Jay and Donatella of SartoriaJ have spent the last few years increasing their creative output, moving from doll clothing and shoes to their first BJD heads. Their next big step will be releasing their first full doll. The artists have even more ambitious plans for the future.
~~~~~
Q: I interviewed you first in 2016. At that time you were making clothing for Iplehouse and Dollshe dolls. Since then you have expanded the number of dolls you sew for (Granado, Amadiz, Soom). Are there plans to further expand your clothing size selections?
A: No, we don’t have plans to expand the number of companies. Actually, we are going to reduce them to Iplehouse, Dollshe, and GRANADO within this year. We tried to work with several other companies in 2018, but since we are developing our own doll, we decided to focus on our doll instead.
Q: Is SartoriaJ still run by 2 people? Are there more staff members now?
A: Yes, it is still run by me and my friend, but we are co-working with several other friends in different areas. For instance, ZakoZako is doing all the face-ups for our dolls.
Q: You have both a website and an Etsy store. What is the function of each store? ( How/why do they differ?)
A: We prefer using our site since it is easier to present our dolls. We can upload bigger pictures, add more functions, etc… But since most of our customers are used to Etsy, it is hard to close it immediately, so we are running both stores. Eventually, we want to use our website only.
Q: At the end of last year you introduced your first doll head, Jude. You have your first girl now available, Yvonne. Did you always plan to add dolls? Do you have plans for more heads, perhaps in other sizes? Will all heads be limited editions?
A: Yes, we are going to release more heads within this year. Currently, we are sculpting the body but it will take more time, and I think we will be able to release it around the end of this year. In between, we are going to release the head separately (most likely one head every 2 months), and they will be all 8-9 inch heads. My friend and I are sculpting the heads. We always wanted a realistic and mature-looking head, and this need became stronger so we decided to make our own.
All the heads released in 2019 will be limited. We are not sure about releasing the head separately without the body. We may not release the head separately after the body is finished but nothing is decided for now. ZakoZako, who worked with us at Iplehouse is doing all the face up for our dolls.
Q: So do you plan to expand to full dolls soon?
A: Yes, we are going to release the first body at the end of this year.
Q: Will your new full dolls fit any of the sizes of clothing you currently make, or will you make?
A: Currently we are more focused on making a beautiful body.
It may or may not be able to wear the clothes we are currently selling, but the size difference won’t be that big.
Q: Will you release the male or female body first?
A: We are working on a female body, and it will be released around the end of this year. It is hard to reveal more information regarding the new body and we hope you can understand.
Q: In what other ways will SartoriaJ expand?
A: Eventually we want to offer everything for BJDs from the doll, clothes, shoes, wigs, eyes, etc… And we want to design and produce all the items we sell too.
~~~~~
~~~~~
