The Doll Cafe

Today Coleccionistas de Fashion Dolls en Madrid ("Coleccionistas") hosted a special online Q&A with Black Swan Company's Francesco Catalano.

Coleccionistas is an active doll community based in Madrid, Spain, who will be hosting the Madrid Doll Show this fall. 

The Black Swan Company is an emerging OOAK doll based in Italy.  You can also find their creations on their Ebay page.  Please see their latest offerings.

This is the first OOAK Silkstone produced by The Black Swan Company is "White Swan Prima Ballerina."  Isn't she amazing?

White Swan Prima Ballerina Silkstone OOAK Barbie

The Black Swan Company was named after their first OOAK doll "The Black Swan" which caused a sensation in the collector world.  The company features beautiful styling with a focus on ballet, dance and fantasy.

Principal designer Francesco Catalano's focus stemmed from his love of music:  "The inspiration about ballet and dance depends on my love for the music. I am a musician and I study piano and flute since I was 9 years old. I have been in the conservatory of music with flute and I got a degree. In the world I lived I had the chance to see opera and ballet and I fell in love with The Swan Lake, Cinderella, Emerald, Don Quixote and many others I had the chance to see. I [have] love[d] Barbie since [the age of ] 5 so I tried to mix my two biggest passion in my life. The Black Swan Company is the final result of who I am.

The doll making process is not easy!  Francesco notes that, "In one year we were able to produce more than 50 dolls. 5 artists work about a week 8 hours at day to create one of our dolls."  [This does not include those] who work for the boxes, printings and certificates. Sometimes a doll requires more time, like Evanora the Witch of East who required almost 20 days of work.  

Francesco's favorite Barbie is Wind Rider, a true beauty and one of my faves!  I encourage you to learn more about OOAK artists and support these artists.  They are the ones who bring our favorite dolls to life in new and exciting ways!  Don't forget to check out The Black Swan Company's Facebook page and follow this amazing OOAK doll company and their future creations.

Back in February I had the opportunity to visit Studio P.H. 8442 for an amazing time viewing the current collection of Silkstone Barbies in the display Portrait of a Hollywood Dressing Room. The display was set up and arranged by Robert Best. I took several pictures which you can see here. You can also click here to see other amazing Barbie pics and posts at Studio P.H. 8442's website.

I love this new Francie! She is much more than I expected! Now I would really love to go back and get Check Please Francie but there are so many new dolls that I want! Here is one of my fave pics. Click to see more of the pics on my Flickr page!

Just as anticipated, Barbie Collector has announced the new Silkstone Francie! Her  name is "Nighty Brights" and she features her nighty outfit and a cute yellow mod shift dress.  Barbie Collector also announced some cute collectibles honoring Francie! Francie will be available on November 2 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific.  Here is her page at Barbie Collector.  If you would like her, it's not too late to join!   I'm hoping this one will be more of a hit with collectors but as you know repros always bring up strong feelings for collectors. Mattel tries to please vintage collectors but sometimes the new interpretations are not exactly what the collectors hoped for. Recent comments about the repro Check Please Francie were mixed.  Some collectors have noted that Francie's lips and eyes were too cartoon like!  I think this is an interesting addition to the Silkstone line but I'm still a big fan of the classic looks and tailored outfits of the earlier Silkstone offerings.  I think this Francie is a cutie who may end up on my list sooner or later!  If you are a Barbie Fan Club member check out this exclusive content!

I had the opportunity to take a look at all of the sketches in this calendar when I was at the Barbie Convention. I now found that the calendar is available at Amazon. It's really worth the money and the sketches are suitable for framing after you use the Calendar!

We interrupt our Barbie and The Diamond Castle coverage today to report on the new dolls announced by Mattel. They have announced the several new dolls in the Barbie Fashion Model Collection (Silkstone). What is interesting about the Silkstones for 2009 is that they will feature homages to vintage Barbies. There will also be an African American doll in the collection! There will also be a special 50th Anniversary doll designed by Robert Best. She will have a golden ball gown and is very regal. The My Favorite Barbie® Doll Collection will bring you the most beloved and iconic Barbies reproduced for her 50th anniversary. These dolls were designed by Bill Greening. The Dolls of the World Collection is back with four new offerings designed by Linda Kyaw. Other repro dolls to be produced will be Julia and Becky! That gift set features two extra outfits. A doll that was announced several months ago is the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Barbie. Photographs of her have finally been released. She has articulated arms and ballerina pointed feet. Finally for Model Muse lovers there is a set of 3 Corvette Barbie dolls with two straight arms and a Mackie face. There is a pink, yellow and red version with white painted on gloves. There are a few pictures and a lot more information at My Favorite Doll and Vogue 41.

I had the opportunity to see some of these dolls in the production stage several months ago. You will not be disappointed by the beauty and variety in the 2009 line! Go Barbie, 50 more very happy birthdays!

Many members of the Barbie Fan Club have reported that they received their Silkstone dolls! About 80% if Ingenues and Hollywood Bounds have shipped. The balance will be shipped in September. Several members have posted pictures of their new dolls and they look pinker and more vibrant. Ingenue's makeup looks a little more vibrant too. I don't expect to receive my dolls until September. When I do receive them I will take new pictures and post them.


