This poor Patti came to the hospital barely hanging on. She needed restringing, her dress was shredded and tattered, and she needed some much TLC. The biggest question was whether or not the dress could be saved. Many areas of the dress had dissolved into the wind it was so old and fragile, but even more challenging was that it had color faded from front to back. To further inspect it, the dress had to be carefully removed from Patti to see what could be done. The back had still retained its pink tint but the front had many tears and had faded to white. A complete sleeve was in tatters and the other barely hanging on. Because of the color change in front, the entire backing material had to be replaced. It would not have made sense to make the front white and the back pink. The goal was to save the essence of the dress but also to make it look as it once was. So I made the judgement call to return the dress to its former pink color, harvesting all the trims, lace and flowers as well as the under petticoat which was largely in tact. I started by separating the skirt from the petticoat by carefully cutting it away. At first I thought I could use the entire bottom half of the trim and hem but the color change interfered with that and ended up trimming away the original hem in favor of a new one. I was lucky enough to find an exact match of pink matte organza to replace the dress fabric. I was not able to find a close match to the blue so I did have to get creative. Seen above is the new skirt with the original lace and blue taken from the original dress. This is the petticoat from the original dress in an ivory taffeta of sorts with a bias trimmed netted ruffle at the bottom. The entire petticoat was saved and attached to the new skirt. The bodice was a different story. The blue was just tattered and faded and since I had no replacement fabric for it I had to use the trim from the skirt to replace all 3 pieces. This did make the skirt slightly less full than it originally was but not enough to be noticeable. These are the pieces cut from the skirt trim along with the waist ties which were in tact from the bodice. The color is still beautifully blue and everything is matching tone now so it’s time to return to remaking the bodice. Here you can see how wonderfully that pink matches as the pieces with the buttons and button holes are original to the dress. Here we are reconstructing the bodice with new pink fabric in the front and the original back panels of the dress. Here is the bodice reconstructed and the rows of trim salvaged from the skirt. The rosettes were hand stitched into place using the original marks from the previous bodice trims. Above, at the top of the original back pieces the pink has faded away and is dirty around the edges. I decided not to replace the entire back pieces as so much of the original fabric could not be used. This, this will be the only area of discoloration which fades from white back to the light pink on the back dress panels. The dirt will be cleaned now that the fragile areas of the bodice have now been secured to the newer fabric. Final Dress:

In doll collecting, we often choose dolls that speak to us either by fashion, or by childhood memories, or by style of the creator. There are vast collections out there in the world with several types of dolls. Some collect only one kind and accumulate them into full rooms. Some collect on a theme, some create a nursery. Doll collections are very personal and they tell a story. Often times I don't know what I'm getting into when I am chasing down an idea. The fundamental concept that I run with is one of transformation. The joy of restoring a doll that is sad into one that is ready for a second life with a new or existing owner. Once the caterpillar turns into the butterfly, I find myself saying "Fly away little butterfly, be free." And I pack that doll up and it goes to it's new home. For this reason, the biggest room in my studio full of dolls is not actually my doll cabinets, it's my workshop where dolls await in parts, shaved heads, and limbs on the shelf to be restored. My doll collection itself, is relatively small on comparison with many of my clients. Through the course of running this business, what has been in my cabinets has often been single faceted. I've chosen the pieces I like and it does run in a theme. A few get rotated out when I get something exciting and new, but I definitely have my favorites that bring me joy. I don't collect x dolls (x = fill in the brand or the era) has really changed for me. What is very fulfilling about being in the doll business is learning about what each of my clients and doll collecting friends love. Often it's very different from what I am collecting and I often go into a conversation about their collection with the thought, "Ok convince me, why is this doll special". It's not meant to be a challenge, but dolls are a special kind of product bought. It's based on emotion, desire, and memories. Each doll collector has a story and that collection is part of that story. Talking about why we collected something particular and the memories or the history it evokes is probably one of the most interesting topics for me to learn. You dive down the rabbit hole of a person's very personal story, and that is why doll collectors are some of the most interesting people to know. You'll never get the same passion when someone talks about the vacuum cleaner they bought or why they needed to go buy paper towels. There could be a story behind buying a new outfit, but many of the products out there we are shopping for are very surface level. Dolls is another story. As I learn about each doll collector's story and collection, it intrigues me. A part of that story lives on in me and over the course of time I have an appreciation for not just the dolls I collect, but a broader appreciation for many types of dolls. Some of the stories have affected me so much that it rubbed off and one of those dolls or several of those dolls have ended up in my collection. As my knowledge grows I can tell more and more what makes each doll brand special and it's brought up my level of love for dolls substantially. It makes me the happiest to know that I've been changed for the better and now it is not "I don't collect x dolls" but "I collect a broad range of dolls". It's definitely inclusivity vs. exclusivity dollwise in this studio. Share your story, what's in your collection and why are you passionate about your doll pieces?

This is just a short notation about some restringing tips that help me. 1. If you are using paracord to restring a doll: a. Thicker is not always better as the elastic looses less and less stretch the thicker it is. Most dolls can be repaired with 1/8" cord from 8"-23" dolls. Large dolls/lifesize dolls can go thicker but not by much. 2. It's less wasteful on cord if you use elastic bands for the arms. It's a very short distance especially once you factor in the stretch of the band. It has been some trial and error finding the right size bands for each size doll, but we are working on updating kits with the proper size for each doll size. 3. All restringing is arm to arm and then head to legs. An elastic band is often the best choice for arm to arm and paracord from head to legs. For the proper length of paracord add 4" to the doll's height to give you enough slack to tie the knot at the end. Not being able to tie the knot at the end is very frustrating if your string is too short especially with all the tension between the limbs. Just allow that extra and you will be sure that you have enough and at the same time make sure you aren't wasting too much extra. 4. It's best to restring your doll completely nude so that you can work freely without the obstacles of clothing. Always undress your doll completely before restringing. 5. Watch the direction of your limbs. You don't want to end up with backwards feet or left and right arms mixed up. It helps after you've attached your hooks to your head and limbs to lay them out next to the body the direction that they go so that once you've threaded through your loops or paracord that you don't have to think about what goes where. 6. Always use the wide part of the hook inside your limbs and the narrow part of your hooks for your cord or band. This helps keep your band from slipping out if it's crunched inside that narrow pinch and you need the wider part to swing in and catch your limb and head bars. It's a lot more frustrating the other way around. 7. Always test your restring by moving the limbs afterwards. You don't want weird movement. Before I push my final knot inside I always look at how the arms, legs, and head are moving. If they aren't tight enough, I have time to untie my knot and pull up more slack. Too tight and your arms are stiff and mobility is strained. 8. Practice makes the process smoother. Try to practice as much as you can, even if you are doing it over and over on one doll. After lots of practice, it starts to become it's own movement that you don't have to think so hard about it, and then it gets easier.