Heartstrung Ruse - Petite Meller

Customised my white 'Ruse' Heartstrung doll, and I found inspiration in the delicate and quirky style of French singer Petite Meller.

It reminded me to start using the social media tag #orchidmakeover on my instagram to collect together my bjd face-up and custom work.

Before

After

Further Details:

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.

…

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

Enchanted Forest

Remember our special commissioned "Kingfisher" costume ensemble created for Blythecon Barcelona in collaboration with Liquiriziadolly? For the sake of this photoshoot at the time I adjusted the size to fit the exquisite Resin line of Enchanted Dolls, but never did share the fantastical results. 

Not wasting another second, please delight in this glimmering moment captured amongst the willows!

Thanks to Doll Photography for documenting this little wander amongst the willows. 

Full album of photo's can be viewed ~here~

Resin Enchanted Doll
Dressed and Wigged by Orchid's Designs
Location: North London Gardens 

All Photographs © DollPhotography AKA FourFingerPhoto

Starlight Dress for BJTales

Starlight Dress

Soft white tulle embroidered with icy hearts, eyelet lace, delicate lace sleeves and hem.

A sweet dress for the limited line of BJTales dolls: Alyona

I will be taking 4 pre-orders for this design.

Orders can be placed in my shop, with production to commence in mid-May.

Starlight Dress Pre-Order

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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Makies - 3D Printed Doll

I've decided to start up a "doll review" page to my blog, where I will review some of the dolls in my private collection.You can find the tab linking to the reviews on the side-bar, and I'll gradually review all the dolls in my current collection, as well as the inevitable new additions as they arrive :-}

Doll Review - Makes / 3D Printed Doll

A fairly new toy company based right here in London, Makies Dolls are printed using 3D technology, and you design them yourself on their website - you're able to adjust their facial features using sliders (much like on many RPG and in SIMS games, where you can customize the face of your character to personalize the gameplay experience.) Mike and I are both really intrigued by 3D print technology, and are planning to invest in our own one day (think of all the doll shoes and accessories I could create!) so we were eager to find out a bit more. They're quite quirky and have unusual faces, and are of an entirely different aesthetic I am used to in the doll world. However, after seeing a few that were customized by artists to look much sweeter and softer, I was sold. We visited their in-store event at Selfridges, sat down and slid those little sliders around, and put in our order. I've heard of some people spending weeks to months perfecting the design of a doll before they get it printed, however I finished mine in record time - listen to your instincts!

http://makie.me/makie/MBFC6HGT/

The Makies team is still a very small company, and there was more feedback, help and communication instantly available on their website forum than any other doll company or artist I've dealt with so far. All questions asked on their facebook page, forum and blogs are answered speedily, even after hours and on weekends. As a consumer wringing your hands in anticipation for your doll, this was pleasantly surprising and very refreshing.

My Makie took just under two weeks to be printed and posted. Record time compared to the months I've waited for most BJD. Their price (69GBP) is also favourable to the price of other BJD and Blythe. They arrive in a cardboard tube, with a certificate of authenticity registering their unique printing code - your doll is truly a unique little character, designed by you. 

They look a bit alien when they arrive all blank, but it's up to you to imagine them transformed with a good face-up. Something I found very interesting was how the doll felt - compared to a resin BJD, porcelain art-doll or even the plastic of a Blythe... the Makie doll reminded me of the texture of an eggshell. In Hungary I painted on very sturdy thick goose-eggs, and it reminded me of that. I really liked the surface for blushing, even with coatings of MSC and Clear Gesso, it still felt closer to the absorbent texture of drawing on paper rather than slippery plastic. I preferred this personally.

Here is the blog-post with a brief visual documentation of my blank Makie undergoing her beauty treatment.

