Odom. Gene had been picked up by IT and the line was on display at the store. I had not begun my second round with the 16" dolls yet. That Gene was "Suited To A T. " The doll reminded me so much of my mother when she was young. At the time, Mom was in the final stages of Alzheimer's Disease. That was February. I couldn't get the doll out of my mind and decided to ask my husband to get her for me as a holiday gift that December, which he did. My mother died that month. I photographed that doll endlessly and began buying Gene fashions which led to buying Gene dolls which led to more and more. I bought Ashton-Drake Gene and IT Gene dolls and fashions and had a ball. I discovered another huge group of collectors who were so very different from the Fashion Royalty crowd.

She's been a wonderful doll—hair still perfect; eyelashes attached and she's still (sort of) smiling. STaT has been on the pages of FDQ!
That's my Gene story. Why do I say that I'm not a "real" Gene collector? I say that because I am not emotionally attached to the doll as so many are. Gene has been the force that has brought thousands of collectors together and has cemented their friendships. Gene has been a business for some of the very talented as well. Most of the hard core Gene collectors are film buffs and I am not. So I dabbled and I played and I am about to rub shoulders with the cognoscenti. I'm excited.

In my next installment on this topic, I will post my favorite Gene photographs.

Convention Souvenir Doll and Centerpiece

The souvenir doll was a one-time sculpt for this event, scaled to the Antoinette body, "Celestial" (Lana Lang Sculpt in white organza and auburn hair - LE300).

Centerpiece: "Lumina" (Antoinette sculpt in silver lurex/chiffon and platinum hair - LE100).
Just wanted to post these final banquet images quickly. Will log in tomorrow with a summary if available.

Both images in this post are the property of Tonner Doll Co.

Picture of the Week Award ~ April 4, 2010

This is a Tonner doll named Hypnotic Antoinette. James Griffen, aka Paradise Blue on the doll boards, has captured her beauty in this photograph.He repainted her eye-makeup and liner, deepened the shade of her lips and glossed them using Golden Fluid Acrylic paints and then sealed his work with "Golden Varnish".
For the photograph he wet her hair to deepen the color and tame the fly-aways.

James has added the following information:
"Her earrings are something I made from bits of craft pieces that I bought at a dollar store. Her jacket belongs to a Gene Marshall centerpiece doll from the Kentucky "Derby Dreams Gene Convention." Her skirt is a hand-knitted popcorn cape made by a friend which I decided to use as a skirt."

Setting?
"The backdrop is made of black foam core and photographed near a window. Shadows are created by vertical blinds. Antoinette sits on a Siamese cat figurine, also made for me by a friend."

Any photo suggestions to others?
"I use natural light when I can. I like to photograph my dolls by a window. Sunlight coupled and vertical blinds as shadow work well together. Always use the view finder on your camera, (if your camera comes with one.) It helps keep your focus on the prize."

See more of Hypnotic Antoinette and James' work at http://www.thedollpage2.com/photopost/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/417

Congratulations, James, on your Picture of the Week Award!