Happy Anniversary!

Today is the tenth anniversary of this Antique Lilac website, and like every previous anniversary, I wanted to celebrate with a small cake of some sort. But as the years went by, the number of candles increased, so this year I needed something a little bigger - to hold ten candles - so Jan and I made a cake ourselves....
​.....and with my dining room table 'photo studio' empty, I took some photos there.....

So, how did it all start?   Well, I purchased my very first ball-jointed doll, an Elfdoll Ryung, back in 2007, but I didn't really do much with her the first few years, other than sew a couple of costumes...

Then in 2010 I made her a series of fairy costumes, and took her along on a summer camping trip up north, where I took photos of her....

Then I made her a Ruby Fairy and Celtic Maiden outfit, and took her along on a cross-country trip to the Pacific.

I was thrilled with the photos, and had been selling all the earlier costumes I'd made, so decided I really needed a website to showcase my photos, and for selling my doll costumes. I struggled with learning how to exactly do it, but finally managed to understand the process.  I created the header from the few photos I had of Ryung at the time, and on November 1st, 2010, my website went live.

Not long after, my second doll arrived - my first Narae -  and then my very first new doll ordered direct from a company, my Kaye Wiggs Cinnamon.

At first I ordered dolls specifically to be costume models, since my original goal was to make doll clothes for sale, and I needed all kinds of different sizes of dolls, since every company made their own sizes of dolls, so it was difficult for them to share.

Then in 2012 I joined a Yahoo group for the smaller Iplehouse dolls. I had just three BIDs at the time, but loved their photo challenges, starting with the Alphabet Challenge that first year.  Taking the photos had been so much fun, that I decided to do a Special Days series for all of 2013. By this time I was totally addicted to taking photos, as opposed to making costumes for sale.  Wait times for commissions were approaching two years, which seemed ridiculous, so I stopped taking them.

Over the years, my doll collection kept growing, as did my interest in photographing them. Nowadays I spend much of my time sewing for my own dolls, and creating new stories. It's a way to distract myself from ever worsening health issues. 

The past year has been especially rough, but it's also produced some of my favourite photos, partly because of the new fashion size dolls.  Costuming has always been my first love, but I never much cared for the really big dolls, so I'm just loving the possibilities with these smaller ones, especially after I started including the children...

but my older dolls continue to inspire new ideas as well....

So, what does the future hold?   There's no way to know what lies ahead. Just look at this year.  Who would have expected a worldwide pandemic, or the insanity to the south of us, or all Jan and my worsening health issues?  So the thing is to try stay positive, and keep following my dreams.

I have a lot of ideas, some of which may never happen, but others that hopefully will. I started a photo story back in March, which came to a screeching halt when Jan got really sick. I have shot more bits and pieces of it the past few months, but haven't started posting anything yet because I haven't figured out the middle part of the story.  

I have a Christmas story in mind that I've wanted to shoot for several years already, and am hoping this might be the year, since I finally have the dolls I'd need for it. It would just need one or two new costumes, some sets, and then a lot of photography in a snowy forest. With my mobility constantly getting worse, this might be the last chance to finally do it.

I've had all kinds of costume ideas over the years. Some get made. Many do not.

So, what's happening short term?  Well, I still have those five pairs of shoes to finish, but it's not something I enjoy doing, so they'll happily get bumped.   Like, by a wig and costume for Eden.  And a new dress and coat for a little Princess, just in case I do want to shoot that Christmas story.

So, lots to think about, and do....and enjoy some cake.....

Happy Anniversary!  And hoping for another ten years.....