Fabienne Martinez, or Lolaxs to her many fans, is one of the most prolific and talented restorers of Barbie and her pals. The artist chats about her work in France, her interests, and lets us into some of her trade secrets.
When people see the amazing transformations that Fabienne Martinez (Lolaxs) performs on the most desperate cases of wrecked Barbies, they may assume that she must have training in art. But she actually studied science at university and is a math teacher. Art was her favorite subject at high school – especially drawing portraits. As she says, “So now this is what I’m doing, even if I do it in three dimensions, on a doll’s face.”
Lolaxs explains how she first began to be interested in repaints, “A few years ago when I sold my childhood dolls on eBay I saw some vintage Barbies and immediately got interested in them, I had always liked the 60’s and 70’s and one of my cousins had owned a bubble cut Barbie as a child.”
Don’t worry – the wolf probably won’t even recognize this beautiful Little Red Riding Hood when compared to the bald little waif she once was (inset photo).
“I bought a #6 ponytail that had been was restored by the seller. When I received her the paint looked sticky and thick and I was really disappointed. I decided to repaint her, thinking it couldn’t be worse. It took me one whole day to repaint her lips and eyebrows but eventually she looked much better with her new face, I thought the work was not too bad for a first try.”
“A friend of mine who was collecting these dolls sent me a few from her collection and I managed to improve with these. Afterwards I started selling some restored Barbies on eBay and got an amazing and unexpected response from bidders so it encouraged me a lot. I kept on restoring vintage Barbies and registered as a professional restorer in France.”
Left to right: The first two pictures below show how a doll missing her bangs was partially rerooted with her own hair to become a stunning #4 ponytail doll. The next pair of images demonstrate how a discolored sidepart bubble cut is hardly recognizable after bleaching treatment and restoration. The picture on far right is by Muriel from Rosedevine on flickr
Usually Lolaxs will try to restore dolls in the vintage style, although she enjoys changing the colors of hair and face paint. The interesting point for her is to give the doll a style that is in keeping with the era, something the manufacturer could have made themselves – but just didn’t for whatever reason. She insists, “I don’t like crazy or unusual things on vintage dolls. I just use the colors that were “forgotten” by the manufacturer. The regular vintage style is what inspires me and I choose the colors that are in keeping with the doll’s skin tone.”
Lolaxs often works directly with clients to restore their dolls. “Usually vintage dolls arrive in poor condition and they need a full makeover, which includes cleaning, a reroot, and full repaint. Customers often choose the colors from previous dolls they have seen on my website. I recommend not to use fantasy colors such as blue or green on some dolls because Mattel would have never done it and this doesn’t look authentic to me. And customers sometimes ask for a fashion to go with the doll, most of the time it is a reproduction of a Japanese variation that was released in the 60’s, such as Theater Date or Enchanted Evening, or sometimes it is just a creation of mine. I prefer to create my own version of the doll. But it is also interesting to restore a poor one into the original style.”
After an amazing reroot and freshening up in Lolaxs’s spa, this poor old bald Barbie (left) became a sultry brunette sidepart American Girl.
THE WORKS
This swirl doll needed a full makeover as well as a reroot. The classic suit ensemble has been finely tailored by the doll’s owner, Develyne (Dev). You can see more of Dev’s work on flickr.
“My favorite face mold is the #4 ponytail – the first generation one – the best doll Mattel released. Even if she is made of harder vinyl, so not easy to reroot, her thin face mold is beautiful and she always looks good. I also like her skin tone, she’s the cutest Barbie.”
Lolaxs is a doll collector, “I only collect vintage Barbies, I’m an odd collector as I don’t display my own dolls and keep them in their boxes. [Although] I enjoy working on any types of dolls I love the vintage period so I don’t collect modern fashion dolls. I have a small collection, with some nice Barbies, but most of them needed restoration. I keep dolls that are not good enough to sell to customers for my own collection.”
Lolaxs’s reproduction of the Japanese version of Theater Date, hand-made with vintage fabric by unpicking and using the reverse side of vintage Evening Splendor.
