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The CustomDolls International Convention will be held at the Radisson Inn on Town Lake in downtown Austin on February 28, March 1, 2, and 3, 2002.  I have included some great pictures of this fine hotel for you to see. As you can see, there is a pool and a lake, so bring your swimsuit! In late February is it getting warm here already. You may make a room reservation by calling the national toll free reservation center at (800)333-3333.  The room rate is $109 for a regular room and $139 for a suite.  Make your reservation for Custom Dolls Convention 2002.  Convention packets are available for $125 to club members by visiting the following website:

http://gbaron.home.texas.net/convention/convention.html

 

You can see the hotel by visiting this URL: http://www.photowebusa.com/austin/

There is a TGI Friday’s located in the hotel lobby for your dining pleasure.  Room sales will be permitted at the Radisson Inn. Conventioneers and dealers are welcome to attend the Cocktail Reception and early preview of the Sales Room on Saturday, March 1.  Attendees may bring a guest for $25.

PURE IMAGINATION is our competition and a showcase of our finest work.

The categories are:

• best repaint,
• best outfit
• best hair
• best beadwork
• best overall

Sales table rental is $95 US Dollars and this includes space at the preview party. Interested shoppers can attend the public salesroom day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 3, 2002. Admission for Sunday shopping is only $5.

For this convention’s charity auctions, we would like to raise money for Safe Place - the Center for Battered Women here in Austin, TX.  We will be having a live as well as a silent auction.

Workshops
We have a dazzling array of workshops for you to enjoy!
 

Alternative Jewelry Design with Christa Maher Christa has been designing and creating fashion jewelry for nearly 20 years. Having worked for clothing designers creating accessories for their lines and also for CBS creating special pieces for television and made-for-TV movies, she has a wide range of experience and style. In this class we will examine scale and jewelry construction techniques. We will be working in the class to make exotic modern pieces, which include imported beads and pieces. We will also learn to construct glamorous rhinestone stylized pieces. A supply bag will be available for purchase, you are also encouraged to bring any beads or findings you want to turn into jewelry. Round nosed needle nose pliers are required.

Fashion Doll Photography with Tess Barton Tess is a two time BMAA Crystal Award winner, and a regular contributor to the CustomDolls ezine.  Having studied basic optics and photography for research using electron microscopy in college, she adapts those concepts for taking pictures of fashion dolls.  In addition to her own dolls, she has also photographed several other artists' dolls for the BMAA competitions.  The right photography can make a beautiful doll look spectacular!  In this class, we will discuss basic concepts of photography such as light and camera optics.  We will learn how to set up a simple studio space for taking pictures.  The focus will be on how to create an optimal environment for photography without purchasing expensive equipment.  There will be examples of studios set up so that participants can experiment with different backgrounds and take pictures of their own dolls.

Custom Shoes for Me and You with Dan Lee Dan was born and raised in England, and currently resides in San Francisco, where he has been living for the last four years. He has been creating customised dolls for 2.5 years, having been introduced to the art by a friend. He has had a small gallery show in the Castro district of San Francisco and was featured in Jim Faraone's FDM Book 4. Inspiration comes from the Mod Era, the days of disco and the imagination of a warped mind. The class will cover casting with resin and silicon rubber molds, out of which one can make shoe bases, as well as a variety of other items, though the focus will be on the former. You will be taken step by step on creating the item to be cast, making the mold, casting and finishing the item(s).

The CRAFTS of Fashion Doll Makeovers with Bill Jones Bill recently retired from San Francisco State University, where he was on the faculty of the Theatre Arts Department for the past 25 years. His specialties were theatre crafts, makeup, and costume design. He has two children who are working in the arts. Bill has been a principal makeup artist for San Francisco Opera for more than twenty-five years. He is a member of IATSE Hollywood Local 706. His work can be seen in the Academy Award winning film "In The Shadow Of The Stars" and in "Tales of the City". Bill did costumes for the 1989 Academy Awards. His costumes have been exhibited at the De Young Museum and the Detroit Museum of Art.  His work has appeared in Time Magazine, Life magazine, House Beautiful, House & Garden, Theatre Crafts, and many, many other publications. Bill's dolls have won three BMAA Crystal awards and two second place ribbons at the Barbie Bazaar makeover competitions. The workshop will be a potpourri of craft techniques. Glues, and how to use them. Body techniques. Learn to use new and unusual materials like Fabricform, Variform mesh, as well as standard materials.

