Interview with Jolanta Jaworska
Polish twin sisters Jolanta and Katarzyna Jaworska released their first bjd named “Skene” in August of this year. The 47 cm tall doll with her delicate face, elegant attenuated figure and unusual upper thigh joints is strikingly beautiful. The sisters are currently working on a new girl named “Orsola”. They also hope to eventually perfect and release their first doll sculpt, “Equuin”.
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Q: How did you become involved with dolls, especially BJDs?
A: We had no interests concerning dolls, except barbie when we were little children. All this changed when my friend first told us about BJDs. She showed to us a photo of Dollmore MSD girl. We were surprised that dolls like this are existing. The most interesting thing for me was the ability of customizing one, changing whole appearance, even the body shape by modding.
Q: Was Skene your first doll?
A: Skene is our second doll, and the first which is fully finished. Our first project was a male 60cm doll with horses legs and long fairy ears. We called him Equuin. I was inspired by SOOM monthly doll Sard, and tried to do my own doll. We were literally playing because we didn’t know anything about making ball-jointed dolls. Creating this one taught us a lot about how to construct a proper working joint and why you should draw a precise plan before starting sculpting anything… After two years of sculpting Equuin, Skene was much more easier to make.
Q: Do either or both of you have artistic backgrounds?
A: We used to attend to drawing classes when we were children, and this is the only artistic background which we have. I hadn’t sculpted anything before our Equuin doll, and therefore I was anxious about my sculpting ability. Finally, we decided to try to make our own ball-jointed doll and see what will happen.
Q: What does each of you do when developing your dolls?
A: My sister Kasia is doing all plans and sketches. She’s responsible for joint construction and overall look of the doll. She makes all joints and keeps an eye on my currently sculpted work in progress. She’s also the maker of our resin flowers and handmade wigs.
I’m doing all the sculpting work (except joints). I’m also painting face-ups and do the body blush.
Q: What material do you sculpt your prototype dolls with?
A: We use wooden clay, La Doll, and recently experimented with Sculpey firm.
Q: Do you cast your own dolls or send them to a casting service?
A: We tried to cast our dolls personally, but we have quickly discovered that we are quite prone to resin hazardous influence, therefore our dolls are cast professionally by Dollshe Craft.
Q: Have you and your sister collected many dolls?
A: We used to have dolls from Luts, Narindoll, and Elfdoll. Unfortunately, our collection had to be sold because of the high cost of preparations needed for casting.
Q: What are some of your favorite companies and/or dolls?
A: We like the Volks dolls since they represent classical ABJD style. Besides Volks, We strongly prefer “artistic” dolls, which look different and develop new different BJD styles. We hate seeing all the time hundreds of monotonous faces looking like characters from anime or manga. We love creations of Dust of Dolls and Cerise dolls (and wish to own one of their dolls!)
Q: Are you planning to make dolls in different sizes as well?
A: We are planning to create smaller and bigger dolls, but MSD size is in our opinion most suitable for the resin weight. Such dolls (and smaller) can pose much more easily than their 60cm colleagues.
Q: Did you have a concept in mind when you created Skene?
A: What we wanted most was to create something new. We love ball-jointed dolls, and want to help them develop new styles and trends. I had a very clear concept of a slender, delicate, and flexible figure. It was important to me to make her most delicate, tall, narrow-shouldered, and almost rachitic. My sister designed her body and added a little from herself during planning of the sketch. Although Skene may look more European, I was mostly inspired by traditional Japanese dolls Hina Ningyou (when designing the face), and ukiyo-e woodblock prints (when designing the body shape).
Q: Will you make other things for your dolls? Eyes, clothing, wigs etc…
A: We are making our wigs from natural animal hairs. We intend to make porcelain eyes in the future. Right now sewing is much too complicated for us, so it is small chance to develop our own clothing for dolls.
Q: Does Skene fit in any other doll’s clothing?
A: We didn’t check it yet, but her measurements are almost identical to Rosette (Pure body), and we think that clothes from Rosette dolls could fit well.
Q: Are you currently working on something new?
A: Currently we have too many new projects in progress, and no time at all. We are trying to resurrect our first never finished Equuin doll. We are also sculpting pear-shaped, plump women’s body for our next doll. The most important work we are doing now is sculpting boy body, so our slender girls won’t feel so lonely. We are also planning to do an anthro doll – resin bunny. Besides of all this, we are sculpting new heads for the existing girl body.
Photos above: Equuin leg prototypes, Skene sitting.
Buried in Oblivion ~ Company website
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