“Rumpelstilskin” discovered BJDs by chance and was immediately enamored of their possibilities. A lover of the fantastical, the artist hopes to continue to go wherever his imagination takes him.
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Q: Can you tell me a little about yourself in general? Do you have an art background?
A: In general, I am not really used to talking about myself; there aren’t many interesting things I can tell.
I have never studied anything related to arts. All I learned about painting, sculpture and customization was through practice. 
I started in the BJD world because I wanted to make a special gift to a dear-to -me person, but the standard makeup styles offered by the doll houses were too repetitive and mainstream, so I decided to try painting one myself.
I still remember having this doll in my hands and thinking: “She’s too similar to all the others, I should fix this somehow”, so despite of this being my first contact with a BJD, I decided to go ahead and customize her to make her special. I started with the makeup and when I saw that the result was what I expected, I continued with the body blush, and at the end even added elf ears and a face mod. (Some time later I found out that there was already a limited version of this mold with elf ears ^^´ ).
Q: How did you become interested in sculpting BJD doll heads?
A: I was interested in sculpture from the first moment I entered into the BJD world. The choice of different molds on the market was huge, but there was always something in each of them I didn’t like, small details I was keen to change. With time I also realized that the real fun for me was customizing, and as soon as it was finished, I would lose the interest in the mold. That is how some year ago, I finally decided to make my own molds.
Also, I was always fascinated by the idea of “bringing to life” the world I have in my imagination. Creating them feels like opening a tiny window to my inner universe, the feeling of seeing part of it becoming reality is indescribable.
Q: What are some of the things that inspire your work?
A: I frequently get inspired by the nature, especially animals, insects, etc… and mythology and the world of fantasy creatures, but most of all, it comes directly from my head. There are hundreds of different characters and stories living in my inner world.
Another aspect which helps me to sculpt is the fascination I felt since I was a child for the stories of inanimate objects with more or less human shape, that magically come to life or are endowed with a soul.
That is why I like my dolls to look “alive” and with many facial expression possibilities, meaning that depending on the angle or light they may be able to show different expressions and “emotions”, creating the illusion of an artificial life.
Q: So the name RumpelDoll is from Rumpelstilskin, correct? Is this a favorite story or does the character have a special meaning to you?
A: Correct, Rumpel Doll is an abbreviation of Rumpelstilskin. Well, the truth is that the choice of the name does not contain any special meaning, I just liked it and I was struck by how rare it was. I always have a preference for strange and different names, but the fact that it was difficult to pronounce made me change it to RumpelDoll.
Q: Can you tell me a little about the inspirations behind the two heads you have released so far?
A: The topic of hybridization and genetic mutations is something that I find extremely interesting, so whenever I have the opportunity, I like to add a good dose of it to my creations.
Morfeo, is a humanoid hybrid of a bat, although that does not mean that he is a vampire, because certainly he is not. And Abaddon, is a crossing of a human and an old warrior race of which I have not talked much of yet.
On the other hand, my new creation, even if she/he appears to be more human than Abaddon and Morfeo, has also a little touch of “fantasy design”.
Q: Do you design your heads by sculpting by hand or by computer?
A: I mostly create them with a digital design program, and when I have the prototype in my hands, I always change it a lot by hand, because no matter how much the impression approaches what I have created, there are always things that finally do not convince me or I would prefer to do in another way. So, I would say I combine both methods.
Q: What doll bodies are a good fit with your doll heads?
A: I continue searching and finding more suitable bodies for my heads. For the moment I can solidly state that Morfeo perfectly fits the Dollshe (old new body) and similar; and Abaddon fits Dollstown 18 or similar. On the other hand, my clients have a wide range of different doll bodies and a huge imagination, so they will make more suitable hybrids. Thanks to their feedback, with time I will be able to find out much more .
Furthermore, my next creations will have their own body sculpted also by me.
Q: Where are your doll heads cast?
A: Both heads have been cast by the talented team at Haru casting.
Q: Do you think you will try to make other sizes or types of dolls? (female, children, animal?)
A: I would definitely love to make more fantastic creatures, as it is a topic that I am passionate about.
I am currently working on a complete doll with undefined sex, meaning that each person can choose the gender and customize him/her accordingly.
Q: So have you begun the work on your first doll body. Around what size do you plan to make your doll? Will it be released this year or the next?
A: Yes, I am still working on the body of my first complete doll; it will be of a medium/small size, approximately around 30 cm. About the release date, I’m not very clear when I can release it for sale, it always takes me a lot of time to finish a project, so I wouldn’t dare to give dates yet. But I am already keen to see my first complete doll in resin!
Q: What is the thing you most like about making dolls? What is the least?
A: What I like most about creating dolls is the idea of opening your mind and pouring some of the worlds inside you into something corporeal, I find it so exciting to see my creatures slowly come to life…
And what less… well, certainly the number of times you have to repeat something until it becomes exactly what you imagined or accepted. I can be very obsessive with the details and have to repeat each feature a lot of times before I like it 100%.
RumpelDoll Links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rumpeldoll/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RumpelDoll/
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/xrumpelstiltskinx/
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Morfeo:
Abaddon:
