Feature - Affordable Designs

Feature - Affordable Designs

I have learned a long time ago not to close any doors. I am a man who likes to follow his heart, who likes to listen to destiny's own little ways of guiding us towards each tomorrow. This is a very poetic way to explain how my latest career came about. I will skip the details of my "previous lives" as a young signer-songwriter, as a music teacher, a computer programmer, a travel guide in Europe and go directly to my fashion designer days which are quite recent actually. It is by a pure miracle that this new life of mine came about. About four and a half years ago I decided to purchase my first doll, sew something for it and try to sell it on eBay. In just a few months I will be releasing the first collection for my very own doll. If this is not a miracle I do not know what it is.

But it is in a hotel room in Paris, France that I first laid my eyes on a Super Dollfie. I had been commissioned to design an outfit for such a doll and asked the customer to send me her doll as I do not work on measurements alone. I like my designs to be tailored, fitted properly and I need to have a model to work on. Although by then I had accumulated multiple models of each and every size of the most popular fashion dolls out there although I had never seen, nor thought of purchasing a ball jointed doll. At that time they were very difficult to acquire, quite pricey ( they still are ) and my schedule was already busy enough to start looking for yet another line of designs to add to my growing business.

But then the parcel arrived...

At first I opened the box in a very business like fashion. I needed to see the doll I was going to design for, nothing else. The first look was odd as her wig got displaced in the transport so I was faced with a bald subject looking at me through its protective plastic bubble.

But then I took her out of the box...

The subject had already become a person. Was it the weight of the doll? Was it its size? Was it the way she looked at me? Who knows. All I know is that I was holding this doll like a baby in my arms, walking around looking at her. I was addicted.

I spent the next few days working on the commissioned design. In reality I spent the next few days being fascinated by the attraction I felt towards this doll. Many a time did I pick her up and hold her. What was happening to me? When the time came to return the doll and her new outfits to the customer I had only one thing in my mind. I needed to get my own Super Dollfie, no matter what the price was... and I did! To be precise, I did it six times in the following months.

I was now the proud owner of an entire set of ball jointed dolls, a boy and a girl of each three sizes available at that time.

I had been publishing my own pattern line for a few years already and was quite happy with the business it brought me. I would try and design for each type of doll equally in order to keep all of my customers happy. But with the Dollfies around I could only concentrate on them. I simply could not help it. I liked the size, the look, the feel... I only wanted to sew for them. I was "sew-addicted".

I soon discovered that my vision for these dolls was quite different from what was already available on the market. I saw them as little kids while the Japanese culture and most of the North American collectors at the time saw them as young sensuous beings or Goth icons. This was so different from my inspirations that I started drifting away from them. After designing a first series of patterns and refusing a few commissions for costumes I would never allow myself to work on ( sorry, no details ) I decided to sell all of my models and move on to another project.

Then other manufacturers started producing ball jointed dolls, the original Super Dollfies were now easier to get in North America creating a broader market and bringing my first series of patterns back to life and more popular than ever. It also reminded me of my addiction and I was back at it... this time for good. I purchased a few models and produced a couple of new patterns that have since become part of my best seller group. My collection is back to four models who cannot wait for me to have more time to design for them. The last year has been devoted to my soon to be released Leeann doll and outfit collection. I must say that I am glad this summer will finally see some new patterns added to the ball and joint doll line.

My pattern line has a reputation of its own. In a market where many independent designers are all hoping to make a living I am glad to say that I managed to carve a niche in the market to call my own and that I can count on my customers who have been supporting my work. From the very beginning I wanted my pattern line to bring something different to the world of miniature sewing. Not just in the type of design but also in the format of the pattern themselves. No more need to enlarge printed pieces, I would provide all pattern pieces in full size even if it added more pages to the finished pattern. No more finding out that the pattern did not fit well, I would include a real photo of the real garment on the real doll with each pattern. No more being stuck with instructions that do not make sense, I would make myself available via e-mails to guide people through any steps that needed clarification. I would never pretend to have the best instructions on the market, far from it, but try to ask a question about a specific pattern at one of the big pattern companies out there... With my patterns you can talk to the designer directly and get an answer within a day. Not bad!

A few months ago I also introduced a new way to purchase patterns on-line. By using tested PDF versions of my patterns one can now order a pattern from my site, pay on-line and receive the PDF version of any pattern within minutes. This has opened a totally new market for the pattern line as overseas customers who did not like to pay the high shipping fees or did not like to wait weeks to get their pattern have now joined the group of returning customer who have made this venture of mine such a success.

... and to think that I never studied design or pattern making other than from the many books I read about the subject. It is interesting to see how different the patterns I design today are different from the ones I produced at the beginning. One never ceases to learn.

Currently all of the ball and joint doll patterns in the line, and most of the patterns for the various other dolls, are mine. I designed them, sometimes have sold a limited edition of the sewn garments to people who do not sew and I am using the pattern line to give my designs a second life. But a year ago I decided to ask other designers to add their designing talents to my pattern line. This is how Lori Lyon, Vince Nowell, Mark Middendorf and Laurence Bellet have come to contribute to the continued success of the Affordable Designs' pattern line. Although none of them have brought any designs for the ball jointed dolls yet I can tell you that this will soon change as I know of a few projects that are in progress.

So the next time you feel like you are SEW-ADDICTED to these amazing dolls, stop by Affordable Designs and see what we have in store for you.