Paper dolls enter the world of fashion

I'm very pleased to have been invited to be a featured speaker at the forthcoming "Heirloom" Conference to be held in New York City, December 4th and 5th.  Along with paper doll artist David Wolfe and vintage fashion expert Scott Jorgenson we will discuss "The Allure of Fashion Past."  David will talk about the growing importance and awareness of nostalgia in fashion.  Scott will discuss his 800-piece clothing collection and how he accumulated such a trove of fashion treasures.  And in my presentation I will reveal how my publishing company is reviving the interest in fashion and celebrity paper doll books.

This seminar is just one of many scheduled to take place during the annual two day conference organized by Initiatives in Art and Culture.  The conference, 11th in the yearly series, will also include lectures and presentations by experts and authorities on various heirloom subjects including pearls, watches, jewelry and textiles.  Several evening events are also planned.

The Heirloom Conference is open to the public and a very special discounted fee has been arranged. Please visit the website for more information and contact me directly for information about the special discount offer. It will be a fascinating conference for anyone interested in fashion and nostalgia.

Super cool, clever paper dolls!

Congratulations to Kwei-lin Lum on her first published paper doll book! Kwei-lin's has a wonderfully clever approach to her paper doll art, choosing subjects and designs that are surprising and unique. This is especially evident in her colorful Day of the Dead paper doll book, representing Mexico's celebration honoring the memory of the departed. The book provides two whimsical skeleton dolls and a colorful wardrobe of traditional costumes. My favorite part is the bonus sticker poster showing vignettes of skeletons doing a variety of everyday things like baking bread, repairing cars, selling tacos and even going to the spa. The book is available from Paperdoll Review, and you can see more examples of Kwei-lin's intriguing paper doll art on her flatdoll website.

Cool new interactive paper doll site!

Our own David Wolfe has gone digital! His popular line of paper doll books caught the attention of the Essex-Peabody Museum in Salem, MA, and he was asked to illustrate a paper doll to represent a special exhibit of clothes worn by fashion legend, Iris Apfel. Rather than the traditional paper format, this paper doll is purely digital, with two interactive kiosks at the museum and an on-line version with mix-and-match separates from the exhibit, Rare Bird of Fashion: The Irreverent Iris Apfel. A digital closet is provided with dozens of fashion items including pants, skirts, jackets, blouses, hats, boots, and lots of big, chunky jewelry to build your own ensembles on three mannequins. So click over and have fun!

Paper Doll Convention in the Las Vegas News!

I'm thrilled to announce that our paper doll convention made it into the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Thanks to his media connections, David Wolfe, arranged to have reporter Xazmin Garza visit our convention during the Artists Showcase afternoon. Ms. Garza spent at least a couple of hours talking with artists and collectors, resulting in a lovely article about the convention and the art and hobby of paper dolls. It's fun that a photo of Dee Radcliffe was included, taken at the time she was surprised with a custom paper doll of her and her friend Paula Sherrick, drawn by Norma Lu Meehan.

Las Vegas resident and entertainment legend, Phyllis McGuire, was also featured in the article, with information about her extraordinary clothing collection and the soon-to-be-published Phyllis McGuire Paper Doll. Also included in the article are photos of Hedy Lamarr paper dolls by Gregg Nystrom and David Wolfe's original art for the Grease Paper Doll.

Thanks so much to Deanna Williams and her team for putting on such a wonderful convention. Next year's convention is scheduled for July 1-4, 2010 in Kansas City. Visit OPDAG's website for details.

Grease is finally the word!

I am happy to annouce that our Grease Paper Dolls are in stock! We are busy filling advance orders, so customers should receive their orders by the end of September.

I think the whole set, illustrated by David Wolfe, looks great and I hope you'll think so, too! I'm especially impressed with the die-cutting of the dolls, making them easy to punch out and attach to stands. This is our first envelope style paper doll, featuring four dolls (Sweet Sandy, Cool Sandy, Frenchy and Rizzo) and eight pages of clothes representing outfits as seen in the film along with additional retro 50s fashions—over 55 items in all! Thumbnail images of the clothing pages are shown on the Paperdoll Review website.

If you haven't yet ordered your Grease Paper Doll, you may order directly from paperdollreview.com, or send $14.95 plus $3.50 shipping to Paperdoll Review, P.O. Box 14, Kingfield, ME 04947.

Grease TM & © 2009 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Our new books are here!

After much anticipation, our new books are in! The beautiful Esther Williams paper doll by Marilyn Henry—done in collaboration with Miss Williams herself—features movie clothes and swimwear. The legendary Greta Garbo is depicted in three dolls and a luxurious wardrobe of clothes by Norma Lu Meehan. Mel Odom's glamorous Gene Marshall doll and her friends, Madra, violet, Ivy, and Trent have been incorporated into a spectacular paper doll book illustrated by Jim Howard. And David Wolfe brings us two books—one of the fabulous funny lady Phyllis Diller and one featuring the fashions of Hollywood Designer, Adrian. For a sneak preview of each book, thumbnail images of the inside pages have been added to the Paperdoll Review website.

Rhonda Fleming Day on TCM

Today is Rhonda Fleming day on Turner Classic Movies. Hollywood's flame-haired beauty is featured in several movies today including Gun Glory, Out of the Past, Cry Danger, While the City Sleeps and Spellbound. Tune in!

For more Rhonda Fleming news visit her website and check out the Rhonda Fleming Paper Doll from Paperdoll Review!