Fans gathered in San Francisco for BlytheCon 2016, a big-headed day of delights. The Bold Doll was in with an international crowd to see what’s new with this perennial favorite
On the street outside, it was clear that something was afoot. Serious friends of Blythe are not afraid to get dressed up and there was plenty to attract the attention of passers-by. Even in a city like San Francisco, where pretty much anything goes, heads were turning. By the look of some of the conventioneers, BlytheCon promised to be a highly visual event…
Above, left to right: Three of the specially-designed Blythe illustrations that appeared on the VIP tote bags – from etsy.com/shop/Friend2Blythe; far right:: The BlytheCon event logo by A Green Cat Productions/Cat Maske etsy.com/shop/agreencat
Team Members Carrie Freitas and Jonathan Moore helped to set the bar high. As explained on the convention website, “The city by the bay wants you to imagine the Big Top, the bright lights, the fantastic acts, the freak shows, the geeks, the tattooed ladies, the magicians, the clowns, the highwire, and so much more! Are you ready for the show? Then lets go to the Circus by the Bay!” Once inside it was pointy hats and red noses a-go-go. There was even a top-hatted ringmaster, Mr Thomas Bartholomew Maffei, one of the many vendors.
A pair of one-of-a-kind artist dolls modeling groovy fashions by A Birdyboo Design
No convention is complete without workshops, and Cara Barfield expertly organized two treats for attendees: Sewing with Momoko and Christine’s Hair Spa. Top designer Momoko Komori shared tips and tricks to make a professional chiffon dress, using one of her popular patterns. Professional wig-maker Christine Kennison, of Unicornmine Skinny Scalps revealed her secrets for degreasing, washing, and styling dolls’ hair.
Above, row by row, from left to right. Top row: A custom redhead; C’mon dolly; Another custom showing the diversity of dolls at BlytheCon; Roomset by Design A Dollhouse. Second row: Hanon cuties; Military red by Kaleidoscope Kustoms; Blythe goes Divine by LizRetros; Twinkly-eyed girl by Rododo. Third row: A raffle prize by So-Called Blythe; Fabulous monster by Grenadine Supreme; Lion girl raffle prize by HBC Dolls; Surf’s Up by Little Ditzies. Bottom row: A line-up of attendees’ dolls; Catsuit by Carol Salinger; “It’s my party!” by Starling Blythe; Dreamy raffle doll by Kaleidoscope Kustoms.
The day ended with an amazing raffle, with donor reach-out by Blanca Ragdolls Sanchez. The star prize was an original Kenner Blythe, but there was such an abundance of lots it was hard to keep up. Blythe-inspired prizes included makeovers from well-known doll artists, outfits, and loads of dolls. Plenty of happy winners, and a delightful day out.
Cockwise from top: The very popular sale room; Momolita dolls; Dolls dressed in Funny Bunny; Momoko Komori with sewing machine and chiffon dress; Christine Kennison’s workshop hair models; Atomic Kitteh’s doll; Dresses by Little Lovelies.
Resources
Little Whimsies: littlewhimsies.etsy.com
A BirdyBoo Design: etsy.com/shop/abirdyboodesign
Rosiee Gelutie: etsy.com/shop/RosieeGelutie
Kaleidoscope Kustoms: etsy.com/shop/BlytheRagBagDesigns
Retros: lizretros.com
Little Ditzies: etsy.com/shop/LittleDitzies
Dakawaiidolls: etsy.com/shop/Dakawaiidolls
Momolita: momolita.com
Little Lovelies: flickr.com/photos/shianna/
Dream Forest Dolls: etsy.com/shop/DreamForestDolls
Wild Dahlia Designs: wilddahliadesigns.etsy.com
Carol Salinger, Cirque de Poupée: carolncats@yahoo.com
C’mon Dolly: etsy.com/uk/shop/cmondolly
My Little Headcase: etsy.com/shop/MyLittleHeadcase
A Green Cat Productions: agreencat.etsy.com
Atomic Kitteh: atomickitteh.etsy.com
GrenadineSupreme: etsy.com/shop/GrenadineSupreme
Mismatchfusion: etsy.com/shop/mismatchfusion
Rhododo’s Nest: etsy.com/shop/RhododosNest
Devout Dolls: etsy.com/shop/devoutdolls
Kristine Ann’s: kristineanns.etsy.com
Design A Dollhouse: designadollhouse.com
Yuka Closet: etsy.com/shop/EverythingAboutDoll
Starling Blythe: etsy.com/shop/starlingblythe
Sirenita Dolls: irene-garcia.com
Hanon: instagram.com/hanon_satomi
Tiny Haus: etsy.com/shop/tinyhaus
Zaloa’s Studio: flickr.com/photos/30087222@N07
Other vendor: Thomas Bartholomew Maffei
This feature first appeared in Fashion Doll Quarterly magazine, Fall 2016. All urls and web addresses were correct at the time of first publication.