Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Tentative Plans: Sandra Stillwell Presents Convention for 2011

San Francisco here we come for "Golden Gate Glamour" on June 3-5, 2011.

Details are not finalized. More information forthcoming.

Please let Sandra know that you are interested in attending.  502 3775153

http://sandrastillwellpresents.blogspot.com/ 




Mr. Moto



I watched one of the Mr. Moto series for the first time. Loved it! Here is a YouTube compilation of Mr. Moto films I found that is very cleverly done. I look forward to seeing more Mr. Moto films, starring Peter Lorre.

"Out of the Past" 1947



"Out of the Past" 1947, starring Robert Mitchum, with Kirk Douglas, Jane Greer, Rhonda Fleming and Virginia Huston. This is a really good movie!

Tonner Tuesdays

Every Tuesday at noon EST, Tonner Direct posts sales which last until 5PM. The items are an assortment and are different every week. 
Tonner Image
 I want this Antoinette outfit called Incendiary. I'm not a fan of the gloves but I love the style of the dress and the print. Antoinette fashions fit the Avantguard dolls. Most of the Antoinette outfits were originally in the $99.99 (MSRP) range which is not exactly user friendly. Now it is on sale for $49.99. Unfortunately, there is also shipping and NY tax which brings it up to an unfriendly price again. So I will wait until nearby non-New York dealers put it on sale or hunt it down on the boards.

Tonner Photo
Most dolls are categorized as "Dressed Dolls" or "Ultra-Basic Dolls." Here's one that's classified as "Semi-Dressed."
Tonner Photo
Kermit is not on sale but the 11 inch Basic Miss Piggy is. She is $39.99.


I really wonder how popular this line has been as I haven't seen collectors posting photos of these characters. If you have these dolls, I'd love to hear from you about them.

Monday, November 15, 2010

EBay - Opting Out

Yesterday another collector informed me that a seller was using one of my photographs in their auction. How did he know? My name and copyright were clearly on the image. Today the auction was ended either by eBay (I filed a complaint) or by the seller, who apparently did not understand English or thought he was doing the right thing. He may have been!
I  checked eBay's rules about intellectual property and was dumbfounded by what I found.
First of all, there are so many links to follow that I felt like giving up.  One has to opt out of a program in which eBay can add your photos to their catalog for other sellers to use. I can't even find the catalog to see if any of my other pictures are in there. I checked my preferences and apparently I am already opted out.

I'm not going to waste space here copying the text of eBay's skewed policy so here is the link. 
What I want to know is where is this catalog? I did a search for 'doll' in their catalog and came up with nothing so how did this seller find my picture? He claimed that was where he got it.

I have sold books and cameras and the eBay system offered images and text for those items but I have never been offered a picture of a doll. Maybe the jerky seller thinks my Flickr account is an eBay catalog.

Meaningless, random, cute elephant image.

Harem Cubeb Smoker


This all composition "Cubeb" smoker is a boudoir doll collector's dream! Dressed in her original Harem costume, she is a fine example of a film-influenced boudoir doll. In her era, Rudolph Valentino was the big heartthrob, and "The Sheik" and "Son of the Sheik" were all the rage. The ladies of these films, Agnes Ayres and Vilma Banky, both dressed in costumes similar to this doll.

This doll has the molded heel, and you will notice that her slipper has a hole at the heel for it to slip in.

Thank you, Sara, for allowing me to post these photos. She has a shop on Ruby Lane. Check it out!

Sara Bernstein's Dolls






Click this link to view previous blog posts on "Cubeb" boudoir dolls - Link

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Jason Wu's Alex - Redux

I've been playing dolls for more than two weeks now and it's time to get back to real life if I can figure out where I left it. Before I do that I wanted to get Alex just right. I was working at that when I just had to get out the scissor and hack off all of her hair. I fitted a 5/6 RnD wig to suit her face. She is dressed in an older Madame Alexander Amanda outfit called Unmatched Elegance. Shoes are Gene's.


 She will stay like this for a while. I'm not so sure about her lips. They're flat looking because of the way they're painted. I'd like to give them some depth with shading. And I will try other wigs on Alex.
 I love the way she can sit upright and cross her legs.

Here is Aphrodisiac Avantguard wearing Alex's dress and hat. The dress had to be pinned in the back to make it fit properly.


For the first time since getting the Mini Gene dolls, I redressed several of them. I love these dolls. For me the Mini Gene sculpt is Jason's best ever! I wish there were going to be more.

Red Desire wearing a Monogram Suit
Midnight Lace Wearing Smoldering Monogram Outfit