When asked about other repaint artists she has a clear favorite, “There are many talented artists but as far as Barbies are concerned I love Dan Lee’s work. He customizes Silkstone Barbie into the vintage or Mod style but he adds his own touch to each doll.”
The arrival of a new doll for restoration is often a voyage of discovery. “I always have surprises with vintage dolls. The bad ones come when a beginner has attempted some restoration, usually with cheap acrylic paint and nail polish as a sealer! This often creates bleeding into the vinyl. Unfortunately when the bleeding is really bad, this can ruin the doll. But sometimes I’m able to fix it. It is important to start practising on cheap dolls but with professional supplies.”
Many rerooters are fond of saran hair, probably the most popular replacement hair amongst doll collectors. But there are other types of hair, some of which were used on factory dolls. Lolaxs advises on which to choose (from left to right above):
SARAN is often thought to be the perfect replacement hair for vintage Barbie dolls as most of the colors available match the vintage ones used by Mattel in the 60’s and 70’s. But sometimes the color won’t match because vintage colors have oxidized over the years. Saran is soft, heavy, and shiny – and may not look vintage, so it’s not the perfect hair to reroot all vintage dolls. It was used on Barbie swirls, but #1 to #4 Ponytails had a synthetic mohair and most American Girls from 1965 had coarser hair. The bangs of #5 and #6 Ponytails were not made of saran hair either. Don’t use saran for sidepart American Girl with curly hair – it’s too heavy to hold the set over a long time. You may have to use hairspray which can break the fibres. Nevertheless saran hair is easy to work with, it is perfect for straight hair, and not bad for a bun, a ponytail or for fantasy colors.
NYLON hair can look like saran, mohair, or high quality kanekalon, depending on the type chosen. It works for nearly everything apart from swirls, and it’s not the best choice for straight hairdos as it lacks weight. But it’s ideal for most vintage Barbie styles and is available in colors close to Mattel vintage ones. It’s easy to curl and it holds the set well – no need to use hairspray, but if you do it won’t damage the fibre. Nylon is not always easy to reroot, but it is worth the hard work. It remains beautiful after a perm and plenty of colors are available, including fantasy ones. Try it if you want to reroot your vintage Barbie as a sidepart American girl.
VINTAGE NYLON is Lolaxs’s favorite hair. She explains “I got some unused packs from a French factory called Bella. Bella used to sell the French Tressy doll that was Barbie’s competitor. The hair is just stunning and I really regret it is no longer produced. It has a softer texture than modern nylon, holds the set even better, and is in a palette of colors close to those used by Mattel in the 60’s. It is the perfect hair to reroot vintage Barbies especially sidepart American Girls and bubble cuts. The texture is just fantastic. This nylon is even works for straight hair. The main problem of course is that it is hard to find”.
VINTAGE ACETATE, shown on the spool, far right, looks like human hair and has a nice texture, but it is hard to work with as it can easily break. Not recommend for beginners.
Other types of rerooting hair: Kanekalon hair is inexpensive and therefore popular. It holds the set well but it is coarse and gives a cheap look to the doll. Not recommended for vintage Barbies. Genuine mohair is beautiful but is almost impossible to reroot with. Not recommended for vintage Barbies. Polypropylene is similar to nylon although it has a plastic look some collectors may not like on their vintage dolls. It is easy to curl and easy to work with. More details on the vintage nylon Bella hair and information about Bella dolls (in French) at http://oraseeetlespoupeesbella.fr Lolaxs buys her hair and rerooting supplies from www.dollyhair.com, and her color-safe hairnets are from hayesvalleygirls
“And there are many good surprises. Sometimes the doll arrives with a lot of green ear, (a discoloration caused by the reaction of the base metal posts of earrings with the vinyl when the earrings are left in for years), or no paint, or hair, and she turns out better than expected. This always requires a lot of work, but the more the doll is damaged, the more surprising the result after restoration. Good surprises always happen on severely damaged dolls!”
“Most of my customers, who collect vintage Barbie, are also interested in Barbie’s twin, the Silkstone doll. They have the same face mold as the original and collectors are interested in having them redone into the vintage style, which I gladly do. They also collect antique bisque dolls and modern fashion dolls such as Fashion Royalty from Integrity Toys or even taller dolls such as Tonner models.”
