~Once Upon a Doll~

Interview with Ehowinn (Delfine) of Dark Tales Dolls about her joint venture with fellow BJD artist Asella of Noble Dolls. Their new company, Once Upon a Doll has recently released their first doll, Elles.

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Q: So how did it come about that you and Asella started working together?

A: It is very simple, Asella (Noble dolls) and I (Ehowinn, Dark Tales doll) have been friends for several years, and when I moved to the same city as Asella, we started to work very often in the same workshop. At the beginning, we worked on our own products, but later we increasingly collaborated with one another and shared booths at several conventions. With our complimentary tastes, it became obvious to set up a company together. This did not surprise anyone in the hobby! We decided to create a doll together, Elles, and after that Lyseron this summer. We presented them at Ldoll festival in October 2013. We just recently launched our first pre-order with professional casts of Elles. That’s the beginning of the story!

Q: How did you decide on your company’s name?

A: We wanted a name that illustrates our common worlds. We also both are inspired by fairy tales when we customize our dolls, and we wanted to keep a child’s mind, a little girl who’s telling a story to her doll in a very French boudoir spirit!

Q: So how did each of you contribute to your first project?

A: First we spoke a lot about what we wanted to create. Then we worked on a little sketch. Our own styles are not very different, so it was not hard to define what to do, a 33cm girl, not a little girl but not a woman either, with feminine shapes. There are very few 1/6 size girls looking like that. We sculpted her together, one doing one part, the other working on another, then we exchanged parts. We spent 2 weeks full-time this summer only on this girl. It was a very interesting experience, and we loved it!

Q: Will Elles be offered in any additional colors?

A: Yes, we will have more colors after this pre-order, and we will offer each time a choice between two colors. For now, we haven’t chosen what color we will have next time.

Q: Are you working on additional dolls for Once Upon a Doll?

A: Yes, we have the other head with elf ears called Lyseron for this body. She will be available very soon. We also plan two other face-plates in the future, and we are thinking about creating new dolls in another size this year!

Q: What additional resin colors are you planning?

A: It’s a secret! The only thing we can say is that there will be colors for every taste!!

Q: What about fashions? Will you be offering separate clothing for your dolls? Any OOAK wigs?

A: Not for now, but in the future, we will offer horns and more parts; custom wigs, and perhaps some clothes and eyes. We have a lot of ideas, and we need time to organize more options. For the conventions, we will always have dolls with complete outfits, wigs, and customization.

Photos above: Elles prototype head, Lyerson head, prototype body with heel feet.

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