Russian doll artist Sister Fox has been making dolls for four years, first exclusively in porcelain. In the last year, she introduced petite 23.5 cm tall resin BJDs. Sister Fox currently has five sculpts released. She sells her work on her Etsy site SisterFoxPrincesses.
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Q: How did you become interested in making dolls?
A: Once I wanted to make some toys for my baby and started to search for toy making tutorials in internet. Among tons of information, I found a forum devoted to doll-making. I was so amazed that human hands can make such beautiful things! I decided to try making some too. A few years later, my sister remembered that when I was a child that I tried to make some pretty things I saw somewhere. I had made my first doll when I was about 15. I sculpted the face, the arms and the legs, and her body was made from cloth. So I was interested in making dolls before.
Q: How long have you made porcelain dolls?
A: My first porcelain doll was made in 2012. Before this, I was making dolls of LaDoll and other materials.
Q: When did you first introduce resin BJDs?
A: I introduced the first edition of my resin dolls in January 2015. They were made considering all requirements for ball-jointed dolls – material, changeable eyes, all the features to allow me to join the BJD community, but I didn’t announce them worldwide for almost a year. So mostly they are known in my country, but the first doll I sold went to the UK. Originally there were three face molds, but since that time I made another two.
Q: Can you tell me a little about each of your little resin girls?
A: I love tiny dolls. And though standard MSD and SD size dolls give more opportunities for creation, I still love this handy size. My first porcelain dolls became like tiny fairies after firing. It was the root of the concept for these dolls. I had two main project for these dollies, the flower elves and the candy fairies, so the first three molds came with flower names. I introduced them to the public like elves in dresses made of flower petals.
Peony incredibly reminds me of my best friend from school. This mold was originally introduced in a rococo dress with a puffy crinoline like a peony blossom made of silk.
The Orchid mold was the second one I sculpted. I planned to depict more ethnic features for her, and because of the size, I had to do it in a simplified style similar to my first face. It was challenging for me, but I am proud of how I managed this challenge. I would like to try sculpting a face with the ethnic features again. Orchid was introduced as an exotic Brazilian samba dancer with silk wings like orchid petals.
Then I sculpted the Rose mold. And she was introduced in a rose dress. My mom made a rose dress for a carnival for me when I was a child. I made doll dress more complex than mine with the skirt made of silk rose petals. This mold has a little melancholic expression because of her slightly closed eyes. Probably because she was the third sculpt, I was more experienced in sculpting this face which resulted in more detailed features.
For some time Rose was my favorite mold and the most popular one among my customers, until I made Iris. Now I don’t know which face is my favorite! Peony inspires recollections of my friend, Orchid is my big achievement, Rose is just so adorable and Iris is peculiar and is almost as popular as my Rose mold.
The fifth face, Berry, was released just recently. I made only one character with this mold, and I still don’t know its potential. This doll widely smiles, and I like this emotional expression. Now I want to make a face with the opposite emotion, maybe with capriciously tucked lips or a relaxed dreaming face.
Q: Some people worry that making clothing for such small dolls is too hard. What has been your experience with dressing your small dolls?
A: As far as I know some clothes for dolls like Blythe or Momoko may fit, but not all clothes will fit perfectly. Some of my customers dressed my dolls in clothes made for PukiFee from Fairyland. Also I found some of their shoes fit quite well.
Q: What wig and eye sizes do they take? Do you ever make your own eyes and wigs?
A: They take 6 mm eyes and 3-3.5’ wigs. I make mohair wigs for my dolls. I don’t make eyes, because the eyes I use are good enough.
Q: Where did the name “Sister Fox” come from?
A: I have the nickname “Fox” (in Russian of course) since my childhood, and my best friends call me that. We have the famous character of Russian fairy-tales – Brother Fox. Like stories of Uncle Remus, we have Brother Fox and Brother Rabbit. In Russia it is a rhyme, and everyone knows this character since their childhood. So my nickname and the character of folklore are fused together.
Q: Are you working on more dolls now?
A: Right now I’m working on new porcelain dolls, but also I’m planning to release a pet for my little fairies. And I want to make boys the same size!
Pictures above from top: SisterFox logo, Peony, Berry.
SisterFoxPrincesses Etsy Shop
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Peony:
Orchid:
Rose:
Iris:
Berry:
Additional photos:
