~Vesnushka Handmade~ – BJD Collectasy

Vesnushka Handmade is a mother-daughter run business. The pair create and sell BJD clothing and accessories. In addition, daughter Anna takes face-up commissions. Their shop is on Etsy. They live in Russia.

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Q: First, can you first tell me a little about yourselves?

A: Well, Mila and I are mother and daughter, we’ve been always interested in dolls, although she’s an economist and I’m a linguist by profession. In our childhoods in the 60s and 90s respectively, when in the Soviet Union and then in Russia we had only very few types of rather ugly plastic or rubber dolls. Top dream of Russian girls in the 60s was a real baby-like, very detailed German doll with small first teeth, in the 90th – a Barbie with as much detail as possible. The more the country started to open to the world the more often we could see a lot of new types of toys that we could only imagine when we were kids. Dolls have always been our passion and hobby. We got to know BJD dolls in approx. 2009 – both already grown-ups – when Mila saw an article on one of the Russian dolls collectors’ sites. At that time she was crazy about reborn dolls and knitted and sew clothes for them. Funny, but the article was about Fairyland dolls. She showed it to me as she knew that I like the “anime” kind of illustrations and dolls, with big eyes and cute faces. And that was right into the bull’s eye, my eye haha. I fell in love with Ante (my 1st BJD doll) and immediately started to get deeper and deeper into the BJD subject. And frankly speaking, I still admire their motion possibilities and it’s still one of the most important features of BJD dolls for me. A couple of years later we were just pure collectors, we made things and face-ups just for our dolls, and took photos. However all our BJD friends always told us: “why don’t you start selling your clothes and accessories, they are so lovely”. So when I had my own son and I stayed with him on maternity leave, I decided why not to do it finally? We opened a shop on Etsy and started to develop accounts on different BJD sites. Mila sews and knits for the dolls we have at hand, I make accessories of polymer clay, magnetic parts for any sizes, and make face-ups.

Q: So what sizes of dolls do you and your mother make clothes and accessories for?

A: As for clothes: Mila makes clothes for the dolls we have at hand, these are those we own (Fairyland Minifee, Littlefee, Pukifee, Pukipuki; Popovy sisters dolls, Pipos Jr) and for dolls with the same measurements, for example, Lati Yellow. Mila can also sew/knit for those that the client can send to us to get his commission done but Mila makes a decision on this on a case-by-case basis. As for the clothes designs: predominantly they are from her portfolio on Flickr. If the client needs her to create by his own design, that can be discussed (a decision is also made case by case). As for accessories, parts, etc. of polymer clay: I can make them for all BJD doll sizes. I also have a separate album on our Flickr to show my work examples. The same with makeup – any BJDs and almost any design (except scars, injuries, etc. – just don’t like drawing it). I make blushing for dolls up to 40 cm in height.

Q: Do both of you collect BJDs? What dolls are your favorites?

A: Yes we do. We love all of our dolls and they live with us for a long time. In fact, it takes us quite long to decide to buy a new doll because we really need to feel she belongs to our BJD family and we’ll unlikely let her go in the future. Mila likes the BJD kids’ format a bit more as she can make really cute kids’ outfits. The latest addition to our BJD family is Peewit by Popovy Sisters. I’m so fond of her, I am making a faceup and accessories for her now.

Q: How often do you take commissions?

A: We’re open 24/7 so any time! 🙂 You just simply check out our Etsy shop.

Q: Have you had any particular commissions that either of you found especially fun, interesting or challenging?

A: Any commission with a new design potentially can be challenging but at the same time, it’s always fun! Mila likes knitting a bit more than sewing and she’s adores making outfits like for small children, lovely little girls. As for me, I’ve always liked mermaids and fairy themes so anything relating to this is awesome! I also like making different head parts, horns, ears, crowns, and also Minifee shoes.

Q: Is there anything else doll-related that you would like to try in the future?

A: We are planning a lot of new things to create, but it’s a secret so far. ^^ we’ll only say that there will be clothes and accessories for 1/8, 1/4 sizes, and Popovy Sisters dolls. Soon we’ll release a lot of summer accessories so stay tuned, subscribe to our Instagram and Flickr to see them!

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