Garden of Delights - Custom Blythe

Garden of Delights

First Prize Winner - BlytheFest 2014 Australia

For Adoption

Garden of Delights - my very special custom Blythe who made her extravagant debut at Blythefest AU in Sydney, winning first prize in her category. She is an exquisite art-custom, her body and head fully covered in intricate hand painted floral vine motifs. She wears a large floral crown atop her spring green hair. She has been given "sleep eyes" and gaze adjustment, and has two of my crystal-resin glazed illustrated cameo pull-rings.

Front and Back face-plates feature a bouquet of beautifully painted garden flowers, roses, leaves and hydrangea blooms. Her entire body is encircled with vines and blooming roses, wrapping around her arms, torso and legs.

Her eyelids also feature floral continuation of her facial design, so that when she closes her eyes she can merge into her floral background... a wallflower, a perfectly camouflaged nature spirit. Eye-chips include 4 custom sets: one pair Takara pink, one pair Takara forest green, one pair hand-painted metallic silvery green, and one pair human-iris prints.

She has been meticulously sealed between each layer to protect her extensive painted designs. None the less, I would recommend she is handled minimally, and displayed in a clean dust-free environment, preferably enclosed within a glass dome or show cabinet to ensure her everlasting beauty. 

Garden of Delights

First Prize Winner - BlytheFest 2014 Australia

Diorama Competition

OOAK fully hand-painted art custom by Orchid's Designs #005

~AVAILABLE~

The Madam - Meraki Dolls

It is our pleasure to be joining soon with fantastic Doll Artisan, Meraki Dolls, to collaborate on future OOAK fully costumed porcelain dolls. More information on these collaborative delicacies will be unveiled gradually, watch here for information and of course our Facebook Page.

For this first doll available for adoption from Meraki Dolls, we were given the honour of concocting a delightful back-story for "The Madam". Doll Photography (aka the "other" half of Orchid's Designs!) has captured The Madam through his lens, to showcase this exquisite prize-winning doll. 

The Madam

(Written by Monika Viktoria of Orchid's Designs, for Meraki Dolls)

Reclined on a priceless patterned silken couch (a special gift from the former Sultan himself) the Madam peers up from her reverie to survey her decadent receiving parlour; her private office to discuss meetings and book appointments for her dangerous and wealthy clients, to entertain and delight them with her small, but highly exclusive brood of girls. 

The powerful scent of poppy fumes and hundreds of indistinguishably scented candles heavily cloud the air. Thin trails of smoke from incense burners dotted around the room dance and writhe snakelike in the air. Soft chatter, an occasional stifled giggle and barely audible moaning escapes from the various enclaves hidden by thick velvet curtains dripping with tassels and eastern embroidery, golden threads glinting in the flickering candlelight. The floor is no longer visible, every corner of the dim room filled with expensive rugs and silken cushions neatly arranged into little groups. A majestic portrait graces the wall behind the main dais, the thick golden frame carved intricately with forbidden fruits and rare tropical flowers, lovers hidden amongst ferns and palms, glimpses of ferocious mythological beasts intertwined with masterful scrollwork. The majestic portrait is unmistakably of the Madam herself, porcelain white skin framed by ebony locks piled high on her head, extravagant pins and combs holding the midnight trestles defiantly in place. Arched brows painted high on her forehead, as was in vogue in the courts of emperors, lips rouged like bruised plums in her signature quivering sneer-like pout. Her slanted eyes pierce through even the boldest of brazen visitors, quelling arguments or disagreements, installing her absolute power here. 

Low gilded tables, small shelves and a few heavy wooden chests contain an assortment of miniature glass vials and crystal vessels, gleaming in the dim light. They contain an array of perfumes and specially mixed scents, to enrich the sensory experience of visitors to her establishment, and she plucks one of the tiny glass vials now from her collection, peering through the multicoloured glass at the oily contents swirling within. Her heavily jewelled fingers delicately remove the crystal stopper, golden rings weighed down with swelling jewels clinking together like tiny bells. She has been expecting a new girl to enter into service, rumoured to be a delicate flower, an unsurpassed beauty. The tiny glass vial now freed from it’s topper emits no scent at first, then slowly, unobtrusively, a fragile glimpse of innocence and purity escapes, reminiscent of early lilies and untouched blossoms. She returns the stopper to the vial, and in the quiet and near dark a tiny smile hints at those bruised plums, as the lingering scent from the vial slowly, just as unobtrusively, reveals a deeper, stronger undertone, heavy with musk and dark fruits. 
Perfect.

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The Madam

Extravagantly costumed in a permanent gown and matching leggings, with a removable fully lined velveteen cloak, complete with working clasps, embellished chains and belts. Her styled hair (finest Suri Alpaca) features a permanent head-dress with tiny adorned pins and jewelled accents.Her makeup and jewellery is permanent fired China paint. The Madam comes complete with her decadent couch, tasselled cushions and an assortment of her tiny perfume vials. Each aspect to this exquisite costumed doll has been hand crafted and finished to perfection by master doll maker and artisan Jayne Mateljan of Meraki Dolls. 

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~AVAILABLE~

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Fine porcelain ball-joint articulated doll, leather lining, permanent china paint, Permanent OOAK costume and props all courtesy and copyright of Meraki Dolls by Jayne Mateljan
All Photography © DollPhotography AKA FourFingerPhoto

Dust - Custom Dal

Many things can fall into ruin and over time, turn to dust. Majestic empires, vast cities, exotic beauties, our hopes and dreams. 

But new life can rise up and flourish, transformed and altered, different but no less beautiful.

As this year comes to a close and we welcome the new, it is a time to reflect on changes, gains and losses, things achieved or unachieved. It is a time to let go of the past, bid it a fond or bitter farewell, and turn our shining faces to what is yet to come. It is a time to strengthen resolves, make plans and set goals.

As the old year dissolves into dust and the new year rises up, we introduce our newest custom doll, "Dust".

Dust is a fully customized Dal, built up to fully embody this special character: the spirit of Dust. Her face is carved and modified, sweet lips blushed berry red and tear-ducts for when she hears sad songs. Her make-up has been applied in many layers of artist and shimmering pastels, sealed in-between each layer with MSC. Her eye-chips are pearlescent tawny shades with flickers of gold, to match her heavy golden lids. Her pupils shimmer with dark metallic dust, deep as the night sky.

Dust wears an exclusive OOAK exclusive Orchid's Designs couture garment - tatters of chocolate silk and gauzy shreds, hidden beads and shimmering sequin details. Like all Orchid's Designs couture garments, this gown is made up from pieces sourced from my travels round the world: a chocolate scarf from wild Africa,  silk from a blouse that belonged to a Countess, tapestry thread from a renowned artist in Hungary, trims and laces from Paris, London and Budapest. She wears matching fishnet stockings and gloves edged with tawny trims. Her hair is an extravagant wig made from many hundreds of tiny soft brown feathers, each individually applied to a thin gauze skullcap. She wears tiny lace-up vintage boots by Gotall, sturdy enough to help her find new paths to explore in this great big world.

Lace-up back with tiny copper eyelets

~SOLD~

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