I was so excited to see another creator’s label doll released this year. This time, it was a pair of twins (Callie & Cassie) by the fabulous HAPPYDOLLY/Memento (I’ve linked here to the promo pictures and her facebook profile). I thought I was on a pullip wind-down, but as soon as you say that of course, you fall in love with another. It took me a while to decide on just one sister (it was hard not going to lie), but she arrived in all her glory straight from Japan this week. Let’s meet Callie.
I remember years ago going to a movie without knowing really what it was about. I knew it was vaguely about magic, and love, and fairytales, and it sounded really quite grand. But boy, did I was not expecting falling head over heels in love with the characters (Tristan, with his amazing hair), the fabulous Pirates (De Niro, what a champ), and a pretty dysfunctional family dynamic. So when Cecilia asked me to make a doll of one of my accidental favourite movies ever, of course I had to say yes! So, lets meet our leading lady, Yvaine.
She was the protector of nature and the hunt; both wild and tame animals were under her protection. She also protected the agriculture and animal herding.
I had a lot of fun researching Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt. She was a bad-ass Goddess with her twin Apollo, and she ruled the moon. It bought back a lot of memories of when I was a child, and would with great fascination read about the adventures of the Greek Gods. So when Melissa asked if I could make her Artemis (or Diana, in her Roman equivalent), I completely jumped at the chance.
I remember when I first started collecting Pullips. My brother had bought me a Hatsune Miku for my birthday, and I was researching them and wondering what they were all about. I fell in love with two – Kiyomi and Alice Du Jardin Mint. Kiyomi was available at the time, but I wasn’t ready to plunge (and I regret this every day) and Alice Du Jardin was long sold out. It didn’t help that many people stated she was their favourite, and watching videos of her (I’m looking at yours, Omochacrush!) really fuelled the lust. Some 25 dolls later, I still don’t have Kiyomi – but I do now have Mint!
Soldier of the Deep Waters, Soldier of Embrace, Soldier of the Sea, Princess Neptune. Michiru (or Michelle in the western anime adaptation) is arguably the most elegant of the Sailor Scouts in civilian form and in magic girl form – and this has translated to her gorgeous Pullip incarnation.
A short break in-between posts of adventures of Nori and I, when I arrived home I was met with an almost-embarrassing amount of mail. But, among those was dolly mail, and one of the girls who had arrived was the much-anticipated Pullip Alice in Steampunk World.
I was browsing Yahoo Japan one day when a broken Pullip Varele showed up for around AUD$20. I couldn’t resist. I snapped her up, and she arrived bald, with half an eyebrow sanded off. I mean, in my mind I do designer artistic things for a living, so how hard can doll customisation be?
Nana-Chan by Les Jeunette on Flickr
There’s the first doll that you own – in my case a Hatsune Miku Pullip – and then there’s the one that gets you addicted. I had two when I really fell into the rabbit hole. My second Pullip doll was a Serenity Sailor Moon – another gift. One of my previous childhood loves was Sailor Moon, and when Serenity arrived at my doorstep I was completely fascinated by her delicate lace layers, her floaty dress and ridiculous high-heeled pumps. But I wasn’t hooked – yet.
Project Doll House 