On that note, here is the original, Miss No. 1. The first Silkstone lingerie doll for your viewing pleasure! The entire collection's official name is the Barbie Fashion Model Collection or BFMC.

I read on the Barbie Collector Forum that the first batch of Silkstone Barbies returned due to production flaws are being sent back to their owners. That's good news if you were one of the earliest to return their dolls. As I mentioned, I will probably be in the last batch to receive mine since I sent them back so late! Here is the third of my silkies that I returned. She is Red Hot Reviews. I got her on Amazon for a very good price. I had not de-boxed her until just before sending her back. Here is one of the close-ups I took a few days before she went on her journey to the spa . . .

The Shanghai dolls I wrote about here will be available for purchase on the Barbie Collector website starting Wednesday morning. You must be a member of the Barbie fan club to purchase these dolls in a set and there is a limit of one per customer. The retail price is $49.95. Barbie Collector's website reports that these dolls were created for a very special occasion and that there will be an announcement about that in the near future. Each comes with an additional fashion from their shopping spree (displayed on mannequins), and exquisitely detailed accessories. There will be 1,800 for purchase with the actual dolls being released overseas in the fall. I sure hope I'm able to get a set. Too bad there is a limit!

Today's close-up is another girl who has gone off to a far-far away land. When she returns her skin will be rejuvenated with a special glow, not yellowish at all. I miss you Miss HB!

I got up early this morning to go to our local Hallmark. This morning was the ornament premiere. I managed to buy the club ornament this year, The Soiree. I also picked up a cute Christmas tree shaped Barbie ornament with tiny shoes. I'm excited to plan my Barbie Christmas tree this year. Every other year in our home we put up the Barbie tree. There will be additional ornaments released in October of this year. I also took some time to pre-order two mm dolls with the TRU free shipping. I pre-ordered Legends of Ireland Aine Doll and the Little Red Riding Hood Set. They are still many months away so hopefully TRU will not cancel my pre-order.

The close-up today is of my Ingenue who is on a current extended vacation. I sent her off to Mattel to be freed of the yellowing issues plaguing some of the 2007 Silkstones. I don't expect her back for quite some time since I got my dolls in the very last possible day to do so. In the meantime, I have her cute pictures to remember her by.

I recently received the last issue of the Barbie Collector Magazine. This is the magazine that replaced Barbie Bazaar magazine some time last year. You may have heard that the magazine is already folding. The fourth issue, the Spring 2008 issue is the last issue. I really think it's a shame that the magazine wasn't given enough time to develop and gain acceptance. It is true that most of the magazine was advertisements but I was really starting to enjoy the articles. The last issue did two things for me, it convinced me to buy the Haut Monde Barbie Collector Club Silkstone. The front cover picture (I know it's perfectly retouched and all) helped me to see the beauty in this doll. I'm still not liking the price tag but the club discount will help. The other thing about the magazine that I enjoyed was the article about the Steffie mold. The article discusses the history of the Steffie head sculpt and her creator Martha Armstrong Hand. In the article there is also a list of all the Steffie dolls produced. I was surprised to learn that the Steffie mold is the longest running head sculpt in Mattel's history spanning 35 years and still in production! I don't have any Steffie mold dolls prior to 2000 but now with that list, I've been stalking ebay for some of the older ones. What is amazing is the versatility of this sculpt. There are so many different types of dolls using it. Maybe I'll look for some bargains on less than perfect dolls and leave the beautiful NRFB dolls to the collectors. I'm watching one now from the 80s. I'll be sure to post if I get her!

I know I got started a little late but this was my first Steffie, the Paul Frank Barbie. She is on the Daria Celebutante body. Here is a cute close-up of her.

That's always the question isn't it? I'm just about this close to stop buying Silkstone Barbies but then some cute ones are introduced into the line and I break my own rule. I pretty much had every Silkstone up until 2006. I can't remember what happened and I stopped buying every single one in the yearly collection. I really like the Career Girls and have all of them except the Secretary but I'm thinking it's time to stop collecting. Some of the dolls were introduced as foreign exclusives for the Asian and Australian/European markets. I do have two dealers that contacted me about purchasing the dolls but I really think I should wait. The Artist is probably the only one I really want. The Shop Girl kind of scares me with the streak in her hair. Barbie Collector may offer a limited number of these dolls so the big question is pre-order now at a high rate or wait and try my luck at getting her for the retail price. She is supposed to be $70 but I have the feeling she will be more. Some dealers are charging $200 for these dolls. This seems to happen every year with the Silkstones. There are one or two dolls that everyone wants and the prices go up, up, up! Hello Violette, Dahlia . . . I think I'm going to wait for now. If I don't get these dolls I think I'll live.

My doll for today is Modern Circle Simone. This is a doll I saw tons of at the Mattel Toy Store and she did nothing for me at all. The hair even frightened me. I bought her outfit from E-bay years ago and finally last year I bought this doll. I bought her in a lot with Melody. Now that she has a new body I really love her. It's funny how my tastes change. I probably ended up paying more for her nude and her outfit separately than I would have for a good deal at MTS but she wasn't speaking to me back then! Now I think she is smokin! A few more pictures here.