Cecile A.K.A. “Heliantas” is a French face-up artist, doll fashion designer an wig maker. Cecile’s work is charmingly theatrical. Her fashions, made of antique lace and fine linens, are almost always OOAK. Currently she is preparing to open a shop “AntiK FabriKs by Heliantas” in 2012.
By Cecile (Heliantas)
Basically, I am a chemist, but I have been always very manual, and I am dabbler – scrap-booking, lamp-works beads, making bears, needle felt, sewing… I discovered BJDs in 2008 thanks to a report that I saw on the TV. This inspired me to buy my first doll after a long hesitation because of the price! My first one was a Amy from Luts, but when I saw her I was very disappointed. The proportions did not please me: big feet, big hands … so I very fast resold her. I then tested Pullips. I liked them. It was the Blythe which allowed me to make my first face-ups and customizations. But BJDs still danced in my head!
A second try with a Littlefee Ante… and it was a revelation! I sold all my Pullips to dedicate my collection exclusively to BJDs! Knowing the techniques of make-up, thanks to my work on Blythe, I one day decided to do the face-ups on my dolls. At the beginning, I was very hesitating and simple, but by means of working and training I became better and more finished.
For the face-ups I use essentially soft pastels and watercolor pencils. Obviously, the MSC (Mr. Super Clear flat lacquer) is important to protect every stage of my make-up.. When I work on a face-up commission, I regularly send photos of the progress at every stage to my customers. That allows them to rectify details if needed, before protecting the make-up to go farther. I find this a very friendly method that allows the customer to take part in the make-up of his doll and allows them to see the progress of the transformation.
For clothes, I decided to make them simply because I didn’t find at any retailers the style of clothes which I wanted for my dolls. Most were too simple or too classic or too modern and especially I didn’t like the modern fabrics used, not always of very good quality! Sewing was always a hobby for me, I have no needlewoman’s training, I learned everything alone. For me the use of antique laces was my inspiration. It’s in this style of aged fabrics, ancient, sometimes stained, sometimes pierced that I wanted to see on my dolls. I find that they take on a new life thanks to antique laces.
Everything moved very fast, this passion for the BJD began to take a big place in my life, and I thus participated as saleswoman in the French BJD convention the previous year in Lyon. I sold dresses in antique lace for Lati dolls. Sales went very well, and a lot of people asked me to make dresses for YO-Sd, MSD, and SD size dolls. I also participated in a competition of customization during the show. The contest was on the theme “lust”, and I won first prize.
At the beginning of the year I lost my work as chemist following the closing of my company, it was thus the perfect opportunity to launch a new career doing what I have had done for a long time: creating handmade work, and it’s the BJD which allowed me that. Today I work full-time with dolls by taking commissions for face-up, wigs made of mohair which I dye on request, and the creation of dresses in antique lace and linen.
This year I also participated in the second convention of the BJD in France with the sale of dresses and wigs, and I have participated in competitions of customizations: the theme, “23rd century” where I won third prize.
In my sewing work, I like beautiful fabrics, and I have two I prefer; antique lace and linen. For the first one, I find it at the flea markets around my home. Every Sunday, whether the weather is beautiful or not, I search for my raw material. In France we are still lucky to find antique beautiful laces. I like rehabilitating them and creating beautiful dresses with them. The antique lace is often found in small pieces which allow me to create only single dresses, a dress completely OOAK. For the linen, I use modern linen because we find nowadays attractive printed fabrics which I like very much. I does not use old tablecloths and napkins in linen because I find that this linen is too thick for the dress which I would like to make. I like when the fall of the fabric is soft and delicate. That’s why I want to work the linen differently from the antique laces! I do not make too many similar dresses, I buy my linen fabric in small lengths to allow me only limited editions. I want to create full outfits for each size and in various colors or prints. It will then be the customer who shall compose his own outfit by choosing the items which pleases him in the series available, which will allow me in the end to make a multitude of different dresses.
From the moment I started my business, I have done what I like, and I try to answer to all the requests of my customers as best as I can. I have not thought about the future, since I only started to take commissions since last July! Until now, I was an amateur, but in 2012 I will become a professional by creating my small firm: AntiK FabriKs by Heliantas. I not only want to make dresses, wigs and face-ups, I also want to create accessories for BJDs! I have already started the creation of little bags and purses. I want also to make shoes in the Victorian steampunk style. I am working on prototypes. I already made small shoes, like rope-soled sandals. I like hats, and I am going to make milliner’s formations to create hats for the BJD, I have made a few, but I want to learn the proper techniques. And finally, I want to work on small teddy bears in doll sizes.
Very interesting!