One Year

I thought I had a little more time to formulate this post, but then I checked and realized my first review was published on the very first day of 2023 and the anniversary was right on the turn of the year! So here's a reflection!

I had been planning to write a toy blog for much longer than I've actually been doing so. Back in my original collecting era, I wrote down private reviews of things I was collecting, inspired by the reviewers who had got me into collecting in the first place. These reviews weren't very good and never got published, and my one attempt at starting a blog before (now taken down) was shallow and clumsy compared to what I do now. Seeing Creeproduction Frankie Stein at my workplace inspired me to re-enter the doll hobby, and this time, to write and share the abundance of thoughts it brought out in me!

The start of the year was relatively basic. My first reviews were before I rearranged my room and swapped for a different desk, and I was writing more straightforward reviews, but I found my distinct niches to set this blog apart very early on--customizing dolls and taking artistic photos with all the ingenuity I could muster on zero budget. Dolls inspired me to develop my visual art skills as a designer, but now, I was paying back that inspiration by using dolls as my artistic medium, and it's become a very fun (and treacherous) artistic ritual to get a doll and have a short project of it! Right now, I think my most successful custom characters in terms of both design and craft hardiness are my official TT&T body model Maudie Sixtenstein, retro alien Marcia Greyman, fly ghoul DiDi DiPterri, and most recently, Black Lagoon creature Gilliana Manuela Ribeiro. 

Not all of my customization methods or instincts have served me well. Poor Dahlia Glazer, my porcelain doll character, is now wrecked because the spray-paint I successfully created her body color and glossy finish with has since peeled and gotten damaged. Other characters have had trouble holding onto paint I added due to pieces having contact with other pieces or the surface being especially difficult to stick paint to. Still, all of these problems have been learning experiences, and I've learned some very useful things. I now know a few techniques for reshaping doll hair with heat that I never explored before, dyeing is a process for some things I've added to my list of customization options, and repainting things at all is something I wasn't skilled in before. I also learned how to repair a broken doll neck peg...though in most cases, it does require breaking a sacrificial doll's neck to steal their own. 

I've also gotten into doll restyling and design reimagining. Invisi Billy, my first RESTYLE ICONS project, is one of my favorite dolls I have after my second pass with his look, and I've gotten on a fun kick of restyling G3 Monster High characters, too. 

I've made a few important acquisitions. I got my ultimate grail doll in Monster High C.A. Cupid, and have re-acquired some dolls I used to own which never should have left my sight, like signature Twyla, Gooliope Jellington, and Peri and Pearl Serpentine. I'm resolving to make my most personally important re-acquisitions in 2024. I want to reobtain the original trio of dolls I got when inaugurating my first collection, and do a series exploring each one in turn. That'll have to be set up for April to land on the anniversary of getting the original dolls (thank goodness I had old photos with timestamps to give me the time of year that was)! I'll also see if there's a way to get back some bigger-ticket dolls like I Love Fashion Wydowna and Iris, two essential entries in the Monster High catalogue who have understandably but tragically ballooned in the aftermarket.

My subject matter has remained limited, just because there's so much for me to explore within Monster High alone, but I did make an effort to branch into some MGA doll offerings (discovering a whole new creative venture in the Left Out Dolls via Shadow High!) and briefly looked at the classic Playmobil toys, too (starting here). I hope to spotlight a few more kinds of toys on the blog going forward. I have a family connection with a bin of old LEGO I'd love to acquire, and looking through that treasure trove for this blog could be fun, but I'm not crossing my fingers on that too hard.

 
During this year, I also observed myself engaging further and more positively with Monster High G3, since Mattel really raised their game and made the brand more fabulous, dark, and mature as the year progressed. G3 is still a different entity from G1, but this was a good year for the brand, stepping forward into more of the design fans had been missing. Of the known doll releases coming out of G3 in 2024, there's already quite a few I want, and you better believe Venus is going to be here as soon as she's made available; I swear it.

In terms of writing, I feel like I've been pretty consistent, so I don't know if there's been much of an evolution there. From the start, I've talked about my interests in social concerns and production trivia to analyze toys and their stories as media, and I've tried to be thorough and informative and professional...though I admit to having fun exploring my salty side just recently with L.O.L. O.M.G., starting here. Maybe I need a nemesis from time to time to let out the meaner writing because I do enjoy that on occasion! If you enjoy mean-Dmitry and can think of anything I'd dislike but simultaneously be interested in, let me know! We can set aside a space for some salt on the blog!

As for what's next in 2024, really, just expect more of the same. More reviews and spotlights on certain things that interest me, and whatever custom projects I can cook up and execute.

These were some of my favorite photographs I created this year. I only chose one per post, but there are others I'm proud of from the same posts as these:

They Belonged Dolls: The Monster High Skullector "Bride of Frankenstein" Set by Mattel Creations

Sweet Nightmares: A Trio of Twylas!

Terror Takes Shape: The Monster High Create-a-Monster Blob by Mattel

A Very Delicate Process: The First Custom Doll I WANTED To Make!

She's Alive--And It's Not a Costume!

Putting the "Teatime" in "Teatime Tangents and Toys"--A Scary Tale Twyla!

A Third Try in the Three Rings: Monster High Gooliope Jellington by Mattel

A Grow-Up Glow-Up: Monster High Treesa Thornwillow by Mattel

They've Got It On Lock: Monster High Skulltimate Secrets Series 2 "Fearidescent" by Mattel

Festive Love: The Monster High Skullector "Nightmare Before Christmas" Set by Mattel Creations

Picking Bones, Part 2: The Skelita Collector Dolls

Flourescent Dances, Second Chances, Part 2: Monster High Neon Frights Ghoulia Yelps by Mattel

I'm Going Nuts (And Bolts): A G3 Frankie Roundup

Thrice Bitten: A G3 Draculaura Roundup

Swimming the Seas and Rivers: A Lagoona Blue Roundup

All of these have been achieved with a simple phone camera, a desk light, supplies and settings in and around the house I live in, colored and patterned papers from craft stores, and free editing software on my phone and/or computer! You just have to be creative!

These photos are genuinely so rewarding, and they have become the goal I reach for with my posts now. I now put a large portion of my assessment of a doll in the greatness of the photos they give me, and the art photos are a big driving force for making posts now. I think they also help in letting go of a doll. I'm a little sad about Dahlia not holding up, but I still have the pictures of her and the proof I did something cool is enough. I think I'll have to start looking into responsibly managing my collection size and being more careful about capacity, so there are probably dolls where the photo is enough to keep and I can send the doll on their way with the photo secured as a memento.

Lastly, I have to thank my readers, because you are the reason I'm doing this blog, and it's wonderful not to be talking to the walls and to have people engaging in my passions and offering commentary. I've gotten a few regulars here now, and all visitors have been noticed and appreciated. You should all know that I am incredibly grateful for your attention, insight, and feedback. I'm blogging because I'm extremely passionate, but passion can only carry someone so far without an audience. Thank you guys for being my audience.

Here's to a productive and entertaining 2024. Prepare for a start of robots and mummies and werewolves (oh my)!