Book Release Announcement!

Cindy, Jean and I are very pleased and honored to announce the release of the book we have all been waiting for for 2 years! The For the Love of Blythe book project is now completed, just in time for BlytheCon NYC as promised and we hope you will enjoy it as much as we did, dreaming of it and making it.

Cover photo: Princess Di-O-Rama

Here is the full online preview:
http://blur.by/14FiLsw

And our “uber” talented team members are:

“This book is a project nearly 2 years in the making. The idea of a collaborative effort of Blythe doll artists came to Cindy some time in 2011. The idea got tweaked and rolled around in her mind enough that it eventually led to her having a dream (actual, not figurative) where Jean, Fanny and Cindy were creating a book within the global community of Blythe doll enthusiasts. Jean and Cindy were friends to begin with. Jean knew Fanny, but Fanny had never heard of Cindy. Cindy takes her dreams pretty seriously and contacted Jean the day after her dream. “How busy are you right now?” she asked Jean. Jean was super busy, but being Jean, she said, “Not busy. What do you need?” Cindy made Jean pinkie swear that she would not share her idea of a “super secret” collaboration project and asked her if she would join in. “Of course,” she said. That’s Jean.

That was the first week of November 2011.  The holidays were fast approaching. More details would be forthcoming after Cindy got one other person involved. That was, of course, Fanny. Not knowing a thing about Cindy or what the project was, Fanny said, “yes!”  Lucky for Jean and Cindy.

Fanny is like an entire steering committee unto herself, Jean is the one to keep us laughing. Cindy has plenty of ideas, but Swiss cheese for a brain, so between the 3, somehow the project came together, moved along, and here we are in the summer of 2013, just before Blythecon 2013 in NYC, with plenty to share. What you are seeing here is the fruit of our labor:  40 artists, 7 teams from around the world (6 doll teams, 1 special team), collaborating on 7 gorgeous art dolls in a labor of love. Jean brought Rose of MoonRouge in, who created some gorgeous icons for our project, which gave us the idea of a rainbow of colors.  7 dolls, 40 artists, a rainbow of colors, a whole lot of love. What else did we need?  It was a big, somewhat ambitious project. The results speak for themselves. The community of people involved with this one amazing  doll (Blythe, of course), from across the planet is amazing. It is to you this book is dedicated”.

XOXO Jean, Fanny and Cindy

What will happen in 2013?

The For The Love of Blythe book project definitely brightened my 2012 year, with the unfailing help and indestructible friendship from my co-authors and dear friends, Cindy Sowers and Jean Yates, and the beautiful work done by all the participants.

We are nearly at the end of the collaborative “doll project” part, which started one year ago in January 2012 and will be completed in the next few weeks with the group shots done by Princess Di-O-Rama in Hawaii. All dolls, except one, who is in her last stages, are now with their photographer. Each team worked with joy and incredible talent, and the dolls are all very different and absolutely stunning!

This month, Cindy Sowers, Jean Yates and I will be starting the collaborative “book project” part with all the pictures and we couldn’t be happier!

The next and last steps will then be the release of the book, the exhibition of the dolls and the big raffle at Blythecon 2013 in NYC in October. The charity part of this project – what becomes of the dolls in the end and who benefits – the giving back part is something very important to Cindy, Jean and me. We are very thankful and appreciative to the Blythe community for its artistry, enthusiasm and general good will. Being involved in Blythe is fun for us and we would like everyone within the Blythe community to have a chance to own one of these magnificent dolls. So let’s stay tuned for new details coming soon…

Cindy, Jean and I wish everyone a wonderful and colorful 2013 with big and small happiness along the way!

Fanny Zara

Interview #3: Fanny Zara

Fanny Zara is the amazing Mademoiselle Blythe, a wonderful and knowledgeable person whom everyone in the Blythe world adores. She writes her own blog “Mademoiselle Blythe”, which we all wait for excitedly. We each take something different away from her blog, depending upon how far along we are in our passion for Blythe dolls. However it is quite extraordinary how Fanny can ascertain what trends are on the rise, what lasts forever which we will always want to read about, and what we will want to learn more about!

Photo: Mademoiselleblythe. Fanny is his office at home, where she writes about Blythe and Blythe artists.

Interview #2: Jean Yates

Jean is the most enthusiast person I know in the Blythe community and her enthusiasm is so contagious that I do think she can make anyone love Blythe! 😉
We never met in person but, even online, I feel that she is a ray of sunshine for us all and the light of their life for her family. As an organizer of the For the Love of Blythe project, she keeps Cindy and me relaxed and focused on the positive sides when we face worries or problems. Her input is crucial and always driven by kindness and generosity. Jean is also a wonderful jewelry designer and her talent is visible in every bead and charm she selects for her OOAK designs. She knows exactly how to surprise and enchant us. This is an art and she masters it intensely.

Photo: jny_jeanpretty.

Welcome to the violet team!

Please help us welcome warmly the Asian team! 3 new members just joined to complete the team. We are very honored and happy to have them participate in the “For the Love of Blythe” book project.

Hanon will be in charge of the faceup while Kuloft and ILoveShop will be in the accessory designer team with Atelier Matin.

Interview #1: Cindy Sowers

Cindy is the Great Architect of the For the Love of Blythe project. She had a dream and has such a beautiful personality that everyone jumped on board to dream with her and play with dolls!

Hello, Blythe World!

Cindy Sowers, Jean Yates and I are very happy to announce the official start of the book project: For the Love of Blythe. The subject of our book is 7 unique custom Blythe dolls created by 7 teams of 7 artists through a collaborative work. We want to show the world that the Blythe community abounds with many talented customizers, artists, costume designers and photographers from locations all over the globe. Each member will add their talent and expertise and the whole “doll making” process will be explained and detailed through pictures. The final photographs of each doll will be taken by well-known photographers within the Blythe community and Cindy, aka Princess Di-O-Rama, will take the group shots.