The Down East Doll Show in review

What an incredible week!  The first annual Down East Doll Show was such a success!

My hat is tipped to Gia Heath; founder and chief in charge, Stacey Haskins and Lisa Lovern-Farmer!  These three ladies worked so very hard to make this a pleasant experience for each and every artist that attended.  And boy did the artists come! 

The artists that I had the time to meet for the first time were:

Sandra Maxwell (what a HOOT this lady is!!!)

Evon Nather (so love her passion and appreciation for the art..and…ME!)

Linda and John Murray (John was brave enough to wear a make-shift hat during the baby shower…what a guy, and Linda is the essence of elegance)

Lacey Michelle and her wonderful Dark and Twisty babies~amazing!

Kate Charles (to see her work in person was fantastic and she’s such a smart and witty gal)

Daria Makarenova who is Russian but lives in California….(Look out for this wild one!  She’s got more energy than Oregon has windmills!)

Grace Lang (Gosh, that was so wonderful having “known” her for so many years

Sherri Boere from South Africa (who gave me a beautiful Rhino charm that I now wear proudly on my purse~what a great gal she is!)

Oh I am sure I met more new friends than this but I was SO brain dead all of the days of the show and it's all so surreal to me now that I just don't remember.  

Of course is was wonderful to spend time with all of the artists that I already know and love.  We had SUCH a great time!!!

I simply LOVE the South and that good ole’ Southern Hospitality!  If one wants to be pampered and treated with utmost courtesy and respect, then Greenville, North Carolina is the place to go.  The City Hotel and Bistro was a nice yet inexpensive place to gather.  The staff worked hard to please and “knew” you even before the 2^nd day had passed.  The rooms were clean and the breakfast bar quite adequate.  They aim to please and pamper and I, for one, enjoyed it.  

The Greenville airport is super tiny...with only 2 gates and one lounge to wait for either of the two gates.  They had several of those "Cracker Barrel" type rocking chairs set by the big windows looking out onto the air strip...which had hardly any planes coming and going~it was awesome!  Becky and I relaxed in the big 'ole chairs and just enjoyed the peacefulness of it all.  

On Wednesday night, we enjoyed a home cooked meal at Gia’s house.  Her family is amazing!  They had this big spread of delicious food and aimed to delight us.  Gia had the help of Tanya McDowell to prepare and well, they all make a dynamic team!  Gia blessed each teacher with a beautiful bouquet of flowers that I then blessed the front desk gal at the hotel with when I left.  They were still SO beautiful that I simply had to share them!  

This is the welcome banner that was made for the entrance of the Convention Center.  Gia had it on her front porch for the get-together:

 Tanya made this ADORABLE baby fruit bowl for both the get-together and for the Baby shower on Sunday. 

 The converted garage of Gia's house where the dining area was held.  Festive and inviting.  All the cribs and things in the background were later used in her display at the show.

Bonnie Brown brought her personal Saoirse reborn by the talented Rachel Ambler.  Oh my gosh...this baby, and this kit are TDF!  I can't wait to do mine.

 

My two-day class was fantastic and my student did such a wonderful job on her little Jessica Schenk triplet.  This sweet and humble lady didn’t think she would do all that well but I am SO impressed! 

 Mine is on the left, her's is on the right:

 The one-on-one atmosphere was delightful….well, it was mostly one-on-one.  Many people stopped by to ask various questions regarding my techniques, the LDC paints and reborning in general.  This added to my students education and prompted a few people to purchase my newly released DVD.  We had that DVD playing at my booth, which many thought was very explanatory and detailed.

During set up and day one of the show, my precious friends basically set up my booth and ran it for me  during  my absence during class.    I am always amazed at their helpful spirits and hard labor.  Thank you Sally and Becky!  I could not be blessed with better friends and I love you both.  XXOO  (Miss you already too!)

The lighting was terrible in my spot so all of the pictures of my babies are terrible but I'll share anyway.

 Some thought that my Matthew prototype looked like a girl so we went out and purchased girl clothing for him/her.  I am torn, I like him both ways but since Jorja Pigott loved him as a girl, I think I will add to the layette and do a photo shoot as a girl:

 

By this time, I was pretty brain dead and probably didn’t tweak my booth enough to fully showcase each baby.  Risers in the back would have been good   There were SO many people coming into the booth while I attempted to tweak!  I finally put the chairs across my booth around 8:30 pm to keep people out as I was just getting too tired and could not function. 

I have better ideas for the next shows display.

(I am headed to Ohio the first part of August.) 

I was at my booth the second day after attending a birthday breakfast with a friend, but I was still brain dead!  I talked to a lot of people, many of them artists wanting advice, tips and mohair.  I finally caught up with Lorna Miller-Sands to further discuss a special request she made of me about a month or so ago.   More on that in a later blog.

I taught a one-hour workshop on weighting the reborn.  I was amazed at the amazement of many of the ladies there who had never experience the level of teaching that I do and the techniques I have for creating proper balance in the reborn doll.  THAT was exciting and gave them a glimpse into the quality of teaching in my DVD. 

So how were sales for me?  Well, only one baby was adopted and this did truly amaze me but did not discourage me…not entirely anyway.  For one, I did not have them really showcased very well.  There were so many incredible displays throughout the showroom floor that mine did not call attention too greatly.  That is the tragedy of traveling so far to do a show.  One can only pack and ship so much. 

My dolls range in a higher price range and being a first time show in this area, many were looking for lower prices and really just checking it out.  Many dolls DID sell for other artists and I am delighted for them.