This poor unfortunate arrived at Lolaxs’s door with neither paint nor hair. With painstaking care she has been quite remarkably restored to her former glory.
“I have worked on many types of dolls from different brands [and of course] tons of Barbies, but there’s always something new to try or to improve because each doll is unique. I’ll probably restore more Mod Barbies as I haven’t worked much on these as I’ve concentrated on the vintage era.”
People often wonder how the name ‘Lolaxs’ came about. She explains, “A French singer (Patrick Bruel) used to sing a song in the 80’s, I think it was called, “Comment ça va pour vous ?” (How are you doing?) A girl who was always late was alluded to in the song…her name was Lola. That was my nickname at school. And “xs” stands for my size of clothes!”
A forlorn Barbie, top right, with an unfortunate haircut and dull expression has become a knock-out blonde sidepart, thanks to a reroot, a repaint, and a little bit of Lolaxs’s magic sparkle.
Talking of clothes, Lolaxs uses existing patterns that she combines to create her own fashions. “But sometimes I create my own pattern, a really simple one. I try to buy vintage patterns on eBay and then I also find ideas in old magazines and this gives the concept for the fashion.”
“One of the most difficult parts of reproducing vintage outfits is sourcing fabrics with the right scale, period accuracy, and weight. “Fabrics with small or retro prints are not easy to find, and most of the time I have to find genuine vintage fabrics. For example, for the repro of Japanese Theater Date I use the reverse side of the vintage Evening Splendor set – I need five of them in mint condition – so it sometimes takes months to get the fabric. I want the outfit to be as close as possible to the original thing. I sew everything by hand, it takes two hours to unpick the five sets, and then it takes me about a week to make the outfit, if I work two hours a day.”
Some vintage Barbies from 1965 suffer from darkened vinyl on their faces and arms. With care, it is possible to bleach your doll’s face, but beginners should beware that the process may also lighten or even remove original paint so it is best to use a cheap practice doll the very first time. Lolaxs uses benzoyl peroxide acne cream, sold in drug-stores as Brevoxyl in France, and Clearasil in the USA.
Using a Q-Tip, apply the cream in a thick, even coat over the doll’s face (avoiding painted areas) and hair – the vinyl under the hair will have darkened as well. Place the doll in direct sunlight, if possible outside, for two hours. Afterwards, clean the doll with soap and water, and repeat as necessary. Protect your hands with latex gloves while using benzoyl peroxide. When the bleaching process is done, clean the head both inside and out, then wait a few days before painting her. The same technique can be used on arms but the process may take longer on this harder vinyl.
The photos show a sidepart bubblecut before face bleaching and after restoration. Bleaching can affect the lips and eyebrows but this is not a problem if they need repainting anyway.
“I use the tiniest press closures I can find, I think some of them are even smaller than the ones used by the factory in the 60’s. For zippers it is pretty easy to find vintage packs with zippers, pearls, etc. When a vintage outfit is in bad condition, I just keep the closures for my handmade fashions.”
“In general it is much easier to create my own fashion than a reproduction of an existing one. But some vintage fashions are so rare that the reproduction is worth the work, including for my own collection.”
It’s hard to believe the results this talented artist achieves with the most unpromising starting material to recreate quite stunning dolls. To see more incredible Barbie restorations by Lolaxs, please visit her flickr pages.
If you have a doll that is in need of restoration, you may contact Lolaxs direct at fabienne_chrestina@yahoo.fr for an initial discussion about your requirements and to get an idea of the cost.
Since this feature originally appeared in Doll Reader magazine, April 2011, Fabienne has worked on larger resin dolls, such as the Sybarites and Ficon doll, she also works on Fashion Royalty and Silkstone dolls. To see the range of Lolaxs’s projects and her doll couture check out her albums on flicker.
If, on the other hand, you’re looking for a quick and easy way to restore your vintage Barbie, here’s a (not altogether serious) how-to video. The lesson here is that you really can’t cut corners!