I am really happy with how she turned out. She is only the second doll I have customized, and even though it did take an entire day, laboriously layering pastels and watercolours over hours and hours...it was worth it :-)

So in conclusion - I highly recommend ordering your own Makie as a wonderful doll to customize. The feature of designing your own face online to create a completely one-off doll is a fantastic feature. The company is fabulous and helpful, I love that they're made right here in London and not a factory in China. The price is very favourable if you're used to spending close to half a grand on a BJD or even several hundred dollars for a Blythe. I think clothing them will be difficult if you're not a seamstress yourself, as the options on the website are limited. However, with their growing popularity I'm sure more people will begin offering custom-made garments to fit them - I certainly will be releasing a special line designed just for Makies in my Etsy Shop shortly!

Make a Makie today!

Bronze Songbird

"The songbird, prized for her enchanting and melodic voice is asked to perform again and again, taking listeners to far-away places, breaking hearts with her notes and weaving dreams with her words."

The Bronze Songbird design is a high-waisted skirt-corset with ruffles and decadent trims in varying shades of gold, deep bronze, and chocolate brass. Tiny beads hover round the layered organza skirt, and a matching necklace of beads circles her delicate neck. A lace-up back ensures a skin-tight fit for the resin beauties and ability to adjust for the slightly larger elite porcelain Enchanted Dolls.

The latest couture creation from the House of Orchid's Designs has been hand-crafted to fit the exquisite new limited line of Resin Enchanted Dolls.  A decadent piece with meticulous care to attention, it is sure to suit the style of an elegant beauty.

~ Available ~

Doll Couture Fashion Sketchbook

I am incredibly excited to unveil a project I have been working on secretly - a new fashion sketchbook I designed and illustrated!

www.orchidsdesigns.etsy.com

The "Dolly Fashion Sketchbook" was created for all other Blythe and "Big-Eyed" Doll fashionistas, designers and seamstresses. Realising all my own designs were scattered around on scraps of paper and throughout various sketchbooks, I wanted to create the perfect sketchbook for keeping all my couture designs together. I embarked upon this project, and am so happy I saw it through, as I think it turned out fabulous! 

Here is the official write up:

The Dolly Fashion Sketchbook

by Monika Viktoria

The "Dolly Fashion Sketchbook" is the must-have for all dolly fashionistas and designers!

Created by illustrator Monika Viktoria, the designer and seamstress behind the elegant haute couture brand for dolls, Orchid's Designs.

Hand illustrated using Monika Viktoria's signature style, the Dolly Fashion Sketchbook features a big-eyed cutie template to sketch adorable dresses, flirty frocks, elegant evening wear and one-off couture creations for your dolls! Each page has room to jot down your design notes, inspirations, swatches for colour palette, and room to paint-in your dream eyes.

The Hair-Salon features three templates for you to trace so that your girl has the perfectly styled hair to match each look.

For all future editions, new products, and special offers, follow Orchid's Designs online!

Web:  www.orchidsdesigns

Shop:  www.orchidsdesigns.etsy.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/orchidsdesigns

Cover Illustration by Monika Viktoria

www.monikaviktoria.com

I have the first 15 copies available right now in my ~Etsy Shop~ 

After this first 15 are sold the next pre-order will open for a delivery of October (after the UK Blythecon 2013)

Template Pages

Example shot of the template-page for costume designs

Template Pages - blank and from my personal book

If you are a Blythe-Blogger, I'd be very interested to hear from you! 

I'd love to reach as much of the Blythe community with this new sketchbook to help designers!

write to: info [at] orchidsdesigns.com

Custom Blythe Portraits

Something new I am offering for interested Blythe fans, collectors, customizers, owners and obsessives... a custom portrait painted in my personal illustrative style of their Blythe Doll of choice. 

Perfect for an artist who has sold one of their favourite customs, or a collector wishing to pay tribute to a cherished member of their doll-family.

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Here is "Cookie" - originally a beautiful customized Blythe Doll by the incredibly talented Karolin Felix.

I am a huge fan of Karolin's style and doll-art anyway, so this was a wonderful project to work on, it was lovely to interpret this sweet character in my own style.

And the original "Cookie" who inspired the painting with her golden honey complexion...

(photograph courtesy Karolin)

For anyone interested in a similar custom illustrated portrait, please drop an email to: info (at) orchidsdesigns.com and include the word orchid or custom illustration in the subject title please.

Our ETSY Boutique should have a similar custom listing available soon.