MEET COLLIII AWARD 2012 WINNING REBORN ARTIST (CHERYL VAN PLETZEN

Would you like to read the profile of a Colliii Award winning doll artist, maybe find out some ideas for your dolls at the 2013 Colliii Awards...
Discover Cheryl van Pletzen, winner of the Best Overall Reborn and Best Baby 2012...
(Includes video)

 Colliii.com: What was your initial reaction when you saw the winner of "Best Reborn Overall"?
Cheryl: My heart skipped a beat and then started pounding in my chest, I just couldn't believe it!
Colliii.com: What about on seeing the second prize? "Best Reborn Baby"?
Cheryl: My mind was still spinning, trying to believe that my Rainer was awarded 'Best Reborn Overall'........I mean I was always hopeful, I just didn't expect such an amazing result!
Colliii.com: What have you done with little Rainer?
Cheryl: I didn't even expect to be nominated, so in the last week of the Colliii's I decided to list her on e-bay. Her auction ended just hours after she was announced a winner!....she's now living in Texas, USA
Colliii.com: Was this your first time entering the Colliii Awards? What expectations did you have? Why did you enter?

Cheryl: 2012 was my first time entering....I had no idea what to expect at all, it all seemed so exciting though. I missed out on last years Awards as I only heard of Collliii right at the time of the 2011 voting. I love competitions, I love seeing other artists impressions of the same kits, OOAK and fantasy dolls. I had heard how prestigious the Colliii Awards are and onlyreally 'dreamed' of winning.

Colliii.com: What brought you into Reborning dolls?
Cheryl: I was searching for a 'baby mannequinn' to model my hand knitted baby clothes and stumbled across a reborn doll on e-bay....I bought the first one I spotted. When he arrived, I picked him up and his head fell off! I thought, I can do better than this!.....my favourite things in the world, babies, baby clothes and painting! I go to bed and wake up thinking about reborning....
Colliii.com: Do you make custom orders? How do you promote your work?
Cheryl: I very rarely make custom orders, perhaps one or two a year....I  find woking to specification too restricting, it just doesn't feel comfortable. I use my website and forums to promote my work and occasionally when out shopping for baby clothes and people ask 'how old is the baby' I tell them all about reborning.
Colliii.com: Have you got any tips for new artists?
Cheryl: Oh yes.....get online and google everything you can on 'reborning' find a reborn supplier in your local area and/or e-bay and most important, join a forum or two. Forums are a great way to find out all those little tips on how to reborn and how to improve and also getting to know 'like minded' people really helps, especially when you come across negative responses from family and friends.
If you are lucky enough to attend a private reborning class, this will really put you ahead of the game. I taught myself from the old DVD's without any outside help for over a year! I was happy in my own little world, but I only started to improve once I'd attended reborning lessons.

 Ifyou can't get to lessons, there are wonderful Reborning and Rooting DVD's available, they are very reasonably priced and once you've familiarised yourself with the reborning process, you could sell them on.

ARTICLE - MEET COLLIII AWARD WINNINGPERUVIAN DOLL ARTIST CINTHYA AGURTO SALAS

In 2011 Peruvian doll artist Cinthya Agurto Salas won the Colliii Award for "Best Special Effects". We met up with her for an exclusive interview and to find out more about this artist....


Cinthya Agurto Salas is one of the leading doll artists from Peru and she entered the worlds largest doll making competition in 2011. It was her second time to enter the Colliii Awards (which are held each year) and her Reborn doll "Miguel Angel" was nominated by the public for several awards. The jury finally awarded the doll with the "Best Special Effects" award and you can find out all about Cinthya in this interview:
Colliii.com: What is the life of a reborn artist like?
Cinthya: For me it is more than a job, it is a way to express myself. After suffering several health and emotional issues I have found a way to express and release myself in this beautiful art form. I was so happy to discover reborning!
Colliii.com: Congratluations on your success at the 2011 Colliii Awards. This wasn´t the first time you entered though. What motivated you to keep trying?
Cinthya: Thanks for the compliments and to everybody that voted for Miguel Angel! Being nominated and finally winning a Colliii Award has been a large milestone in my carear that is for certain. When I was nominated I was thrilled, and when I found out I had won I couldn´t believe it.
Colliii.com: What made you enter the doll that finally won?
Cinthya: Well I have to thank my good friend and customer Barbara for helping me with the choice of doll. She encouraged me to enter this doll which I made for her and I am so happy that I did!
Colliii.com:What have you done with the winning doll? Do you still have it?
Cinthya: He now has a new "mother" and has a new "happy home", so I didn´t keep him.
Colliii.com: The Colliii Awards are the largest doll making competition in the world. How has the response been to your success?
Cinthya: I have a lot to be thankfull for! I has definitively helped me to be among the Colliii Awards winners as the competition is a great way to promote my art and let people see what your own art can be like.
Colliii.com: The doll market is moving in different directions. What kind of dolls are you thinking of doing int he future?
Cinthya: I love Reborn dolls but I love ball jointed dolls and also I would love to experiment with silicon dolls. I am currently experiementing with my own sculpts, so there is lots going on for me too!
Colliii.com: As an artist from Peru where do you get your inspiration from?
Cinthya: I love to do ethnic looking babies and I try to draw on my own culture to get inspiration. I am happy that that also gets accepted as I am very enthusiastic about it.
Colliii.com: How do you feel that Reborning has progressed in the last few years. What about the artists in general?
Cinthya: I would have to say that the overall level of the work has become very high. I think there will always be a market for Reborn dolls and when I have shown my work to people in my native Peru they have been very interested by it.
I can see the Reborn world getting better and more realistic for sure. I can imagine lots of new ideas coming on the scene in the near future.
Colliii.com: How big is the Reborn market in your current home Spain? Is it still growing?
Cinthya: The reborn scene in Spain is definitivly growing. The economic situation in Spain is very har so I am glad that I have several collectors that often buy my work.
There is a reborn doll show in Madrid in March which is being run by some collegues of mine, so it is growing for sure!
Colliii.com: What advice can you give new artists?
Cinthya: I would say they have to be confident of their own work and not be afraid to express themselves and try something new. I would advise them to look in forums for advice and techniques and get as much infomation as possible before starting painting.
Colliii.com: How can people find out more about your work or buy your dolls?
Cinthya: People can visit my website www.rebornroyalpalace.com or find me on facebook http://www.facebook.com/rebornroyalpalace or even send me an email on rebornroyalpalace@gmail.com