My email inbox has been exploding since the show.  This is typical whenever I go to a show and the dolls usually start selling right after the show.  I am not worried or discouraged like I said.   However, I may have come to a crossroads in my vision, passion and the future of my business.  More on that later.

(as of today, when I finally put this blog all together, two babies have been adopted out and a few more DVDs have sold.  All is well and good!)  

I sold a LOT of mohair and my inbox is also full of requests for mohair plus I had a notebook at the show for artists to sign up to be placed on the mohair mailing list.

I sold several DVDs and expect many more sales as ladies stated that they had run out of show budget and would purchase one soon online. 

So that is how things went for me but I have to tell you, the showroom was EXCITING!  The quality of artists that were there was stunning.  The showroom floor looked so professional and everyone was having a wonderful time.

Late night meals and gatherings in hotel rooms are always times that we all look forward too.  Sleep is over-rated at these shows!  But DO contribute to being almost too brain-dead to function.

And to be honest, I am done with that brain-dead feeling.  I HAVE to slow down so that I can focus.

Over the last few months I've been evaluating just where I fit in the reborn world.  I am very secure that I am a great artist, but I feel as if I do not have time to expand my talents and techniques and I greatly desire to do so.   I know that I have a passion for teaching the art and I know that my knowledge is desired by many.  I'm not trying to be arrogant here~just laying claim to the facts that lay evidently before me.

When SO many ladies came by my class and my booth (I mostly remember artists coming by my booth to ask questions, I vaguely remember collectors at all but I KNOW there were collectors on the show floor) and had so many questions to ask, it became more evident to me that teaching is the area I need to focus on.

When I was awarded with this beautiful award on Sunday during the awards ceremony, it pretty much "sealed the deal" for me in my thoughts.

 My immediate thought was:

"Lifetime Achievement Award??  After just 7+ yrs in the industry??  

Does this mean I need to retire???"  

LOL

No, that is not what it means but the award was given primarily based on the asset I have been to the reborn community, spending a great deal of my time teaching, guiding and providing excellent mohair. 

 

 (I was tricked by Gia into writing a biography that was SUPPOSED to be published in a magazine.  She needed this information from me and other potential candidates of the award in order for the judges to choose.  Since this Bio has not been published, I will be sharing it here on the blog sometime in the next week or so. :)

The award just confirmed my thoughts to focus more on the teaching aspect and to process even more mohair.

So what does that really mean? 

One thing that it means is that I MUST MUST MUST learn how to do video clips (I just HAPPENED to sit by a lady on my first flight who brought up a conversation that took us into what she does...video editing!  She asked what type of computer I have (MacBook Pro) and excitedly asked me to get it out of the overhead compartment.  She then showed me how to make clips and upload them to various sites!  I still have to practice and really learn it but wow, this was so nice of Rachel!  I extend my heart felt gratitude to her!)

The first project is to gain some clips of my DVD to put live in various places so that people can view just a fraction of the DVD in order to make an educated decision to purchase it.  (By the way...comments are coming in from those who have already purchased it and they are LOVING it!)

I need to inquire about selling my DVD on Amazon.com.  I just need a bit of time for research of this project.

 

I also MUST MUST MUST learn how to do online classes!  This has been requested of me over and over again as the years have passed.  Most of you know that I simply am not all that technological...at all.  

And I strongly desire to start the process of the children's picture story books.  This is a big dream of mine~a goal I will achieve. 

 Will I stop reborning?  

NO!  Not at all.  I will just slow down on the amount of dolls I make~cutting my numbers by more than 1/2, creating about 10 Master Artist dolls a year.  I will take more time to create each baby trying my hand at new and advanced techniques while video taping the process which will then be used for teaching.  

(I may add a few more to the numbers in the form of Kids Corner Babies and Simple Treasures Babies especially around the time of shows and Christmas.)

And I will run the online classes while reborning the Master Artist Series dolls~after I learn how to do all of that.  

So the structure of my days will change, as will my evenings.  

Part of the brain deadedness comes from always having work in front of me, day and night.  My home is a mess as are my flower gardens.  My home is important to me.  I am a very clean and organized person but you would not know that by my home.  This has to stop in order for me to feel fully whole.  Balance is essential to any person.

I will still be working 40 hours a week on my reborn business, but no more than that.  I need the evenings to spend on my home, with my grandkids/kids/husband and with my animals.  None of us are getting any younger.  My horse is 30 years old and he has a bucket list that I need to help him fulfill  :)  

Did I have a lot to say or what??

How about a few more pictures that I took at the show.  I didn't get around to many booths/tables but look at some of the eye candy that was there:

This is THE Juliette as brought in by a collector.  Oh my!  What a thrill it was to gaze on this highly sought after and gorgeous full-bodied silicone doll!

 Claire Taylor "reborn" these two Ellie by Bonnie Brown silicone kits.  They are absolutely stunning!  

Claire says they will go on eBay soon.  Someone is going to be VERY lucky to win them!!!

 This is Claire's personal Ellie:

And that's all I got from the show floor!  Pathetic, isn't it?

Here are some shots from my personal baby and my roommates personal babies:

Miss Sweet Pickles:

 Ready for the NC heat

 She found a silicone frog!

 Hanging out at the baby shower:

Robin and Giovanni, owned by Becky:

 Danene, adopted by Becky and playing at the baby shower:

Next years show will be moved to Durham, NC so that flights can come into the Raleigh/Durham airport.  

Plans are already underway with more artists signing up and more collectors!!

I can't wait!

XXOO