Donny Harijanto of Dream High Studio is the master of the miniature BJD. I now have four of his dolls, and I continue to be amazed by the intricacy of his figures. The smallest BJDs that Donny has created are a mere 5 cm tall. Despite their tiny scale, his dolls are as fully jointed as the largest BJDs made.
Last week, I received what is now the smallest doll I now own, Donny’s newest micro doll Piko. I also own two of his 7 cm tall micro fairies, Flora and Harpy. All of his recent dolls are now cast in a new resin formulation that Donny himself created. This resin is slightly resilient and hard to chip. I have dropped one of his dolls accidentally from a height of about 4 feet onto a hard surface and the doll survived unscathed. The dolls made in this resin have been cast in a variety of colors. All my DHS dolls have a smooth surface showing no casting marks. Transparent parts have also been made for the micro fairies. The resin is beautiful.
All of my dolls arrived from Indonesia in little pouches inside decorative cardboard boxes. Each of these minute BJDs comes with a face-up and body blushing. Harpy and Flora additionally have a pair of wings attached by magnets and an additional dome head-cap. All of the head-caps fit on snugly with no gaps. Flora and Harpy’s head-caps are identical in size, and I was able to switch Flora’s bud cap and Harpy’s bird cap on the dolls. They also fit perfectly.
Although she is diminutive, even 5 cm Piko is assembled from an impressive number of tiny pieces. The individual parts of the micro dolls, if spread out on a table, would resemble various size beads. Donny creates double joints for the knees even on his smallest creations. The elbow joints allow the hands to move towards the face, so my dolls easily touched their noses or stroked their long ears. The onyx bead eyes come installed and the head is then filled with eye putty. The micro fairies have a tiny magnet to hold on their head-caps, but Piko’s head is too small to fit a magnet. Instead, her cap is held on by the eye putty.
Harpy and Flora are a little easier to pose than Piko, due to their longer limbs. Piko’s legs are a bit too stumpy for her to sit cross-legged, but she can kneel. The dolls will stand on their own, but Piko stands more easily due to her lower center of gravity.
The micro BJDs are truly marvels. The dolls are exquisitely designed with attention to detail, like fine jewelry. My dolls are flawless in their construction. While they look delicate, DHS dolls are sturdy. They are easy to handle, and the blushing does not chip off with posing. For any collector of the tiniest BJDs, you will find none better.
Limited Edition Piko is still available at Dream High Studio. Donny’s dolls may also be purchased at authorized retailer Fabric Friends and Dolls.
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