ARTICLE - CANADIAN REBORN DOLL ARTIST JAN CZUBA IN EXPOSE

 CANADIAN REBORN DOLL ARTIST JAN CZUBA IN EXPOSE

Burlington based doll maker Jan Czuba has been covered by Lifelike Dolls Magazine and her realistic collector dolls have once again reached the limelight. Read on to find out more...

Newsagency "The Spec" have published a report about Jan Czuba and we can bring you the highlights of this fascinating read:
Jan Czuba’s home is a baby factory. Every year the Burlington woman gives birth to more than two dozen babies.
Czuba is a reborner, an artist who specializes in creating dolls that are so realistic they look as if they may start crying at any moment.
To Czuba, the dolls are simply works of art to be valued no less than a realistic portrait.
“It’s like a canvas,” she explains. “I just love seeing the doll come to life and making someone happy.”
Czuba has long been a doll collector and used to make Cabbage Patch dolls in the past.
Czuba, who has made more than 100 dolls, has customers across North America and Europe.
“Everyone says that they open the box and it just takes their breath away.”
She is well aware some people find reborns creepy and don’t understand the attraction. Public perception of her craft hasn’t been helped by a tiny segment of collectors who treat the dolls like real babies, sometimes to replace a child.
If you would like one of Jans babies you can find out more through her website by clicking on this link

ARTICLE - MEET COLLIII AWARD WINNING DOLL ARTIST MELISSA CAVANAUGH

American doll artist Melissa Cavanaugh was honored with a Colliii Award 2011 for her Reborn artistry. We met up with this talented artist to bring you an exclusive interview. Read on to find out more...

