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Happy New Year!

1/1/2023

12 Comments

 
Here we are on the very first day of 2023, and I'd like to wish everyone a
​very Happy New Year!

For those who had a challenging 2022, I hope the coming year will be better. For those who had a great 2022, I hope it continues this year.

Of course there's no way to know what lies ahead of us in the future, but it's always good to have some plans.  Last year at this time I had three major projects that I wanted to complete:  the White Cat Sequel, Baron and Naomi's wedding, and the tenth anniversary version of the Quest which was shot way back in 2012.

Well, I got one done, but it took so much time that the other two never made it online yet.  However, all the photography for Baron and Naomi's wedding was shot back in September and October, and I finally finished processing the photos from most of that, so that story should be coming very soon.

I'm really hoping to get away from the really long epic stories this year, and get back to shooting short scenes and stories whenever the inspiration hits. It's really not very satisfying taking photos and then having to hold back on posting any of them for months (or years) at a time.  That being said, I do have several short story ideas waiting to be photographed. But ideas are the easy part. Actually following through on them is another matter. I've had one really major photo shoot idea for years now that I'd like to finally address. But it would require a lot of new costumes, so I'll see if it actually happens.

At this point I am expecting three new dolls some time in 2023. 

​Elf Agnes, by SartoriaJ, in Peach Cream (not gray as in the promo photo) 
Picture
Matias(ATH), also by SartoriaJ
Picture
...and Otto, the Otter, by DreamHigh Studio...
Picture
It will be interesting to see how they fit into my doll families and storylines.

But first thing on my To-Do list is to get my Baron back to his handsome self.  He sustained some damage to his faceup back in September, and I was stuck always having to Photoshop it out. I got tired of doing that and contacted Iplehouse about having him repainted like his promo photo so he'd be like new again.  Well, they did an awful job, which looks nothing like his promo photo.  Its' so bad I don't even want to show a photo. It's too embarrassing. When I complained, they said that all their former artists who did all their promotional photos no longer work there, and now they only have some freelance artists, so their work will look "slightly different".  I could pay to send him back again, and they'd redo him.  But if they think what they already did is just "slightly different", there's not much chance they'll do anything better. So why throw good money after bad? I just wish I'd never sent him, because I can't use him in any photos for the foreseeable future, and photoshopping out the damage wasn't really all that big a deal. It's all very disheartening, since Iplehouse used to be such a great company, and they have some of the nicest, realistic dolls out there. But now their quality control and customer service is non-existent.

Thankfully all his wedding and honeymoon photos were already taken well before this fiasco.

Well, with all the family visiting and birthday celebrations this weekend, I haven't even had a chance to photograph my doll's New Year's Eve party yet. They've been standing around in their formal wear just waiting for me to get my act together. So stay tuned!

Happy New Year!
...and so it begins...
12 Comments
Donna
1/1/2023 09:34:49 am

Happy New Year!!

I wish you a year filled with love, joy, fulfillment of plans and dreams, and good health!

Thank you for the pleasure, fun and friendship you bring into my life!

Reply
Martha
1/1/2023 03:46:26 pm

Thank you! Here's hoping!

And Happy New Year to you as well!

Reply
kenaiqueen
1/1/2023 03:31:16 pm

Happy New Year to you and yours! Your new guy looks wonderful and I love the little otter! Sorry to hear Iplehouse has gone down in quality like that. I hope you can find an artist who can fix Baron.

Reply
Martha
1/1/2023 03:51:30 pm

Thank you! SartoriaJ has surpassed Iplehouse as the go-to place for beautiful, realistic dolls. And they have the best makeup artist, and amazing customer service.

The whole situation with my Baron totally stresses me out. Unfortunately I don't expect him to get a quick fix.

Reply
Dorothy
1/1/2023 07:50:31 pm

I will be happy to celebrate New Years again so whenever you are ready please bring on the festivities (laugh)!

I am so sorry to hear about Baron. I am sure you will find a fix for him. It is too bad Iplehouse can't share the name of the original artist. That person might still be painting somewhere.

Here's to a wonderful 2023 - new dolls - new designs - new stories!

Reply
Martha
1/2/2023 09:17:59 am

Thanks! Photos will happen when they do. I have a couple more Holiday themed ones to photograph, and then I'm moving on.

I'm sure Baron can be fixed, but I'd like to do it without breaking the bank. I already wasted more than enough.

Reply
Sara
1/2/2023 08:23:04 am

Happy New Year, Martha. I hope you have a wonderful year with lots of fun and beautiful photos. I’m also sorry to hear what happened to Baron and I hope you can find a solution you like, and get him back to a look you like. Thank you for sharing the information about Iplehouse. It’s good to know their face-ups no longer look like the promos, since I had a doll in mind I might’ve wanted them to paint. What you shared will help others make a better informed decision before purchasing a face-up they think will look like the pictures too.

Reply
Martha
1/2/2023 09:27:52 am

Thanks!

Iplehouse makeup has been hit and miss for a while already, and I did do some research on recent faceups to see if they could still do a decent job, and I found a Baron they painted about six months ago who looked fine. But I guess it all depends on their freelance artist, and their skill, so now it's totally unreliable. Their promo photos are basically just false advertising. Although something simple, like for a child, would probably not be too hard for them to do a half decent job on. It's that Baron is supposed to have a particular shape of beard, and they totally screwed that up. His moustache is all wrong, one eye has shading under it, the other not, and there's none above the eyes. He has no cheek blush, and to top it all off they gave him huge long star-burst eyelashes. And when I complained, they tried to brush me off saying he only looked a "little different", and that was to be expected since they no longer have the artists who did their promo photos. I will post photos of what they did to him AFTER I get him back to some semblance of 'normal'. Until then it's just too embarrassing, and I feel he's been humiliated enough.

Reply
Sara
1/2/2023 10:22:27 am

I agree the promo pics are false advertising if the artist can’t get close to the original. You purchase expecting something that looks like the pictures and may be disappointed if it’s so off. Yours sounds like maybe the artist wasn’t paying any attention, though. I understand saving Baron the humiliation. I often paint my own dolls and I’ve had a couple who were humiliated by my own face-ups that I then had to fix. Pretty sure for the one, he was not pleased with me when I posted it online what I’d done to the poor guy, but later when I felt I could do better I gave him a much better one and he’s happy with me again now. I’m nowhere near the Iplehouse original artists’ talents though.

earthspirits
1/2/2023 05:19:00 pm

Hi Martha - Happy New Year to you and Jan! :D

Lovely selection of new dolls you have arriving in 2023. Look forward to seeing what characters you assign them and the stories they'll debut in.

Reply
Brigitte
1/3/2023 09:55:57 am

Happy New Year to you and Jan!

Agnes is beautiful. Will she keep her pointed ears? Otto looks great.
I've ordered Matias too. Can't wait to see him. :-D

Reply
Heather Hansen
1/5/2023 03:01:47 pm

Wishing all the best in 2023 as you bring your wonderful ideas to life for us to enjoy. Thanks so much for sharing your doll family and all their adventures with us.

Reply



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    Author

    Martha Boers is an award-winning Canadian doll maker and costumer specializing in fantasy and historical-style costumes.
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