Proper re-rooting techniques with Michael Chambers         Michael Chambers was born in 1963 in Misawa Japan and reared by a bewildered but supportive and loving family.  With a youthful sense of invulnerability, a small attention span and naïveté he set out at a young age to conquer the world.  At some point in his life he has been a professional artist, go-go dancer, chicken carcass washer, set assistant for a film company, salesman, club d.j., digger on an archaeological site, storyteller, forensic autopsy lab assistant, professional musician, towel attendant at a men's bathhouse, farm worker, cabaña boy, and numerous other jobs he can't (or chooses not to) remember at this point.  In 1993, he received his Master's Degree in Information Science and Technology and has worked as a Reference Librarian ever since.  He lives with The Love Of His Life and four cats in an historic house that is too cold in winter and too hot in summer in Little Rock, Arkansas.  He has collected and customized dolls since 1998. Michael plans on talking about and demonstrating some of the different re-rooting techniques, discussing pros and cons of each.  He also plans to discuss what to look for in good re-rooting hair/fiber, and where to find good re-rooting hair/fiber.  In addition, he will cover why some heads are better than others, and removing heads and hair safely. Lastly we’ll discuss how to get a perfect looking part.  We may get into hair dyeing if time allows.

Repaints that Come to Life with Debbie Martin and Michelle James Michelle James has had a love of crafting and working with her hands almost all her life, but until she discovered customizing fashion dolls, she just drifted from project to project, always searching for the one craft that would be completely fulfilling.  With customizing fashion dolls, she’s finally filled that need.  She designs various types of dolls such as fantasy, couture and fun daywear in addition to doing OOAK nude repaints on all sizes of fashion dolls.  She mainly specializes in unique OOAK African-American repaints and fashions, as there is such a shortage of eye-catching African-American dolls on the market. Debbie Martin lives in Vero Beach, Florida. She is a former Connecticut native who relocated searching for warmer temperatures. Debbie belongs to the UFDC and the Treasure Coast Doll Club, and has been collecting dolls for over twelve years. Besides fashion dolls, Debbie has dabbled in other artistic endeavors such as pottery, sculpting, watercolors and oils. Debbie often lists her seductive Gene repaints for sale on ebay.com. She has won the BMAA twice and received third place once. She has also won numerous other awards and contests for her fine work.  Debbie's dolls never cease to amaze and inspire! This workshop will cover tips and tricks to liven up your repaints.  Topics may include paint selection, sealers, application of lashes, and using oil free powders to create shadows and add shading. We may even add a karaoke machine to the mix. ;-)

Beading with Karen Cooper Karen, an award winning doll designer and craftsperson, has been making customized dolls for over four years.  Karen has a strong history in arts and crafts in a variety of mediums.  What does Karen like best about customizing dolls? "I like the fact that I can use my designing, sewing, and painting skills to create something and have fun."  Visit www.originalprincess.com to see Karen's work. In this hands-on class you will learn basic beading techniques.  Each participant will receive a fabric swatch (for practice), a beading needle, beading thread, a needle threader, and beads.  We will go over beading edgework on garments and fill pattern beadwork for garments.  An illustrated handout will also be provided to each participant.

Mask Making and More With Buckram by Pamela Bachmayer Pamela has been in love with creating and dolls all of her life. She inherited both passions from her grandmother who taught her how to sew and do other needlearts. She's been gone a long time but her grandmother would be delighted to know that Pamela uses all those skills that she taught her to create OOAK's. Pamela has been creating OOAK’s for two years now and loving every minute of it! Buckram is a staple in my supply box. It can be glued, sewn, stapled, painted, and molded. It's most common use is to give shape and form to hats, but its uses go way beyond that! My favorite use for buckram is to create faux leather accessories than can more easily be decorated with paint, rhinestones, glitter, etc. Because of it's flexibility, it is not limited to flat shapes but has very three-dimensional applications! In this class, we will use buckram to make a faux leather Fantasy Mask for an 11 1/2 in doll.

The Custom Dolls Fashion Show is another excellent opportunity to make fools of ourselves. This year’s theme is: DRESS LIKE YOUR FAVORITE CUSTOM DOLL, or any custom doll really!

As you can see, there is a lot of fun going to be happening in Austin Texas very soon. I hope you can join us. Feel free to email me, Rebecca, with any questions at francie@texas.net