Colliii.com: Hello Melissa, why dont you start by introducing yourself to us.
Melissa: I live in a beautiful little coastal city on the Gulf of Mexico in South Texas. I have been a Texan all my life and love the city I live in. I’ve been happily married to my high school sweetheart for 19 years and he has been wonderfully supportive of me. I always say he is my biggest fan. We have been blessed with two beautiful children and I have the honor of staying home with them. It can be difficult finding the perfect balance between being a stay-at-home mommy and a reborn artist but I take great pride in both of these "jobs" and really work hard at being the best I can be at both of them!
Colliii.com: Congratulations on your success! This was your first time entering the Colliii Awards and you were not only nominated but also won. What motivated you to enter?
Melissa:  Thank you! I can’t tell you how much winning this award means to me. I entered on a whim. I wanted to see how far in the competition I could go and my goal was to be nominated for an award. I would have never, in my wildest dreams, imagined that I would win! It is a wonderfully shocking surprise for me and I couldn’t be happier about my nomination and Colliii Award win. There were so many amazingly beautiful babies entered this year and I can only imagine how difficult it was to choose the winning babies in each category.
I have always dreamed of winning a Colliii Award ever since I first began reborning. I admire the previous winners so much and they were my inspiration to enter. When I first began learning this art form I use to study their work and I really feel that I owe so much to them. My admiration for the previous winners has made me the artist that I am today.
Colliii.com: What made you enter the doll that eventually won? Did you make it especially for the Colliii Awards?
Melissa: I absolutely love Natalie Scholl’s Jayden sculpt. He is my all time favorite kit. I was only able to reborn this one version of him so I really wanted him to be wonderful! I was very happy with his finished result so it was natural for me to enter him in this year’s Colliii competition.
Colliii.com: What has happened to the doll now? Do you still have it or has it found a new home?
Melissa: He has been home with me for a little while now so I am ready to find his new mommy. I will miss him once he leaves me but it has been so nice to have him here with me while I enjoyed my Colliii Award win. He will be available for adoption on Ebay very soon.
Colliii.com: The Colliii Awards is the largest doll making competition in the world. How has the response been to your achievement?
Melissa: The response has been wonderful and I have made so many new friends because of it. Winning this award was a wonderful way to end the year and I’m so looking forward to the new opportunities that it will bring me in 2012. It has opened the door for some new prototypes and I’m so thankful for that.
Colliii.com: With the doll market moving towards new directions, what kind of dolls are you going to be making in the future?
Melissa:  I will continue with what I love and have the greatest passion for and that is preemie to newborn sized babies with finely rooted mohair. I am also very excited about some of the new innovations in reborn doll bodies such as the half torsos and ball-jointed limbs. I can’t wait to see what this New Year brings in these areas.
Colliii.com: What advice would you give to budding artists?
Melissa: I have only been reborning for about 2 ½ years so I still feel I have much to learn myself. But I think that one of the best pieces of advice would be to take your time! It can be so tempting to try to rush in order to finish a baby quickly but I personally feel that the best results are achieved with lots of love and labor! The best results for me have always been when I took my time and really paid attention to the small details.
Colliii.com: How did you react upon finding out you won?
Melissa: Ha Ha, I was in shock actually. I had been out of the house all day. When I finally got home that evening I immediately rushed to the computer to see if the winners had been announced. I was delighted to see that the video announcement had been posted. I was too nervous to sit down so my husband and I stood up and watched the video presentation. When my category came up I don’t think I even took a breath. I wasn’t expecting to win and was just waiting to see if one of my favorite entries had won. When the photo of my Jayden came up I began screaming and jumping up and down saying “I WON, I WON”. I don’t think I even heard my name said the first time. I then sat down and cried out of sheer happiness. You’d have thought I had won an Oscar by my reaction, but it really felt that great and I’m very grateful for my win!
Colliii.com: How long have been making dolls for and what got into interested in it?
Melissa: My daughter Isabella, who is nearly 3 now, was my inspiration for learning the art of reborning and she is the reason I named my nursery “Bella’s Babies by the Bay”. When she was just a baby I decided I wanted to capture my daughter's image in the form of a doll. I loved the idea of capturing that precious moment in time when a small baby is sweet, innocent and perfect. Searching the internet for a doll in my own daughter's likeness led me to discover life-like reborn babies. I was immediately fascinated & intrigued by them and instantly drawn to the process behind creating them. Though I have always been artistic and involved with some form of art throughout my life, including drawing, painting, sewing, decorating and crafts, I had never made a doll before. So with much determination, I took the leap and began my journey into learning everything I could about this fascinating art form and have never looked back. It is now my passion and my full-time job along with being a stay-at-home mommy to my two real life little dolls. My son and daughter still inspire me daily. I put all of my heart and soul into every baby that I create and seeing them come to life in front of me fills me with such pride.

ARTICLE - GERMAN DOLL ARTIST INA VOLPRICH NOMINATED FOR COLLIII AWARD 2011

GERMAN DOLL ARTIST INA VOLPRICH NOMINATED FOR COLLIII AWARD 2011

Last year Ina Volprich won an unprecedented 3 Colliii Awards for her OOAK dolls. This year she is back and has once again been nominated. Find out what she has been doing since her triumph in 2010.

Ina Volprich

Colliii.com: Congratulations Ina. Last year won cleared up with 3 Colliii Awards for your one of a kind dolls. What has happend in the meantime?
Ina Volprich: Thanks! this past year I have been busy making numerous dolls for the Eschwege doll show here in Germany. I have had one OOAK doll that has produced as a kit and little "Jaron" has been on the market since July 2010.
Colliii.com: After your amazing haul at last years awards, why did you decide to enter again?
Ina Volprich: I wanted to enter some of my latest pieces. I have been working on improving my skills and it was important for me to measure myself again. The Colliii Awards is a great way to see what collectors think of my work and that is why I entered Margarethe.
Colliii.com: What made you enter Margarethe? Were you confident with your choice?

Ina Volprich: Margarethe is a portrait sculpt of Margarethe Steiff. I was greatly inspired by the film about her, to see what a hard life she had and even though she had a hard time she still managed to create all those teddys which have been loved by so many people over the years. That was the biggest reason to recreate her and present her in this competition.

Colliii.com: How long have you been sculpting for now?

Ina Volprich: I started back in 2009 and have been making Reborn dolls before that, since 2007. I wanted to do Reborn versions of my own 3 children but could never find a kit that looked like them, so I decided to start sculpting. I made my first portait the same year in August and have been very busy since then!

Colliii.com: What do you do with all the dolls that you make?

Ina Volprich: I do a lot of portrait work for people that have asked me directly to work for them...so they tend to buy those dolls that I make. I sell some at doll shows and quite a bit of my work is at the Czech dolls museum "Muzeum Panenek a Medvidku".
Colliii.com: For those that cant make it to the Czech Republic, can they see your work online somewhere?
Ina Volprich: I have a website where I have all of my dolls and also add regular updates www.littlewonderkids.de