David Wolfe Returns to Phyllis McGuire's Closet

David Wolfe (a popular artist in Paper Studio Press' growing stable of talents) told me about his trip to Las Vegas for the MAGIC fashion convention. While there, he met with Phyllis McGuire of the legendary McGuire Sisters singing trio. David and I first met Phyllis a few months ago to present her with the idea of becoming a subject for a new paper doll book. She agreed enthusiastically and now the project is moving along.

David told me about working with Miss McGuire's charming assistant, Sandy, and her fashion curator, Jan Rude. The reason she needs a curator is that Phyllis McGuire, one of the world's best dressed fashionistas, has an incredible collection of creations by famous designers, a collection that David said rivals many fashion museums. Galanos, Chanel, Pauline Trigere, Bob Mackie, Nolan Miller, Norman Norell, Bill Blass, Sophie of Saks, Pucci, Halston, and more! Many outfits are on display in the gigantic room that is really the star's huge bedroom. Phyllis herself moved to another room in her stunning home while the collection is being assembled and photographed.

David and Sandy first picked out photos to use as reference for the dolls that will appear in the book. That wasn't easy since there were hundreds of photos from which to choose. David, who is almost terminally star struck, was thrilled to see photos of Phyllis with so many great celebrities including Bob Hope, George Burns, Sophie Tucker, Dean Martin, Robert Goulet, Richard Nixon and the Queen of England! David wants the three dolls to represent three different looks . . . one from the 50s, another the 60s and the other, the 70s/80s.

Then came the difficult job of deciding which of the fantastic fashions to include in the paper doll book. David will eventually paint about 25 outfits for it, but he photographed many more for reference. He wants the clothes in the book to be as detailed and absolutely authentic as possible. Since Phyllis has been a star for decades, the finished book will cover her style as it evolved with fashion from the '50s when "Sugartime" and "Sincerely" were hits to more recent stunning glamour gowns.

Following the planning session at the star's home, David, Phyllis and Jan Rude went to dinner at a fabulous restaurant overlooking the famous Bellagio water show. Of course, many of us will be in Las Vegas later this year for the National Paper Doll Convention. If only Phyllis McGuire might be willing to attend, too!

Paper Dolls in the Portland Paper!

I am over the moon about the article in today's Maine Sunday Telegram. The snappy writing style of Meredith Goad makes the article fun to read, and I feel honored to be featured in Maine's biggest newspaper. Surprisingly, the article got front page billing and ran on page A5!

Appearing with the article is the the photo shown here by staff photographer, John Ewing, with the "Jenny" paper doll by David Wolfe in the foreground and me showing off Norma Lu Meehan's upcoming Rhonda Fleming paper doll). Additionally, I'm pleased that the entire article appears on the newspaper's website along with readers' comments.

Publicity for Paper Dolls

Those of us in the paper doll world know all about paper dolls. We love to collect them, create them, read about them, talk about them, and attend parties and conventions. Many, many friendships have been made through the common interest of paper dolls, and even careers have been created for paper doll artists.

Paper dolls have given me a new career as a publisher through my company, Paper Studio Press. With the help of fabulous artists and encouragement of friends and advisors, in just two years my little publishing company has grown to 24 titles of vintage paper doll reproductions and wonderful new paper dolls by artists of today.

Through the Internet, our paper doll world has had a chance to grow. With a simple Google search, someone can get reunited with a childhood paper doll on eBay, find a new Tom Tierney paper doll on Amazon, connect with other paper doll enthusiasts in a Yahoo Group, become an instant collector through websites like Paperdoll Review, and discover new artists with their own websites like Brenda Sneathen Mattox and Kwei-lin Lum.

To let the rest of the world know what we have to offer, I've enlisted the help of my friend and public relations guru, Nancy Marshall. I recently signed with her successful PR firm, Nancy Marshall Communications, and with the help of Nancy and her support team Paper Studio Press has been given a new, more professional look. The Paper Studio Press website has been enhanced to include artist bios, press releases and publicity. Nancy's associate, Lissa Gumprecht was very helpful in the creation of fact sheets and press releases for my new press kit. Shown here is the press kit cover beautifully designed by Pierre Hale. Nancy and Lissa initiated a media campaign in the hopes of attracting attention to paper dolls. Although we have our sights set high with hopes of national coverage, we have already interested two newspapers here in Maine.

The Kennebec Journal just ran a nice article, "Stars of the silver screen come alive on paper" by Sada Reed. I wish I could show you the layout... they did a great job! And I was also interviewed by the Portland Press Herald for an upcoming article. They even sent a photographer all the way to Kingfield, and that's a two hour drive! Coincidentally, I had already met the photographer, John Ewing, last October on my flight home from Los Angeles. He was my seat mate on the leg from Detroit to Portland and we had a nice conversation about his longtime job as a staff photographer and my paper doll ventures. Little did I know that he'd be on my doorstep just a few months later to take pictures of me.

I hope 2009 will bring many more publicity opportunities for paper dolls. Our paper friends with their ever-changing tabbed wardrobes deserve the exposure!

Ginger Rogers and Betty Hutton Websites

Our two newest star paper dolls of Ginger Rogers and Betty Hutton are now available from our Paperdoll Review website. These are two of my favorite stars I'm honored to have had a part in commemoratng their lives and careers as paper dolls. I'm happy to say that the official websites for each star are generously promoting the books.

The Ginger Rogers website offers a biography, filmography, quotes and fun facts (which I especially like). There's also a nice photo gallery as well as a library of movies, books and posters that can be purchased. A little known fact, Ginger Rogers was an accomplished artist and sculptor and several of her paintings are shown in the artwork gallery.

Satins and Spurs, the official Betty Hutton website, offers a treasuretrove of goodies for Betty's fans and soon-to-be fans. In addition to her biography and filmography there's a jukebox to listen to her songs, a press center complete with magazine covers and article reprints covering more than six decades, a link to the Betty Hutton store, and extras like desktop wallpaper, ringtones and quizes. My favorite part of the site is the Reel Room with detailed descriptions of films, publicity photos, film stills, lobby cards and advertisements. I was surprised and delighted to find links to watch several of her full-length flms including The Fleet's In, Incendiary Blonde, The Stork Club, Dream Girl and Let's Dance. It's a perfect way to match up the clothes in our Betty Hutton paper doll book with the clothes in these movies!