#Blythe collection guide book full
#Blythe collection guide book crack

TheyвЂ™ve used MiccaвЂ™s body, which is basically the same size as the old Blythe body, but just better made.

#Blythe collection guide book crack

There is always a crack right across their butt because the head is so heavy that it would break there all the time. The dolls in the вЂ™70s had cracks in their rear ends. ThatвЂ™s everybodyвЂ™s ideal doll for the most part.ДЄlthough the materials for the doll are basically the same, the bodies are made a little better. People love the new dolls, but the Holy Grail is the Kenner doll. Everyone who collects dolls wants one that looks more like an original from the вЂ™70s. Every few years, theyвЂ™ll change the mold a little bit and try to make it closer to the original. Over the years, the contemporary Blythes have been refined to look a lot more like the vintage dolls. In one of the many costumes Garan has created for her, hereвЂ™s Blythe dressed up as a gourmet chef. I see that itвЂ™s in the same vein, but I donвЂ™t think Blythe was made because of the paintings, although most of the people who collect Blythe love Keane paintings. A lot of people think that Blythe is similar to their paintings. Margaret and Walter Keane were making these sad-eyed kidsвЂ™ drawings in the вЂ™70s.

Garan: Kenner, which is owned by Hasbro now.

Collectors Weekly: Who made the original Blythe doll? Some people actually send me customized dolls as gifts. I hear from people in Australia, the U.S., and Canada. Right now, for some reason, sheвЂ™s really popular in Thailand. SheвЂ™s bigger in certain places, like Asia. I get e-mails from everywhere-Africa, Russia. People send me outfits theyвЂ™ve made for my dolls. You can probably see 100,000 photos of Blythe on Flickr. People send a lot of stuff to my website. Collectors Weekly: Do people mail you pictures and stuff from all over the world? ThereвЂ™s one guy in Japan who makes Blythe dolls look like cats. There are people who can actually carve her face so that sheвЂ™s smiling. ItвЂ™s pretty incredible when you see what people can do. They take them out of the box and make them very much a one-of-a-kind piece. They paint their faces, carve their mouths. They probably figured theyвЂ™d just do it themselves.ДЄ lot of people also customize their dolls. There are so many really crafty people out there. The bought old patterns from the вЂ™70s and used them to make Blythe clothes. So people started buying Skipper clothes for their dolls. Vintage Skipper and Blythe have very similar bodies. That started because I think people got the dolls and decided they wanted different clothes. There are only four or five outfits a year produced for her, but there is a active community of people who make handmade clothes. I probably have 10,000 outfits for my Blythe dolls. Most Blythe collectors have at least one. I think I have the biggest collection of originals out there.

You can always find four or five listed on eBay. Garan: I donвЂ™t know how many were actually made. Sunday in the park with a slightly Goth Blythe. Collectors Weekly: Are there a lot of originals from вЂ™72 out there? Now some of them sell for $1,500 to $2,000. Back when I started, it was easy to get them on eBay for $10. When I photograph her, because of the size of her head, strangers will come up and ask, вЂњIs that a voodoo doll?вЂќ I just think she didnвЂ™t appeal to kids. Garan: Back then I think she freaked people out. Collectors Weekly: Why did Blythe fail when she originally came out? SheвЂ™s more appealing to adults than kids. I think Blythe is marketed to older people. A label on the box says вЂњ15 and upвЂќ because, like any other doll, it has small parts. Some kids buy her now, but the price point is at a hundred dollars and up. When Blythe originally came out in 1972, she was geared for kids, but she wasnвЂ™t successful. I thought my mom would buy my book and that would be the end of it, but it took off. When I did my first book on Blythe in 2000, I had no idea that this would happen because nobody really knew who she was. I think there are 30,000 members.Д«lythe is not really collected by kids. I have a forum where people can talk about Blythe. When we put out a new doll, it sells out immediately. WeвЂ™ve also done a couple of Japanese commercials with Blythe. Target did a line of clothing by the late designer Alexander McQueen, and he used Blythe as his model. IвЂ™ve made a couple of commercials using Blythe. Through that, I found an agent, and then she got the rights to start remaking the doll in Japan.

#Blythe collection guide book full

We did one photo on a full page per month for a year, each time with Blythe in a different designer outfit. I had a thing in Japanese вЂњVogueвЂќ for a year. When the book came out it was in вЂњPeopleвЂќ magazine, the вЂњNew York Times,вЂќ and fashion magazines like вЂњWomenвЂ™s Wear Daily,вЂќ which did a six-page spread. For this shot taken in Paris, she positioned the doll in front of a Metro sign. Garan often travels with a supply of Blythe dolls.